A White Paper on Conservation, Nature-Based Placemaking, and Community Revitalization The Mountain Springs Recreational Preserve represents an opportunity to transform one of Ephrata's most valuable public assets into a community resource that balances environmental stewardship, recreation, and economic vitality. Rather than proposing development of the mountain, the initiative seeks to preserve it through thoughtful management, ecological restoration, and carefully designed passive recreation.
Executive Summary
The project remains in the Draft Master Plan phase. No final decisions regarding implementation have been made. The Draft Master Plan will provide Borough Council and the community with the information needed to evaluate future options before any construction is considered.
Introduction
Communities across Pennsylvania increasingly recognize that natural landscapes are among their most valuable public assets. Forests, trails, waterways, and open spaces improve quality of life and support economic development, environmental resilience, and community health.
Ephrata possesses an extraordinary resource that many communities lack: more than 200 acres of Borough-owned woodland situated within walking and biking distance of its historic downtown.
The Mountain Springs Recreational Preserve seeks to protect this landscape while allowing residents and visitors to experience it responsibly. It is not a proposal for commercial development or intensive recreation. Rather, it is a conservation-centered initiative that integrates ecological stewardship with carefully planned public access.
Goal One: Advancing Nature-Based Placemaking
Nature-based placemaking is the intentional use of natural landscapes to create places where people connect, experience the outdoors, and strengthen local economies. Communities increasingly compete not only on taxes or infrastructure, but also on quality of life. Residents, businesses, and visitors seek communities that offer authentic outdoor experiences, walkability, historic character, and access to nature.
The Mountain Springs Recreational Preserve would become a defining community asset by: creating opportunities for hiking, birdwatching, and environmental education; encouraging healthy lifestyles through outdoor recreation; connecting residents with one of Ephrata’s most significant natural landscapes; strengthening community identity through stewardship and volunteerism; and establishing Ephrata as a destination for outdoor recreation in Lancaster County.
Nature-based placemaking also benefits local businesses. Outdoor recreation visitors routinely patronize coffee shops, restaurants, breweries, retail stores, and specialty shops before and after using trail systems. Strategic connections between the preserve and downtown Ephrata create opportunities for these visitors to become customers, supporting the vitality of Main Street. The concept aligns with broader regional initiatives that promote outdoor recreation as an economic development strategy across Lancaster County https://lancastercountyplanning.org/342/Lancaster-County-Parks-Trails-Master-Plan
Goal Two: Preserving One of Ephrata’s Most Significant Woodland Resources
Perhaps the greatest misconception about the proposed Preserve is that preservation means leaving the mountain untouched. In reality, ecological science recognizes that unmanaged landscapes often degrade gradually. Today, portions of Ephrata Mountain face several environmental challenges:
The proposed Preserve would promote active ecological stewardship through:
Importantly, the proposal seeks to preserve the mountain—not develop it. Unlike residential or commercial development, the Preserve improvements will be limited to features that accommodate access and exploration of the property. The trails will be natural earthen surfaces allowing the public to experience and appreciate protected natural landscapes. Responsible public access often strengthens conservation by increasing community investment in protecting these resources.
Goal Three: Implementing Adopted Municipal Plans
The Mountain Springs Recreational Preserve is not a new concept. Its foundation originates in the Borough of Ephrata’s planning documents. The Borough’s 2014 Comprehensive Plan specifically recommends:
More recently, the Borough’s Active Transportation Plan again identified the mountain as an important opportunity, recommending improved trail connectivity, including between Ephrata Mountain and the Warwick-to-Ephrata Rail Trail. (Ephrata Borough Active Transportation Plan, 2025, p. 63)
The Preserve therefore represents the implementation of long-standing public policy rather than a departure from it. Communities invest significant resources in comprehensive planning to ensure that future decisions are guided by thoughtful, long-term vision rather than by isolated opportunities. The Mountain Springs Recreational Preserve advances recommendations that have remained consistent across multiple planning efforts over more than a decade. Mountain Springs
Recreational Preserve Benefits
Economic Vitality Outdoor recreation has emerged as a significant contributor to local and regional economies. Visitors drawn to trail systems and natural amenities typically spend money at restaurants, coffee shops, breweries, retail stores, lodging establishments, and bicycle service businesses. Communities that successfully connect recreational assets to walkable downtowns often see increased visitor spending, strengthened small businesses, and encouraged private investment. This strategy—linking outdoor recreation with downtown revitalization—is increasingly promoted throughout Pennsylvania as an economic development tool.
