nonprofit spotlight

ALLEGHENY LAND TRUST

It Takes a Village to Preserve an Ecosystem

by Martin Miron

The nonprofit Allegheny Land Trust (ALT), founded in 1993 to implement the Allegheny County Greenways Plan and protect land identified in the Allegheny County Natural Heritage Inventory, is dedicated to conserving and caring for local land as a resilient region with abundant green space that is easily accessible and recognized as essential to the quality of life for current and future generations. They are currently working to acquire 90 acres over three different purchases that could connect ALT conservation areas and multiple municipal parks to expand a scenic and recreational greenway in Ohio Township, Franklin Park Borough and Sewickley Hills Borough. ALT is one of only 35 percent of nationally accredited by the land trusts, certifying that the organization adheres to the highest standards of excellence in operations, fi scal responsibility, land stewardship and conservation practices. Chris Beichner is the president and CEO; Roy Kraynyk is vice president of Land Protection and Capital Projects; Emilie Rzotkiewicz is vice president of Land Stewardship; and Th omas Dougherty is vice president of Development and External Aff airs. Th e board of directors has 17 members.

To date, ALT has protected more than 3,500 acres in 36 municipalities in the Allegheny County area. The conservation land trust has strategically accelerated its pace of land protection in recent years to address the aggressive conversion of green space in the region, leading to the protection of more than 500 additional acres since August 2020. In 2008, they created the ALT Greenprint, a regional land conservation plan based on scenic beauty, biological diversity, water management and greenspace connections. This is now supplemented by the online Greenprint planning tool, developed in collaboration with the Western Pennsylvania Regional Data Center in 2018. ALT conservation benefi ts include absorbing more than 1 billion gallons of storm water annually, the cleansing of the region’s air and drinking water, the preservation of critical wildlife habitat, the protection of the area’s overall scenic character and the creation and maintenance of numerous green spaces for outdoor recreation. Th e ALT education team teaches children and adults to understand environmental issues and actively care for the world around them. Th is year, their fi rst stewardship priority is the Churchill Valley Greenway. ALT will manage this special place in perpetuity by maintaining existing trails and bridges, improving wildlife habitat, restoring Chalfant Run, providing environmental education opportunities, partnering with the community on conservation initiatives and using best practices of stewardship for the nurturing of the land. Sustainable stewardship is a long-term process, and ultimately will be guided by a professional management plan to be developed in 2023 with community stakeholder input. However, stewardship must undertake a prioritized list of immediate actions over the next year to ensure the safety and enjoyment of the large number of visitors that have already begun to use the site, and to safeguard the natural resources from the outset.

For more information, visit AlleghenyLandTrust.org.