Continuing its land donations and economic development outreach in Monroe Township, PPL Corporation has donated the Hummels Wharf boat launch to the township for public use.

With the addition of the 4.3-acre boat access area on the west side of the Susquehanna River, PPL has donated more than 230 acres in Snyder County for land preservation and recreation.

“By giving this boat access area to Monroe Township, PPL is pleased to continue its support of recreation on the river,” said Don Stringfellow, community relations director for PPL. “It’s a good example of PPL’s stewardship of land and water resources.”

The boat launch area, located off Old Trail Road, has been maintained by the staff at PPL’s Montour Environmental Preserve in Danville. A recent grant received by Monroe Township from the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission is being used to improve the boat launch and the parking area.

The donation of the Hummels Wharf boat launch is part of an overall commitment by PPL for land preservation along the Susquehanna River in Snyder County and as part of the Susquehanna Greenway Partnership, an alliance of government agencies and private organizations, including PPL, that is working together to enhance recreation on the river.

“Susquehanna Greenway is all about connecting people to the river,” said Diane W. Kripas, division chief of the state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources’ Bureau of Recreation and Conservation Greenways and Conservation Partnerships Division.

“One way is to increase public access through donations like this one,” she said. “We greatly appreciate PPL support for initiatives like this one.” 

In 2006, as part of its work along the Susquehanna, PPL donated six islands in the Susquehanna River near the borough of Shamokin Dam to the Northcentral Pennsylvania Conservancy. The conservancy has since transferred ownership of the islands, which have a total area of about 225 acres, to the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources.

Canoeists will be able to use the islands to bypass a dam that spans the Susquehanna on either side of the largest island, known as Byers Island. There also are plans to establish a camping area on Byers Island.

PPL Corporation (NYSE: PPL), headquartered in Allentown, Pa., controls more than 11,000 megawatts of generating capacity in the United States, sells energy in key U.S. markets and delivers electricity to about 4 million customers in Pennsylvania and the United Kingdom.