As the Ephrata Mountain Springs Preserve enters the Draft Master Plan phase, the community has had many questions. We've gathered the ones we see most often and answered them here.
Community FAQ March
Q: What is the Mountain Springs Recreational Preserve?
The Mountain Springs Recreational Preserve is a proposed nature-based recreational destination on Borough-owned land on the Ephrata Mountain. The concept centers on establishing hiking and mountain biking trails, and providing ecological stewardship — using what the mountain already provides as a community builder and economic driver.
Equally important is what it is not: it is not a commercial development, not a housing project, and not a sports complex. Mainspring’s approach to this project is grounded in ecological care — including invasive species removal, native understory repropagation, and exploring Conservation Easement partnerships with the Lancaster Conservancy to permanently protect portions of the mountain. (Note: Borough-owned land within Ephrata Borough carries a Conservation District zoning designation, which prohibits commercial development or housing and specifically permits recreational trails. Portions of the Borough-owned land that fall within Ephrata Township boundaries carry a different zoning designation under Township jurisdiction. The Draft Master Plan process will identify all applicable zoning requirements across the full property and ensure the plan complies with each.)
Q: Is this project a done deal? Has the decision already been made to move forward?
No. Nothing has been decided. Mainspring of Ephrata is currently in the information-gathering and Draft Master Plan phase. The Draft Master Plan is a planning document — a starting point for conversation, not a final directive.
Borough Council of Ephrata makes the final decision on whether and how to proceed — not Mainspring.
The two Borough Council resolutions passed in 2023 and 2024 authorized Mainspring to plan and pursue funding — they did not authorize construction or implementation of any specific design. The Draft Master Plan, which is currently in development, will be shared with the public and with Borough Council, who will review it and determine next steps.
Q: Who owns the land?
The Borough of Ephrata owns just over 200 acres on Ephrata Mountain. As publicly-owned municipal land, it belongs to all Ephrata Borough taxpayers and residents — not to any single individual, adjacent homeowner, or private organization. This is a public asset. Every Ephrata Borough taxpayer has a stake in how it is used — including those who don’t live adjacent to it. Adjacent property ownership does not confer rights over neighboring public land. Decisions about this land are made by elected Borough Council representatives.
Q: What does the community think? Is there really broad support?
In the fall of 2025, Mainspring conducted a community survey that received 424 valid responses. The results showed substantial support across all geographic areas:
55% strongly support the initiative
15% somewhat support it
Only 19% somewhat or strongly oppose it
6% are unsure or need more information
Among Ephrata Borough residents specifically, support runs approximately 4 to 1 in favor. Among Ephrata Township residents, support runs approximately 3 to 1 in favor.
Community surveys of this type typically draw 300–600 responses to be statistically meaningful. A sample of 424 provides a reliable cross-section of community opinion, and the survey was open to anyone — it was publicly promoted through local newspapers, social media and websites, and the results were shared transparently, including breakdowns showing that concerns about stormwater, ecology, and privacy are real and will be addressed in the Draft Master Plan process.
Q: Who is Mainspring of Ephrata, and why are they involved in this?
Mainspring of Ephrata is a nonprofit economic and community development organization and the designated Main Street organization for Ephrata Borough, supported in part through Pennsylvania’s Department of Community and Economic Development (PA DCED) Main Street Matters program. Mainspring works with businesses, the community, and the municipality to guide positive change in Ephrata.
Mainspring’s involvement in the Mountain Springs Recreational Preserve is rooted directly in Ephrata’s own 2014 Comprehensive Plan, which specifically recommended the Borough ‘consider additional environmentally sensitive recreational uses on Ephrata Mountain’ and ‘identify and reopen existing trails.’ Borough Council formalized this direction with resolutions in 2023 and 2024, authorizing Mainspring to plan and pursue funding.
Q: Will trail users be able to see into my backyard?