Because the Preserve would connect naturally to downtown Ephrata, recreational visitors would become downtown customers. This strengthens existing businesses while supporting future investment.
Numerous studies over the past three decades have found that proximity to parks, trails and protected open space generally has either a neutral or positive effect on residential property values. More recently, the Pennsylvania Environmental Council reported that residential properties along trail corridors in south-central Pennsylvania experience average value increases of approximately 13 percent. The findings were presented during the 2025 Pennsylvania Greenways and Trails Summit as part of a regional trail connectivity assessment covering seven counties, including Lancaster County. This growing body of evidence reflects increasing consumer demand for homes near accessible recreational amenities and protected natural landscapes.
Communities throughout Pennsylvania have documented measurable appreciation near trail systems, reflecting growing consumer demand for homes located near accessible outdoor recreation.
Environmental Stewardship
The Preserve embraces conservation as its guiding principle. Forest ecologists generally agree that active stewardship is often necessary to maintain healthy woodland ecosystems, particularly where invasive species have become established. Removing invasive vegetation and restoring native plant communities improves biodiversity, enhances wildlife habitat, strengthens soil stability, and increases the effectiveness of natural stormwater infiltration. In contrast, unmanaged forests experiencing invasive plant expansion frequently see declines in native understory vegetation, habitat deterioration, and reduced ecological resilience. Potential conservation initiatives include:
These actions help ensure that future generations inherit a healthier forest than the one that exists today.
Public Safety and Community Well-Being
A growing body of peer-reviewed research shows that access to well-maintained green spaces is associated with lower rates of both violent and property crime. One of the largest studies to date, published in the journal Cities (2022), analyzed nearly 60,000 census block groups across the 301 largest U.S. cities. After accounting for demographic, socioeconomic, and climate differences, researchers found that neighborhoods with more green space had significantly lower risks of both violent and property crime.
Property crime was lower in all but one of the cities studied, while violent crime was lower in 289 of the 301 cities analyzed. The researchers concluded that thoughtfully maintained green spaces can contribute to safer communities by increasing community activity, enhancing informal surveillance, and improving neighborhood well-being.
Ephrata’s own experience aligns with these findings. Since the development of the Warwick-to-Ephrata Rail Trail and the Ephrata Bike Park @ Heatherwood, local law enforcement, specifically, Ephrata Borough Police Chief McKim, has reported that these recreational assets have not created disproportionate demands on police services.
Natural recreation areas encourage legitimate public activity, volunteer stewardship, and informal observation of public spaces. Locally, Ephrata has already demonstrated this principle through successful projects including:
These facilities have become valued community assets without imposing disproportionate demands on public safety resources.
Public Health
Statistics on obesity and health issues in Northern Lancaster County are deeply concerning. With 61% of people classified as overweight or obese, the region faces a public health crisis that demands immediate attention. Outdoor activities such as hiking, biking, and picnicking provide accessible ways for individuals and families to stay active. These activities promote cardiovascular health, weight management, and overall fitness, which could help alleviate the burden of chronic diseases such as heart disease and diabetes. Additionally, studies have shown that spending time in natural environments reduces stress, improves mental health, and promotes emotional well-being—benefits that are especially crucial for the 25% of individuals in Ephrata who report experiencing trauma.
By providing convenient access to nature, the Mountain Springs Recreational Preserve creates opportunities for residents of all ages to lead healthier lifestyles and strengthen social connections.
Conclusion
The Mountain Springs Recreational Preserve represents far more than a trail project.
It is an opportunity to preserve one of Ephrata’s defining natural landscapes while strengthening community identity, protecting environmental resources, supporting local businesses, and advancing the implementation of long-standing municipal planning goals.
Communities that successfully combine conservation with thoughtful public access create places where people want to live, work, invest, and visit.
Ephrata possesses an extraordinary natural asset. The question is whether this public woodland should remain unmanaged or be thoughtfully conserved, restored, and responsibly shared with the community it belongs to.
The Mountain Springs Recreational Preserve offers a path toward conservation that protects the mountain and allows it to enrich Ephrata’s future for generations to come.
Additional Sources and References