The PA Highlands Coalition will host a webinar on September 25 starting at 10:30 a.m. on Creative Solutions for Land Conservation in Pennsylvania featuring Stephanie Armpriester of Lancaster Farmland Trust and Brian Harris, Township Manager for Bushkill Township.

The webinar will be an in-depth look at some of the innovative land conservation tools being used at the municipal level today, including transfer of development rights programs, official map ordinances, and zoning, as well as examples of their successful applications across the Pennsylvania landscape.

Participants are invited to ask questions and a group discussion will follow.

Stephanie Armpriester is Municipal Outreach Coordinator with Lancaster Farmland Trust, located in Strasburg, Lancaster County. Lancaster Farmland Trust is one of the leading locally-operated farmland preservation non-profits in the nation.

Stephanie possesses professional planning and preservation experience in the non-profit, private, and public sectors in New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania. She received a Bachelor of Arts degree with honors in History at The College of New Jersey and a Master of Arts degree in Historic Preservation Planning from Cornell University.

In 2007 and 2008, Stephanie gained experience at the New Jersey Historic Preservation Office in the Survey and Outreach Unit, assisting municipalities develop regulations and programs at the local level.

At Lancaster Farmland Trust, Stephanie serves plain sect farmers in preserving their land through conservation easements and assists Lancaster County municipalities in bridging the connection between agriculture and land use policy through zoning ordinances, federal and state water quality regulations, and TDR program administration.

Brian Harris currently serves as Township Manager / Secretary-Treasurer for Bushkill Township, Northampton County, and holds a B.S. Degree from Penn State University and an M.B.A. from Alvernia University.

Brian has over 10 years of professional experience in local government and currently serves on the Northampton County Association of Township Officials, Secretary-Treasurer for the Nazareth Area Council of Governments and serves on the First Regional Compost Authority. Prior to Bushkill Township, Brian served as the Borough Manager in Marysville Borough.

Click Here to register for the webinar.  After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar.

The Highlands Region stretches from northwestern Connecticut across the Hudson Valley of New York, through northern New Jersey and southeastern Pennsylvania, and ends in the Michaux State Forest of Southcentral Pennsylvania.

The Pennsylvania Highlands Coalition is a diverse public-private partnership that conserves critical working and natural lands and natural resources and promotes the development and enjoyment of recreational trails in the Pennsylvania Highlands.

Congress designated the Mid-Atlantic Highlands as “Nationally Significant” when it passed the Highlands Conservation Act in 2004.

For more information about programs and activities, visit the PA Highlands Coalition website.

NewsClips:

Appalachian Trail: A Walk In The Words Worth Taking

Appalachian Trail: A Walk In The Woods Movie

LHVA Seeks $14.2M Grant To Close Lackawanna Trail Gaps

Land Trust Sponsors Hike At Thomas Darling Preserve In Luzerne

Park Service Considering Trail, Other Changes At Delaware Water Gap

Op-Ed: Tell Congress To Keep PA Beautiful, Support Land Conservation Funding

Editorial: Renew Land & Water Conservation Fund

Editorial: Keeping An Eye On How Lancaster County Grows

9/7/2015