Fast-growing, mostly-invasive vegetation is causing an ongoing eyesore and maintenance burden for the City of Pittsburgh as these plants eclipse the spectacular views of Pittsburgh and her rivers from Mount Washington. This project will create a model for reclaiming the rest of the Grandview hillside and other similar areas throughout the Grandview Scenic Byway Park.  The first step towards this goal is testing different approaches to removing invasive species and replanting native species that are hardy enough to thrive in a difficult environment and keep the invasive species at bay over time and without significant ongoing maintenance.  A narrower, though also very important, goal of this project is to improve view corridors along the eastern end of Grandview Avenue in a way that does not require annual pruning and related maintenance. In the fall of 2006, the MWCDC consulted Penn State Extension - Allegheny County regarding the technical aspects and implementation of the project. After meeting with the MWCDC board on ultiple occassions and researching the various options, Penn State Extension recommended the use of Civil and Environmental Consulting, a local firm with a proven track record on similar projects.

Through the generous support of the Richard King Mellon Foundation, this fall Mt. Washington Community Development Corporation (MWCDC) and Civil & Environmental Consultants, Inc. (CEC) restored views of the City of Pittsburgh by controlling unwanted vegetation in an approximately 700 foot long and 35 foot wide corridor immediately north of the Grandview Avenue sidewalk and railing and west of the Monongahela Incline station.  After control of invasive plants, the second major goal of the proposed work is to improve soils and establish appealing, low-growing vegetation which, in conjunction with other management measures, will significantly resist re-infestation with problem plants. 

The Mt Washington Replanting Project is the result of the efforts of the following organizations:

Richard King Mellon FoundationMt. Washington Community Development Corporation (MWCDC)
Civil & Environmental Consultants, Inc. (CEC)
City of Pittsburgh Forestry Division 
Penn State Extension – Allegheny County