Trail design actively addresses this concern. The Draft Master Plan process will incorporate buffer yards between trail corridors and private property as a design standard – not an afterthought. Fencing, natural plantings, and thoughtful routing are all tools available to planners and are used routinely in comparable preserves.
Q: Will strangers be cutting through my property?
This is a legitimate design concern, and the answer lies in thoughtful planning. Research shows that trespassing is most common when trails lack sufficient, clearly marked access points — meaning trail users have nowhere to exit and end up wandering off-path. The solution is more and better-defined access points, not fewer trails.
Clearly marked trail corridors, defined entry and exit points, and adequate signage all reduce the likelihood of trail users straying onto adjacent private property. These are standard components of any responsible trail design and will be addressed in the Draft Master Plan.
Q: I moved here for peace and quiet. Won’t that change?
Nature-based trail users — hikers, birders, and mountain bikers on designated trails — are among the most low-key recreational visitors. This is not a concert venue, a sports complex, or a motorized recreation area.
Q: Won’t trails destroy wildlife habitat?
The Mountain Springs Recreational Preserve will be specifically designed around ecological stewardship. Early plans include invasive species removal, native understory repropagation, and exploring Conservation Easement partnerships with the Lancaster Conservancy to protect portions of the mountain permanently — meaning those areas could not be developed or altered regardless of who owns the land in the future.
Trails and wildlife coexist in many comparable Pennsylvania preserves, including Mt. Gretna, Reading-area greenways, and the Governor Dick Trail System, where color-coded trails designate specific permitted uses and wildlife corridors are protected.
It is worth noting that the current unmanaged condition of the mountain presents its own ecological threats. Invasive species have spread significantly, the bird population has declined, and dead trees are increasingly prevalent. A managed preserve actively addresses these problems in ways that leaving the land unmanaged does not. Continued neglect is not ecologically neutral.
Q: What about stormwater runoff? Won’t more people on the mountain make that worse?
Stormwater management is a genuine concern, and one the Draft Master Plan will address directly.
A few important facts:
Q: Will a public recreational preserve attract crime to my neighborhood?
This concern is understandable, and it has been studied extensively. The research consistently shows that well-designed, well-maintained recreational spaces reduce crime rather than attract it.
The consistent finding across all research: design and maintenance are the determining factors. Well-designed, actively programmed, well-maintained recreational spaces deter crime. Neglected or unmanaged spaces do the opposite.
Q: What has Ephrata’s own experience been with new recreational spaces?
Ephrata has direct local evidence. Ephrata’s Chief of Police, Christopher J. McKim, provided this statement:
“As we have seen from the opening of the Rail Trail, the Ephrata Township Park, and the more recent Heatherwood Bike Park, transformations from unused land to recreational facilities do not create a need for additional police services, nor do they unduly draw on police resources.”
— Christopher J. McKim, Chief of Police, Ephrata
The Ephrata Bike Park @ Heatherwood is a particularly instructive local case study. Before the park was established, a plot of unusable land at the edge of the Rail Trail had become a known location for drug exchanges, teen exploitation, and an encampment. When Mainspring partnered with the Susquehanna Area Mountain Bicycle Association (SAMBA) and the municipality to create Heatherwood Bike Park, this activity was mitigated.
Q: Isn’t vacant, unmanaged land actually safer than a public recreational area?
The evidence says no. The former Zimmerman property on Ephrata Mountain — vacant and unmanaged — was broken into twice in November 2022 alone. Blighted, unused structures and land are well-documented as attractors of criminal activity.
A 300-city study published in a peer-reviewed journal found that more green space was associated with lower rates of both violent and property crime across nearly all cities studied. The mechanism: active, maintained green space reduces stress, builds community connection, and creates the informal surveillance that deters crime.
Source: ScienceDirect, “Urban greenspace linked to lower crime risk across 301 major U.S. cities,” 2022.
Q: Will my property value decrease if a trail runs near my home?
Multiple independent studies across different states and decades reach the same conclusion: proximity to recreational trails and greenways is a positive or neutral influence on property values, not a negative one.
