Pennsylvania Wildlands Science Advisory Forum
The Pennsylvania Wildlands Recovery Project (PWRP) is hosting the first Pennsylvania Wildlands Science Advisory Forum on Sunday, March 30 in State College. Biologists, ecologists, and conservation planners from across the Commonwealth will get together for a day-long planning session to lay the scientific groundwork for a Pennsylvania wildlands proposal.
This is both an exciting and a critical time for biodiversity conservation in PA. Several different plans are under development by different agencies and organizations. PWRP is simply concerned that the need for landscape-scale, interconnected reserves not be neglected in our haste to preserve the rarest and most threatened species, communities and habitats.
We are convening the March 30th forum to get scientists talking across disciplinary lines and, if possible, to reach agreement on initial goals and hypotheses for a Pennsylvania Wildlands Plan. What are the most likely candidates for special ecological elements and focal species in PA, and where are they most likely to occur? What, if anything, can we predict about the optimal design of a conservation network? Do existing inventories, land cover maps and the distribution of public lands suggest any particulars about the siting of cores and corridors?
The meeting will be limited to those with serious interest and a high level of expertise (including a few knowledgable amateurs) and the results will be made available to the public. We invite scientists and graduate students from all associated disciplines to take part. We hope some participants will also agree to join our advisory board. Whether you are willing to attend further meetings or simply want to lend your expertise for the day, come help determine the future of Pennsylvania's wildlands.
Please contact PWRP President Alan Gregory (570-788-1425), Science Committee Chair John Stahura (215-885-2360 x222), or meeting coordinator Dave Bonta (814-684-3113) if you are interested in attending this groundbreaking forum.
