A Farewell Letter From WPC President Larry Schweiger
Leaving Home for a Second Time
Almost eight years ago, I returned to my boyhood home after a quarter of a century. I came back to western Pennsylvania to lead one of the most unique and effective regional conservation organizations in the country and to reconnect to a community that I love.

In this issue...Conservation Through Cooperation
by WPC Executive Vice President Cynthia Carrow
Western Pennsylvania is a wonderfully diverse place, in its culture and its communities as well as its natural heritage. WPC knows that helping communities to recognize, nurture and benefit from their natural assets in a sustainable way is the most effective way to protect our region's landscapes and wildlife legacy.

On the cover...
CREP in the Ohio Basin Will Help Farmers, Wildlife and Water Quality
Despite accelerating development, agriculture remains one of the most important land uses in western Pennsylvania. Washington County, for example, next door to Pittsburgh, still has a third of its total area in farmland (about 180,000 acres) and ranks fourth among all Pennsylvania counties in the number of active farms.

Flowers and More Bloom in WPC's Community Gardens
This spring, from Pittsburgh's North Side to Otter Street in Franklin, Venango County, and nearly 200 other neighborhoods across the state, WPC's Community Conservation Program made a difference in the places Pennsylvanians live.

Take Action to Keep Pennsylvania Growing Greener
Please contact your state legislators and request support for House Bill 2621 and House Bill 2010 . The bills, which introduced the Quality of Life/Growing Greener II Initiative, will protect our waters, our land and our communities. Specifically, the initiative will distribute over four years $300 million for environmental cleanup of rivers, streams and brownfields, $330 million for parks, open space and farmland, and $170 million to revitalize older communities.  Please join us in support of  this important initiative. Find contact information for your legislators and a model letter of support online by clicking here. If you would like details about Growing Greener, visit the website of the Pennsylvania Alliance for Restoration and Conservation at www.keepgrowinggreener.org or visit the website of the Commonwealth, www.growinggreener2.com. If you have questions, please contact Katherine Smitherman, Director of Public Policy at 412-580-2380, or at ksmitherman@paconserve.org . Thank you for your support!

Wildlife Report Says Environmental Responsibility is Overdue
By Ben Moyer
Pennsylvania, our wooded home astride the Appalachians, between Great Lakes and Atlantic tides, host to great rivers, is changing, more rapidly and fundamentally than ever before.

The Clarion River Greenway Project
By Jessica Traister - Watershed Planning Specialist
The Clarion River winds from its headwaters in McKean County, southwestward across the wooded Allegheny Plateau, to its confluence with the Allegheny River just below Emlenton.

Fifth Graders Give "Hands-On" Help to Pittsburgh's Peregrines
The peregrine falcon, fast-flying predator and one-time frequent nester on rock ledges across our region, was the first species placed on the Federal Endangered Species List.

The First State of the Stream Report: A Tool for French Creek Watershed Communities
By Todd Sampsell
Director, Northwest Conservation Programs

Comprehensive watershed assessments provide information on the health of streams, rivers and lakes.

Conservation in Watercolor:
Work of landscape painter Michael Strueber to be exhibited at The Barn at Fallingwater
By Laura Ainsley
Fallingwater Interpretive Team Leader

Michael Strueber can't imagine living anywhere else.  Born, raised, and educated in western Pennsylvania, Strueber maintains that its streams, meadows, valleys, and hills offer all the inspiration one could desire.

Understanding Our Watersheds
By Todd Sampsell
Director, Northwest Conservation Programs

French Creek and Lake Pleasant are both important natural features in northwestern Pennsylvania.

WPC's Community Conservation Program, Green Gardeners Team to Brighten and Enliven Uniontown's Urban Environment
by Mark Wallace, Director, Community Conservation Technical Services
WPC has been intimately involved in the conservation of Fayette County's remarkable natural assets. Ohiopyle State Park, Bear Run Nature Reserve, Forbes State Forest, Laurel Ridge State Park, and several tracts of state game lands are WPC projects that have focused on Fayette's remarkable natural heritage of mountains, streams and forests.

Cooperation Opens Doors For CNHI
By Jeff Wagner
County Natural Heritage Coordinator

Often, it begins with a knock on the door that leads to a discussion of local history, family lore, or farming practices. Sometimes that first encounter will yield another landowner contact down the road, or a warning about "quick sand" down in the swamp. For County Natural Heritage Inventory (CNHI) staff, meeting a landowner is a big step.

A Vision For A Valley

Stretching between the forested flanks of Laurel and Chestnut ridges in Westmoreland County, the Ligonier Valley features rolling farmland, scenic vistas, historic structures, clear streams, and the charming town of Ligonier.

Dear Dr. Conservation
Unlike most of my neighbors, I do not use pesticides or herbicides of any kind in the yard; no rose spray, no lawn treatments, in fact, I do not even use fertilizer on my lawn. Am I wasting my time?

Go to the cover story...