Pennsylvania DCNR Promotes Workshop to Aid Local Communities in Protecting South Mountain Region

Teams from Four Counties to Participate in Two-Day Event

HARRISBURG, Pa., April 5 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Eight teams of leaders and stakeholders from communities surrounding South Mountain will participate in the Balancing Nature and Commerce Workshop on April 13 and 14, Department of Conservation and Natural Resources acting Secretary John Quigley said today.

"Sponsored by the South Mountain Partnership, the workshop is intended to open the door for community groups that would like to explore significant issues that are facing them and take steps to further projects or actions that will address those issues," Quigley said. "They will explore how to balance economic development with protecting the region's natural beauty and significant assets such as agriculture, extensive outdoor recreational opportunities, culture and heritage.

"We'll all benefit from their work because, in the end, we'll have more vibrant communities that treasure their natural and cultural assets, and tie their economic future to them," he added.

The workshop will be held at Allenberry Resort and Playhouse in Boiling Springs.

Teams had to apply, and were chosen based on the diversity of stakeholder participation they proposed and how well their proposal aligned with the workshop's intent. Teams range in size from four to nine people.

The teams and their respective goals are as follows:

• The Battle of Monterey: To protect and interpret an important Civil War site in Washington Township, Franklin County.
• Enhancing Trail Opportunities in South Mountain: To partner with Michaux State Forest, volunteers and others to improve the mountain's trail network.
• The Village of Boiling Springs: To enhance the village as a destination hub and as a wonderful place to live in by improving and promoting the community's assets.
• Adams County Fruit Belt: To maintain viability by promoting the fruit belt and collaborating with the business and environmental community.
• Cumberland County Partners for Excellence in Agriculture: To ensure agriculture continues to be a major contributor to the county's economic development and to maintain a competitive position in the global economy.
• The Annual South Mountain Hike-Bike Festival: To develop an annual festival that will enhance and link important economic, recreational, cultural and natural assets.
• Camp Michaux: To bring stakeholders to the table to promote, preserve and interpret an important historic site that served as a WWII prisoner-of-war camp and as a Civilian Conservation Corps Camp.
• Cumberland Valley Rail Trail: To develop a formal action plan for a rail-trail connection from Newville to Carlisle, Cumberland County.

The two-day workshop will allow these teams to review case studies of similar projects and issues; to learn about local tourism trends and protecting local community assets; and to learn about available financial and technical resources.  

Each team will develop a work plan to take back to their community for implementation.

Teams attending are eligible for competitive grants from the South Mountain Partnership to help implement the lessons and plans they took from the workshop.

The workshop will start with a free lecture and discussion led by Ed McMahon, an internationally known expert on sustainable communities that prosper from their natural and cultural assets.  On April 12 at 6 p.m., McMahon will discuss "The Dollars and Sense of Protecting Community Character."  The presentation at Allenberry is free and open to the public.

The South Mountain Partnership is a unified group of private citizens, businesses, not-for-profit organizations and government representatives in Adams, Cumberland, Franklin and York counties, working together to protect and enhance the landscape. South Mountain is at the northern end of the Blue Ridge Mountains.

The partnership, developed in 2006, is engaged in land planning, promoting local agriculture, conserving the region's natural resources, helping with tourism and business development, growing recreational opportunities, and protecting cultural and historical heritage.

For more information, visit www.southmountaincli.blogspot.com or call Kim Williams, South Mountain Partnership Co-Leader, at 717-258-5771.

Media contact: Christina Novak, 717-772-9101

SOURCE Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources