My daughter was not yet born when the Pennsylvania Land Trust Association—now WeConservePA!—hired me in 2000. This past summer, I was proud to have her intern with us as a college sophomore, creating illustrations and graphics in support of our conservation advocacy. Like my daughter, WeConservePA has grown. Initially focused on assisting land trusts, the organization’s mission has broadened to support many facets of conservation. Helping land trusts continues to be central to the organization’s work, but WeConservePA for years now has provided service to all who seek to protect, wisely use, and enjoy what nature offers. WeConservePA advocates for pro-conservation, life-sustaining governmental policy, whether that entails strengthening legal protections for conservation easements, increasing state investments in conservation projects, ensuring the permanence and integrity of parks and other public lands, or promoting equitable solutions for protecting water quality.
WeConservePA’s many accomplishments are summarized on pages 6 through 9, but perhaps more important than any particular achievement is that WeConservePA has fostered and become a community for conservationists who are shaping Pennsylvania for the better. Thank you to all who have been and are a part of WeConservePA. It is personally and professionally rewarding to work with so many outstanding and dedicated volunteers and professionals. It is because of you that WeConservePA has been able to achieve what it has, and it is your support and involvement that will make our current and future goals obtainable.
WeConservePA has potential to accomplish a whole lot more in the next quarter century. If you’d like to become more engaged with the people and in the endeavors of our community, please explore the possibilities on the following pages. If you have thoughts on how WeConservePA might better serve the people and organizations seeking to advance conservation in Pennsylvania, please reach out to me directly at [email protected].
Stay well,
Andrew M. Loza
Executive Director