E-mail: eboyer@fs.fed.us
E-mail: dwanner@fs.fed.us

USDA Forest Service Will Hold Facilitated Group Discussions to Identify Significant Natural Resources for Pennsylvania Highlands Study

Newtown Square, PA— The USDA Forest Service will conduct a series of public meetings in the State as the first step in a study of a region in east-central Pennsylvania known as the “ Highlands.” The Forest Service will assess the natural, cultural, and recreational resources of the area through these meetings and other scientific methods. The study will not make recommendations, but the report will document the present resource situation and model future growth to help guide policy and program decisions at local, State, and Federal levels.

“Now is the time to get involved. There are many opportunities for the forests and communities of the Highlands,” noted USDA Forest Service Highlands Coordinator Ed Boyer. “We’re ready to bring the study process to Pennsylvania, expanding on the success of our work with New York and New Jersey communities.”

Facilitated group discussions will focus on gathering input from landowners, residents, and local officials.

Discussion dates and locations include:

• Thursday, October 27, at 7 p.m. at the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources Pennsylvania Geological Survey, Middletown, PA 17057
• Tuesday, November 1, at 7 p.m. at the Ephrata High School, Ephrata, PA 17522
• Thursday, November 3, at 7 p.m. at Montgomery Community College – West, Pottstown, PA 19464
• Wednesday, November 9, at 7 p.m. at the Shelly Fire Company, Quakertown, PA 18951

Highlands Study

Meetings will convey the purpose and implications of the study and focus on gathering local views about the current condition and visions for the region’s future. Partners in the study include Pennsylvania State University , the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources , the Natural Lands Trust, the Appalachian Mountain Club, and the Rutgers University Center for Remote Sensing and Spatial Analysis

Congress recognized southeastern Pennsylvania as part of “the Highlands” with passage of the Highlands Conservation Act in 2004. The Highlands are a contiguous, mountainous region stretching from Connecticut through New York and New Jersey into east-central Pennsylvania. The Highlands Conservation Act directs the study of Pennsylvania, as well as a similar assessment in Connecticut. It provides for integration with the New York-New Jersey Highlands Regional Study, first conducted in 1992 and updated in 2002 by the Forest Service.

Maps, publications, and information about Forest Service efforts in the Highlands are available at http://na.fs.fed.us/highlands. Information is also available by contacting Highlands Coordinator Ed Boyer or Information Officer Mary Paterson at (570) 296-9625.

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Note to editors: Maps of the Pennsylvania Highlands study area and photos from Bucks and MontgomeryCounties are available upon request.