Healthy land, water, and communities through collaboration and exchange.
Center for Land and Water
LOWER SUSQUEHANNA CENTER FOR LAND AND WATER
Healthy land, water, and communities through collaboration and exchange.
Ensuring the future quality of life for the people of the Lower Susquehanna region while protecting our land and water resources is a shared goal of a host of local groups including municipalities, land trusts, watershed groups, government agencies, business groups, public service groups, and educational institutions. These groups share one powerful common mission—make things better for us now and in future generations. While these groups do many great things, most are limited in terms of money, time, and staff, and realize that a productive coalition can enhance their efforts. Over thirty of these groups formed a coalition known as the Lower Susquehanna Center for Land and Water.
Mission
The Center’s mission is to enhance the effectiveness and capacity of all towards our joint
vision: healthy land, water, and communities through collaboration and exchange. The
Center will galvanize local efforts, provide increased capacity, facilitate partnerships, and instill stewardship in existing and future generations.
The Center’s collaborative efforts will conserve land, improve water quality and aquatic resources, improve land use practices, and ensure economic vitality throughout the
Lower Susquehanna region.
Geographic Focus
As an initial target area, the Center will focus its work primarily in the adjacent Lower Susquehanna watersheds of Swatara, Conewago, Conoy and Chiques Creeks, with particular focus on Dauphin, Lancaster, and Lebanon Counties. Such geographic focus allows the Center to facilitate and implement initiatives in a small enough area that real progress can be achieved, yet can also be felt on a regional, multi-county and multi-watershed scope. As the Center grows, it may look to broaden its reach into other parts of the region.
Goals
The coalition developed a Strategic Plan as its blueprint for meeting collective land and water conservation goals. Five goals were established:
• Supporting others in preserving land.
• Support others in improving and maintaining water quality and aquatic resources.
• Improve land use practices.
• Assist educational institutions in meeting and enhancing environmental education curriculum goals.
• Organizational strengthening.
Key Initiatives
For each goal, several objectives, designed to direct progress toward meeting the goals, were developed. To create an actionable conservation strategy, forty initiatives were also identified. Each initiative was evaluated, and several key initiatives were identified as high priority for implementation. Among these key initiatives are:
• Developing a natural resource inventory and prioritization process for restoration and
protection.
• Developing and implementing a process for working with municipalities on land and water conservation goals.
• Facilitating partnerships between conservation organizations and developing inventories of coalition skills and needs.
• Facilitating partnerships with educators and providing mentoring and interning opportunities for local students.
Organizational Structure
Initial leadership is through a Steering Committee, with members representing interested partner groups. To facilitate implementation of the Center’s goals, Land, Water, and Education Committees have been established. Resource Committees made up of representatives from local and state government and business sectors will also be established, to serve in an advisory capacity and provide a vehicle for information exchange and partnering.
The establishment of the Lower Susquehanna Center for Land and Water would not have been possible without financial support from the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources through a conservation planning grant to the County of Lebanon, and the additional financial and material support of many partner organizations listed above. The Center is an equal opportunity provider.
LOWER SUSQUEHANNA CENTER FOR LAND AND WATER
Healthy land, water, and communities through collaboration and exchange.
To learn more or to get involved, contact Matt Royer, Chesapeake Bay Foundation, 717.234.5550, mroyer@cbf.org
Healthy land, water, and communities through collaboration and exchange.
Ensuring the future quality of life for the people of the Lower Susquehanna region while protecting our land and water resources is a shared goal of a host of local groups including municipalities, land trusts, watershed groups, government agencies, business groups, public service groups, and educational institutions. These groups share one powerful common mission—make things better for us now and in future generations. While these groups do many great things, most are limited in terms of money, time, and staff, and realize that a productive coalition can enhance their efforts. Over thirty of these groups formed a coalition known as the Lower Susquehanna Center for Land and Water.
Mission
The Center’s mission is to enhance the effectiveness and capacity of all towards our joint
vision: healthy land, water, and communities through collaboration and exchange. The
Center will galvanize local efforts, provide increased capacity, facilitate partnerships, and instill stewardship in existing and future generations.
The Center’s collaborative efforts will conserve land, improve water quality and aquatic resources, improve land use practices, and ensure economic vitality throughout the
Lower Susquehanna region.
Geographic Focus
As an initial target area, the Center will focus its work primarily in the adjacent Lower Susquehanna watersheds of Swatara, Conewago, Conoy and Chiques Creeks, with particular focus on Dauphin, Lancaster, and Lebanon Counties. Such geographic focus allows the Center to facilitate and implement initiatives in a small enough area that real progress can be achieved, yet can also be felt on a regional, multi-county and multi-watershed scope. As the Center grows, it may look to broaden its reach into other parts of the region.
Goals
The coalition developed a Strategic Plan as its blueprint for meeting collective land and water conservation goals. Five goals were established:
• Supporting others in preserving land.
• Support others in improving and maintaining water quality and aquatic resources.
• Improve land use practices.
• Assist educational institutions in meeting and enhancing environmental education curriculum goals.
• Organizational strengthening.
Key Initiatives
For each goal, several objectives, designed to direct progress toward meeting the goals, were developed. To create an actionable conservation strategy, forty initiatives were also identified. Each initiative was evaluated, and several key initiatives were identified as high priority for implementation. Among these key initiatives are:
• Developing a natural resource inventory and prioritization process for restoration and
protection.
• Developing and implementing a process for working with municipalities on land and water conservation goals.
• Facilitating partnerships between conservation organizations and developing inventories of coalition skills and needs.
• Facilitating partnerships with educators and providing mentoring and interning opportunities for local students.
Organizational Structure
Initial leadership is through a Steering Committee, with members representing interested partner groups. To facilitate implementation of the Center’s goals, Land, Water, and Education Committees have been established. Resource Committees made up of representatives from local and state government and business sectors will also be established, to serve in an advisory capacity and provide a vehicle for information exchange and partnering.
The establishment of the Lower Susquehanna Center for Land and Water would not have been possible without financial support from the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources through a conservation planning grant to the County of Lebanon, and the additional financial and material support of many partner organizations listed above. The Center is an equal opportunity provider.
LOWER SUSQUEHANNA CENTER FOR LAND AND WATER
Healthy land, water, and communities through collaboration and exchange.
To learn more or to get involved, contact Matt Royer, Chesapeake Bay Foundation, 717.234.5550, mroyer@cbf.org
About
© 2010 Created by Jo Ellen Litz on Ning. Create a Ning Network!
