By Bill Kunze, PA State Director, The Nature Conservancy

Welcome to 2018! In January, many of us take some time, just after the busy holiday season, to rest and reflect, to examine the passing of time, and resolve to improve ourselves, our communities and our planet.

Here are some resolutions I am setting for The Nature Conservancy's Pennsylvania Chapter in 2018. I hope you—together with our staff and partners—can keep us on track in seeing them through.

With continued support from the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources and our donors, we will work with local and regional land trusts to protect the most important places on the Kittatinny Ridge, a critical 185-mile corridor for birds and wildlife.

We will launch a partnership with the Philadelphia Water Department to assist in achieving its goal of greening 10,000 acres by 2036 to reduce stormwater pollution flowing from Philadelphia into local rivers.

Through our groundbreaking Working Woodlands program, we will work with private landowners to maintain the health and sustainability of working forests around Pennsylvania, from the Laurel Highlands to the Pennsylvania Wilds to the Poconos.

We will begin working with the agricultural community in central Pennsylvania to improve in-field fertilizer practices and reduce pollution into our rivers and the Chesapeake Bay.

We will continue our collaboration with communities and state and federal agencies to improve water quality and habitat in our rivers, from the Allegheny and Monongahela to the Susquehanna and the Delaware.

We will continue to seek ways to help accelerate investment in renewable energy and energy efficiency while minimizing the impact on our lands from the siting of this and all energy infrastructure.

Thank you for supporting our efforts to conserve nature in Pennsylvania. I am proud to report that, over the last decade, The Nature Conservancy has protected more than 50,000 acres in the last decade, throughout the state.

It is my hope that, with your continued support, we can continue to increase the many ways in which people and wildlife benefit from our work.

Happy New Year!

For more information on programs, initiatives and other special events, visit the PA Chapter of The Nature Conservancy website.  Click Here to sign up for updates from TNC, Like them on Facebook, Follow them on Twitter and Join them on Instagram.  Click Here to become a member.

(Photo: The frozen Susquehanna River.)

[Posted: Jan. 16, 2018]

1/22/2018