Realtors in trail-adjacent markets consistently report that homes near trails sell faster than comparable homes without trail access. The Pennsylvania Environmental Council presented a regional trail connectivity assessment at the Pennsylvania Greenways and Trails Summit in Harrisburg in September 2025, covering Franklin, Adams, Cumberland, York, Lancaster, Lebanon, and Dauphin counties — the seven-county south-central Pennsylvania region where 1.9 million Pennsylvanians live. Property values along trail corridors see a 13-percent increase — a finding that combats common landowner arguments against developing rail trails and other trail systems along their property. WITF
Source: WITF Public Media / LancasterOnline, “Town-to-town via trails: Nonprofit presents vision for trail connectivity in south-central PA,” September 28, 2025, reporting on the Pennsylvania Environmental Council’s regional trail connectivity assessment presented at the Pennsylvania Greenways and Trails Summit, Harrisburg, PA. witf.org / lancasteronline.com
Q: I heard Mainspring received a petition with 130 signatures and never responded. Is that true?
Mainspring did receive a petition with 130 signatures from 101 households in 2023, and Mainspring did respond. Every person who signed that petition received a direct mailing from Mainspring that addressed the project’s goals, clarified inaccuracies in the petition’s characterizations, and outlined Mainspring’s approach. That same response was shared with Borough Council and posted publicly to Mainspring’s website.
The concerns raised — stormwater, privacy, wildlife, safety — were heard, taken seriously, and have directly shaped the questions that the Draft Master Plan process is designed to address. A community survey was then conducted in fall 2025 specifically to gather additional structured community input before any design work began.
Q: Are Mainspring’s meetings open to the public?
Mainspring’s internal committee and board meetings, like those of most nonprofit organizations, are working meetings for members and volunteers. They are not public hearings.
Public engagement for the Mountain Springs Recreational Preserve takes place through: Borough Council meetings and the Development Activities Committee (both open to all residents) NOTE: this will not be an agenda item at either meeting until the Draft Master Plan is ready to be reviewed (10 Month Process); Community events specific to the Ephrata Mountain Springs Preserve; the community survey conducted in fall 2025; and direct communication through Mainspring’s website, email, and social media channels. Three Public meetings will be held by the landscape architect firm once the Draft Master Plan is ready for community review.
Anyone with questions is welcome to contact Joy Ashley directly at joy@mainspringofephrata.org or (717) 721-6196.
Q: Will Township residents have a voice in this, or is it only for Borough residents?
Mainspring’s fall 2025 community survey was open to all area residents for 2 months, and results were reported by geographic area to show levels of support and the region in which the respondent lived. Those results specifically show that Township residents participated and that their level of support was also substantial (approximately 3 to 1 in favor among Ephrata Township respondents).
Borough Council meetings, where this project is discussed, are open to all residents. Council permits comment time for Borough residents, taxpayers, and organizational representatives during the public comment periods — this is standard Borough procedure and applies to all topics, not specifically to this project.
Q: Does Ephrata Township have any jurisdiction over Borough-owned land that falls within Township boundaries?
This is a legitimate question and one the Draft Master Plan process is designed to address. Portions of the Borough-owned land do fall within Ephrata Township boundaries and carry Township zoning designations — which differ from the Conservation District zoning the Borough has placed on its parcels. What that means in practical terms for recreational trail use, and whether Township approvals are required, will be clarified through the planning process. Mainspring is committed to identifying and complying with all applicable jurisdictional and zoning requirements before any work proceeds.
Q: The survey only reached about 5% of Ephrata’s population. Can that really represent the community?
A sample of 419 responses is statistically meaningful for a community of Ephrata’s size. Professional pollsters routinely use samples of 300–600 to represent populations far larger than Ephrata’s — this is how scientific polling works. The percentage of total population represented is less important than whether the sample is drawn broadly and made accessible to all.
