Tammy Colt Joins Westmoreland Land Trust Board, Trust Accomplishments

Tammy Colt was recently elected to the board of the Westmoreland Land Trust, a nonprofit, all-volunteer organization that has preserved some 235 acres of land of special value in Westmoreland County since its founding in late 2007.

Tammy, a resident of Bolivar, is a regional wildlife diversity biologist for the Pennsylvania Game Commission.  Her responsibilities focus on managing the bird and mammal species of greatest conservation need (about 100 species) in 10 counties in southwestern Pennsylvania.

Prior to her position with the Game Commission, Tammy worked as an environmental educator at Powdermill Nature Reserve, the biological field station of Carnegie Museum of Natural History, in Rector.

She co-authored a curriculum guide, Pennsylvania Amphibians and Reptiles, for the Fish and Boat Commission in 2001.  Designed for classroom educators of grades K-12, the guide presents information on basic biology, identification, habitat, and responsible human action relative to our state’s 67 species of amphibians and reptiles.

Tammy has a B.S. in animal bioscience from the Pennsylvania State University and an M.S. in biology from Indiana University of Pennsylvania.

In addition to her volunteer service with the Westmoreland Land Trust, she has served as president of the Pennsylvania chapter of The Wildlife Society and as a board member of the Loyalhanna Watershed Association.

Her term with the Westmoreland Land Trust will continue through 2019.

Trust Accomplishments

The Westmoreland Land Trust is an all-volunteer organization that works to conserve land that offers ecological, scenic, and/or recreational benefits for the people of Westmoreland County.

From its founding in December 2007 to-date, the Westmoreland Land Trust has conserved some 235 acres in six distinct communities.  They are:

-- 59-acre Otto and Magdalene Ackermann Nature Preserve in Ardara, North Huntingdon Township;

-- 22-acre Peter and Victoria Skena Nature Reserve in Murrysville (contiguous to the 55-acre Lillian Kellman Nature Reserve);

-- 21 acres in Rostraver Township along the Youghiogheny River (added to Cedar Creek Park);

-- 3.5 acres in the City of Greensburg near Cabin Hill Drive;

-- 4 acres in Ligonier Township along Route 30 (conserved in partnership with the Western PA Conservancy and the Loyalhanna Watershed Association);

-- 9 acres in Murrysville (added to Duff Park);

-- 16.5 acres in Murrysville (added to Duff Park);

-- 49 acres in Murrysville (added to Duff Park);

-- 22 acres in Murrysville that link Duff Park and Pleasant Valley Park (providing continuous access to 500 natural acres);

-- 1 acre in Mount Pleasant Township, near Mammoth Park; and

-- 28 acres in Rostraver Township (conserved in partnership with the Westmoreland County Bureau of Parks and Recreation and added to Cedar Creek Park).

For more information on the programs, initiatives and upcoming events, visit the Westmoreland Land Trust website.