Pocono Forests and Waters Conservation Landscape
Inspiring collaborative, strategic approaches to regional conservation and outdoor recreation opportunities
Throughout Pennsylvania, eight large regions are working together to drive strategic investment and actions around sustainability, conservation, community revitalization, and recreational projects.
Known as conservation landscapes, these collaborations are found in regions where there are strong natural assets, local readiness and buy-in, and state-level investment and support.
Founded on the regions’ sense of place and resource values, conservation landscapes motivate citizens and elected officials to take on the challenge of effective land use planning, investment, civic engagement, and revitalization.
What Makes a Region a Conservation Landscape?
Driven by the values of conservation, sustainability, and community revitalization, conservation landscapes are built on several ingredients:
Presence of DCNR-owned lands -- Large blocks of state parks and forests provide the foundation for the landscape and a staffing presence
Sense of place -- Regions with a sense of place and identity in many cases are based on shared landscape not political boundaries.
Readiness -- Often driven by opportunity or threats such as changes in the economic base, depopulation, or sprawl.
Engagement -- Civic engagement process that brings people of the region together to identify common values and concerns.
Strategic investments -- State agencies with regional and statewide partners provide high-level leadership, financial support, and technical assistance to build better communities, to conserve identified values and to invest in “sustainable” economic development.
Pocono Forests and Waters Conservation Landscape (PFW) is one of the eight Conservation Landscapes supported by the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources.
The PFW vision is to protect and sustain the natural resources of the Landscape
GOAL: Conserve Critical Lands and Waters - Identify important natural landscape areas for acquisition, easements, and other land protection measures.
GOAL: Engage our Communities through Promoting our Story - Engage communities to promote, enhance, and conserve local natural, cultural, and outdoor recreational resources.
GOAL: Create Trail Connections - Identify and create greenway and trail connections to public lands and communities throughout the landscape.
The Pocono Forests and Waters Conservation Landscape Mini Grant Program is a reimbursement grant program funded by the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR) and administered by the Pennsylvania Environmental Council (PEC). The DCNR funding is provided through the Environmental Stewardship Fund administered by the Bureau of Recreation and Conservation. The purpose of the mini grant program is to inspire collaborative, strategic approaches to regional conservation and/or outdoor recreation opportunities and promote the natural resources of the region and advance the vision and goals of the PFW.
