Leaders from Pennsylvania’s conservation organizations gathered in Valley Forge in June to discuss the future of Pennsylvania’s natural resources. The timing was intentional. Pennsylvania, our nation, and the world face unprecedented stressors on natural systems and their ability to sustain biodiversity and maintain a desirable quality of life for human populations. In our state, climate change, invasive species, habitat loss, disconnect from nature, natural gas extraction, and other issues create a complex web of challenges that demand concerted attention. This is complicated by an increasingly polarized political environment, diminishing government budgets, and changing demographics. The urgency is heightened in an election year when key offices statewide and across the country will be decided, impacting policy priorities and public investments for years to come. It is imperative that the conservation community collaborate to identify the most pressing needs and the most promising strategies to address them. June’s conservation summit was an invaluable first step.

On the second day of the summit, participants spent several hours in facilitated sessions contributing their ideas to the four core thematic areas around which the summit was organized:

• Land and water;
• Working landscapes;
• Greening the built environment;
• Parks and special places

While there is inherent overlap in these far-reaching but defined core areas, there are unique qualities to each as evidenced by the breadth of feedback generated around three questions (for each area):

• What have we missed in our discussions;
• What are some examples of success on this topic (core area);
• What step need to be taken now.

The full array of feedback as well as the working papers and additional resources can be viewed at http://conserveland.org/leaders/materials.

Based on the information discussed and generated at the conservation summit, four white papers have been created (one for each core area).

It is hoped that these thoughtful documents, infused with the wisdom of so many accomplished conservation professionals, can guide and inspire future conservation actions and decisions, the importance of which cannot be understated.

More than 100 years ago a conservation movement was born. In the succeeding years it grew and matured due to bold leadership and a constituency that valued its significance. Today, both are as vital as ever before.