Заповедная деятельность в Западной Пенсильвании

Private nonprofit organization
The Western Pennsylvania Conservancy (WPC) is a private nonprofit conservation organization founded in 1932 and headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. WPC has contributed land to 12 state parks and conserved more than a quarter million acres of natural lands. The Conservancy plants and maintains more than 132 gardens in 20 Western Pennsylvania counties, as well as planting thousands of trees through its community forestry program. WPC has protected or restored more than 3000 mile (4828 km) of rivers and streams. In 1963, Edgar Kaufmann Jr. entrusted Frank Lloyd Wright's masterwork Fallingwater to the Conservancy. The house was called the most important building of the 20th century by the American Institute of Architects. Charity Navigator awarded the Conservancy its highest rating for the seventh year. Of the thousands of charities the independent evaluator has reviewed, only 2 percent have received as many consecutive four star ratings.

Three years into the Great Depression, ten citizens came together to found a nonprofit conservation organization. The organization’s goal was to alleviate widespread unemployment through public works programs that would also create a positive impact on the region’s natural resources. Formerly known as the Greater Pittsburgh Parks Association, WPC began its work landscaping a park along Pittsburgh's Bigelow Boulevard. By 1945, the Conservancy was acquiring large tracts of land in Lawrence County that eventually became part of McConnells Mill State Park. In 1961, a 300 acre wildflower reserve was acquired in Beaver County and is still considered to be one of the finest stands of native wildflowers in southwestern Pennsylvania. The wildflower reserve is now part of Raccoon Creek State Park.

While the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy's main headquarters is in Pittsburgh, the organization has several regional offices in the state. Offices are also held in Indiana, Mill Run, Ridgway, Franklin, Ligonier, Hollidaysburg and Harrisburg.

WPC's community gardens and greenspace program plants and maintains 132 community gardens every spring in 20 Western Pennsylvania counties, with the help of 12,000 volunteers. For many decades, the Conservancy has worked with PennDOT, municipalities and other local entities to transform vacant land into community flower gardens. WPC is also the managing partner of TreeVitalize Pittsburgh, a joint project of Allegheny County, City of Pittsburgh, Tree Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, and the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy. TreeVitalize Pittsburgh has planted more than 29,000 trees since 2008 in an effort to improve the quality of life and the environment in the Pittsburgh region. Through this program, any Allegheny County resident may apply for trees on behalf of their community and all trees are planted on public property. Other community forestry projects led by the WPC include the Pittsburgh Redbud Project, Trees for Ligonier, and the Pittsburgh Street Tree Inventory. A partnership of WPC, the Grable Foundation and Pittsburgh Public Schools, brought sustainable landscape to 57 Pittsburgh public schools. The project provided outdoor classrooms, natural play spaces and low care plantings to provide shade, landscape accents and natural points of interest for children.

The Western Pennsylvania Conservancy uses science as an essential tool to prioritize the places that it seeks to protect and set long term conservation goals. Through its conservation science program and the Pennsylvania Natural Heritage Program (PNHP), WPC scientists provide scientific information, expertise and assistance to support the conservation of Pennsylvania's biological diversity. The PNHP is a partnership of the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, the WPC, and the Pennsylvania Game Commission and the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission. First established in 1981, PNHP is responsible for the inventory and monitoring of threatened and endangered species of (both state and federal) and natural communities. The program also maintains the Pennsylvania Natural Diversity Inventory (PNDI) database, which contains records for threatened, endangered and other listed species and communities.

The Frank Lloyd Wright designed Fallingwater house, perched over the Bear Run waterfall at Mill Run, Pennsylvania, is an internationally renowned architectural landmark. Fallingwater was entrusted to the Conservancy by Edgar Kaufmann jr. [sic] in Oct., 1963. Included with this gift was the 1,543 acres of surrounding land known as Bear Run Nature Reserve, now expanded to more than 5,000 acres. The Kaufmann family became acquainted with the Conservancy when they were involved with the early acquisition of Ferncliff Peninsula, later to become the cornerstone of Ohiopyle State Park. The donation was received under a deed of trust that requires the Conservancy to preserve and maintain the buildings. In 2013, more than 160,000 people visited the house and grounds of Fallingwater, and Fallingwater’s total visitation has surpassed five million guests since it opened to the public in 1964. Guided tours are offered daily, except Wednesdays.