What we do:

The LeTort Spring Run is a Pennsylvania Exceptional Value limestone stream noted for its pure, spring-fed water and wild brown trout fishery. Designated a Pennsylvania Scenic River, it attracts fly fishermen to Carlisle from around the world. The 9.2-mile-long stream drains into the Conodoguinet Creek in Middlesex Township, which flows to the Susquehanna River and into the Chesapeake Bay. 

Since 1973, the LeTort Regional Authority (LRA) has worked to protect this natural treasure. The wild and beautiful 2-mile-long LeTort Nature Trail parallels the LeTort Spring Run. It is the centerpiece of a proposed regional greenway/trail network linking downtown Carlisle walking paths and bicycle lanes, parks and schools to the Shippensburg-Newville-Carlisle Rail-Trail, the Appalachian Trail, and parks in Middlesex, North Middleton, and South Middleton Townships. The Friends of the LeTort help the LRA to enhance and maintain the trail. 

Friends’ Activities 

• Watershed Protection

 • Trail Watch 

• Pollution Management Projects

• Trail Maintenance 

• Water Quality Monitoring

 • Educational Programs 

• Control of Invasive Species

 • Special Event and Fundraising Assistance

Become a Friend of the LeTort by making a tax-deductible contribution. Honor a loved one with a memorial or tribute donation. Your generosity will support conservation efforts right here in Cumberland County. Fill out our APPLICATION or donate online via PayPal. 

If you have a few hours a week or month and would like to make a difference by joining us, contact us today at 717.245.0508 or "friends at letort dot org". Thank you for helping to preserve and protect the LeTort Spring Run and nature trail!

How you can help

Test bedrock before installing any improvements, including retention basins.

Maintain vegetated buffers between property improvements and the floodplain.

Limit groundwater use to minimum required for operations, avoid landscaping that will require irrigation systems.

Regularly check underground storage tanks for unexplained volume loss.

Avoid storage of vehicles in the 100-year floodplain.

Install new storage tanks above ground.

Strictly follow manufacturer instructions for use of pesticides, herbicides and fertilizers.

Move livestock away from springs, sinkholes, streams and fence waterways.

Identify sinkholes on your property and avoid directing water to them.

Check septic system function regularly, and maintain the system as required by state and local regulations.

Limit impervious surfaces.

Install riparian forest buffers and grassed swales and spreader bars.

Avoid dry wells and retention basins.

Place a conservation easement on your land, especially the floodplain and wetlands.