The August issue of Township News from the PA State Association of Township Supervisors features an article on Saving The Forests Using Comprehensive Plans to Protect Woodlands And The Benefits They Provide.
Written by Assistant Editor Brenda Wilt, the article raises awareness of the wealth of economic, environmental, health and recreational benefits forests provide to Pennsylvania municipalities.
The article provides an overview of forests in Pennsylvania, including ownership, benefits (clean air, water filtration/recharge, stormwater mitigation, erosion control, soil retention, temperature regulation and economic value), threats (development, parcelizations, pests, invasive species, unsustainable management, incompatible recreation, climate change) and how townships can plan for forest conservation.
Profiled in the article is a new publication co-authored by Paul Solomon, a supervisor for Shrewsbury Township and York County and Jeanne Riley, a private forest landowner from Huntingdon County called Sustaining and Improving Pennsylvania’s Forest Land Through Comprehensive Plans: The Vital Role of Counties and Municipalities.
Solomon is also a private forest landowner and a Pennsylvania forest steward of Penn State University’s Center for Private Forests and master watershed steward of the Penn State Extension.
Now retired, he served as a senior planner for York County’s planning commission and later worked in the comprehensive planning division of the office of planning and zoning for Baltimore County in Maryland.
Riley is a steward, along with her husband, of about 190 acres of forest and agricultural land in Spruce Creek. The land includes a family legacy property that is now managed by multiple generations.
She is also a Pennsylvania forest steward and volunteer for the Center for Private Forests.
The authors encourage planners and policy makers to take stock of the many benefits forests provide when undertaking comprehensive planning. They also advise public officials to develop land use management strategies that protect forests as unique natural resources.
The publication provides an overview of the various tools townships have at their disposal to protect forest land and encourages the responsible practice of sustainable forestry as an essential economic activity in Pennsylvania.
A PDF of the publication is available free by request to Jeanne Riley by sending an email to: ariley202@comcast.net.
Click Here to read a copy of the Township News article (reprinted here with permission).
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Forestry Resource Links:
Penn State Extension Community Forests
DCNR Managing Your Woods
Pennsylvania Horticultural Society Tree Tender,
Western PA Conservancy TreeVitalize Pittsburgh
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