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You are here: Home / About Us / Milestones

Milestones

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Year Non-Policy Milestones (for those, see Public Policy Accomplishments)
1995 PALTA incorporated.
1996 PALTA obtained 501(c)(3) tax status.
2000 First executive director hired.
2001 Held six regional land trust gatherings. Began building relationships outside the land trust community. Held half-day PA Land Trust Meeting with 65 attendees during the Mid-Atlantic Land Trust Conference that PALTA co-organized. Published 1st guidance—a Guide to the Conservation and Preservation Easements Act.
2002 Launched the Land Trust Service Center Technical Assistance Program: six guided organizational assessments supported and direct staff assistance by phone, email and in-person provided. Published the first installments of the Stories of Land and People series.
2002 Second staff position established.
2003 Held 1st Pennsylvania Land Conservation Conference – with 130 attendees and two days of programming. Launched ConserveLand.org.
2004 First grants made under the Conservation Easement Assistance Program. Critiqued proposed changes to and advocated for strengthening of Land Trust Standards & Practices. Established the Lifetime Leadership Award.
2005 Published 1st edition of the Model Grant of Conservation Easement and Declaration of Covenants. Completed the 18th and final installment of the Stories of Land and People series.
2006 Expanded Conservation Easement Assistance Program to cover amendments, baseline documentation and signage. Introduced the ConserveLand print newsletter.
2007 Published In Their Own Words and distributed 16,000 copies. Expanded the Pennsylvania Land Conservation Conference to three days with 315 attending. (Attendance going forward never drops below 300.) Established local government Conservation Leadership Awards. Published 1st edition of the Model Trail Easement Agreement.
2007 First broad solicitation of individuals for contributions.
2008 Held two-day Natural Gas & Land Conservation Conference in response to the Marcellus boom. Published Public Dedication of Land and Fees-in-Lieu for Parks and Recreation, PALTA’s first guidance regarding the Municipalities Planning Code.
2009 Published guides on Stewardship Fees, Pledges and Donation Agreements, Reversionary Interests and more as PALTA focused on developing robust guidance (going beyond model documents) for land trusts. Published the PA Land Choices land use curriculum for schools.
2010 Launched ConservationTools.org with guidance on dozens of conservation and planning tools and topics, expert listings and more.
2011 PALTA’s guidance mushrooms with four new model documents associated with easement transactions published and twenty guides featuring original content posted to ConservationTools.org. Published drilling violations report, which attracted media attention across the continent.
2012 Teamed up with DCNR, PRPS, et al. to promote outdoor recreation, expanding Get Outdoors PA to involve local government and land trusts.
2013 Published PALTA’s first models to go beyond easement transactions: a release of liability agreement and grant of purchase option. Initiated effort to improve the Land Trust Accreditation system. Took responsibility for facilitating the previously quiescent EAC Network for environmental advisory councils.
2014 Published PALTA’s 1st model ordinance (riparian buffer protection) and 1st model organizational policy (easement amendment). Published groundbreaking manual on Universal Access Trails.
2015 Facilitated the development of the Land Stewardship Network peer group. Published Nature Play to promote nature play by children and highlight its criticality to conservation.
2016 Added the sign gallery to ConservationTools.org. Published model documents for obtaining rights of first refusal and offer. Contributed substantially to the new edition of Land Trust Standards and Practices.
2017 Launched the mentorship program. Published the 100th original guide (and several more) at ConservationTools.org. Held first Western PA Land Conservation Summit, attracting 87  individuals, the majority land trust board members, over the two days.
2018 Launched comprehensive, interactive online maps of privately and publicly conserved PA lands and of the service areas of conservation organizations. Created Model Declaration of Public Trust to help permanently protect publicly-held parks and open spaces.

People & Projects

  • Part of Brandywine Battlefield Preserved in Westtown Township

    Part of Brandywine Battlefield Preserved in Westtown Township

    Natural Lands announced on October 26, 2020 the permanent protection of nearly 10 acres of land along the fast-developing Route …Read More »
  • Unlikely Partners BalletX and Natural Lands Make Nature Center Stage

    Unlikely Partners BalletX and Natural Lands Make Nature Center Stage

    What does it look like when the regions oldest and largest land conservation organization and Philadelphia’s Premier Contemporary Ballet Company …Read More »
  • Heritage Conservancy Sets Pioneering Example of Partnership and Preservation with Manoff Market Gardens

    Heritage Conservancy Sets Pioneering Example of Partnership and Preservation with Manoff Market Gardens

    Freda R. Savana for Heritage Conservancy It could be said that Gary and Amy Manoff have farming in their blood. …Read More »
  • Berks Nature Closes on a Conservation Easement of Olivet Blue Mountain Camp

    Berks Nature Closes on a Conservation Easement of Olivet Blue Mountain Camp

    On September 30th, 2020, Berks Nature closed on a conservation easement project in the Schuylkill River Watershed, Kittatinny Ridge and …Read More »
  • Fifteen More Acres Protected Forever!

    Fifteen More Acres Protected Forever!

      Article originally published in September 2020 by Willistown Conservation Trust. The final conservation chapter to the 15-acre Stonehedge Farm …Read More »
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WeConservePA envisions future generations enjoying—undiminished—Pennsylvania’s natural areas and open spaces.

Thank you to the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources for supporting the Association’s conservation efforts.

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