The survey was publicly promoted and open to anyone. Results were reported transparently, including geographic breakdowns showing participation from Borough residents, Township residents, and surrounding municipalities — and including honest representation of both support and opposition.
Both the survey results and the previously mentioned petition represent forms of community input. Mainspring takes both seriously. It is worth noting that the petition represents a specific, self-selected group of concerned neighbors; the survey captured a broader cross-section of community opinion across multiple municipalities.
Q: Is Mainspring using the survey to claim the project is approved?
No. The survey results are one input into the Draft Master Plan process. Borough Council makes the final decision on whether and how to proceed. Mainspring shares the survey results because transparency is important. The organization has never said that the project is approved.
The survey results also show that 25% of respondents expressed some level of opposition or uncertainty. Mainspring has not hidden that data. The full results, including opposition figures, were shared publicly.
Q: Will a recreational preserve create a litter and trash problem in our neighborhood?
Responsible trail management addresses this directly. Comparable Ephrata-area recreational assets — including the Warwick to Ephrata Rail Trail and Heatherwood Bike Park — operate with trail etiquette standards and maintenance protocols. The Draft Master Plan will include a stewardship and maintenance component specifying how the preserve will be managed on an ongoing basis.
Volunteer trail stewardship programs are common and effective in preserves like this. They create community ownership of the space and a built-in eyes-on-the-trail presence that discourages littering and misuse. Mainspring’s existing volunteer infrastructure provides a natural foundation for this type of program.
Q: Will this increase traffic on residential streets near the mountain?
Traffic and parking management are design considerations the Draft Master Plan will address specifically, including where access points and parking areas are located. The goal of the design process is to direct visitors to appropriate, designated entry points.
Identifying the right access point locations is one of the most important decisions the Master Plan team will make.
Q: Why does Ephrata need this? What’s the case for the preserve?
Communities that leverage natural assets attract visitors, residents, and businesses that value quality of life. This is evidenced by the Lancaster County Outdoor Recreation Initiative. The Draft Master Plan for this initiative submitted by the Lancaster county Planning commission are gamechangers for the county. The draft master plan for that initiative can be found here.
Ephrata has a natural asset — a forested mountain within walking distance of a historic downtown — it is a significant opportunity.
Q: How does the mountain connect to downtown Ephrata?
The connection is both physical and economic. Trail users are customers. They need coffee before their hike, lunch after their ride, local shops to browse, and a place to gather afterward. These are exactly the customers that downtown businesses need — people who value locally owned establishments and become advocates for the places they discover.
Connectivity between the preserve and downtown would include wayfinding, marketing, strategic trail access placement, and bicycle lanes on connecting corridors — creating a natural flow from the mountain to Main Street. Mainspring’s has many programs that support Main Street businesses and help make the whole town a more inviting destination.
In the borough’s most recent 2025 Active Transportation Plan, recommendation to connect the Ephrata Mountain conservation efforts to the WERT Trail to strengthen the neighborhood connections was made. Further, establishing a trail system on the Ephrata Mountain is also part of Ephrata’s comprehensive plan from 2014.
Q: What is the Draft Master Plan, and what happens after it’s complete?
The Draft Master Plan will take 8-10 months to complete. It is a professionally produced planning document that will translate community input, ecological data, and design principles into a specific proposal for the preserve. It is a draft — a starting point for public review and discussion, not a final decision.
Once complete, the Draft Master Plan will be shared publicly. Three public meetings will be held by the landscape architect to present the plan and gather community feedback. That feedback, along with the plan itself, will then go to Borough Council, who will review it and make the final decision on whether and how to proceed. No construction or implementation happens without Council’s approval.
Q: How can I stay informed or get involved?
There are several ways to engage:
Q: What if I still have concerns or questions not answered here?
Contact us directly. Mainspring welcomes the conversation.
Joy Ashley, Executive Director
joy@mainspringofephrata.org
(717) 721-6196
mainspringofephrata.org