The Strategic Plan
Allegheny Land Trust engaged in an intensive strategic planning process beginning in January, 2006 and culminating in Board adoption in November. Facilitated by third-party professionals, the process involved both a public survey and thorough interviews with the ALT Board of Directors and staff, and key industry, conservation and government leaders. The analysis included a capacity assessment and best practices benchmarking against eight other Pennsylvania land trusts.
This rigorous review of our stakeholder's needs and expectations for land conservation in and around Allegheny County led us to establish and refine five goals to guide the future and development of Allegheny Land Trust:
- Prioritize and spearhead local land conservation and stewardship for the public good;
- Ensure financial sustainability to achieve the ALT mission;
- Ensure appropriate staffing to achieve the ALT mission;
- Establish and anchor ALT's position as the regional leader in local land conservation and stewardship;
- Continue to develop strong and diverse board leadership and enhance board engagement.
The region needs to support a robust land trust to implement a strategic land conservation agenda to help solve growing threats such as flooding, landslides, and water polution, and to maintain the unique scenery that distinguishes the Pittsburgh region. As we move forward, our ambition is to fill a role not currently served by any other organization.
Allegheny Land Trust has established a successful record
of fiscal responsibilty and managment, leveraging capital
dollars at the ratio of 2:1, and operating effectively
with a lean staff and budget.
Public Surveys Indicate Widespread Support for Land Conservation...
For the past decade, surveys across the region consistently show strong public support for conserving land and preventing sprawl, reflecting these points:
- Community meetings and an online survey for Allegheny County’s Comprehensive Plan, “Allegheny Places,” revealed people’s top three quality of life priorities are “affordable housing,
preservation of open spaces, and proximity to employment.”
- The Allegheny County 2001 report prepared for Allegheny County’s Board of Commissioners in 1991 showed nearly 80% of survey respondents agreed “local and county governments should
buy land to protect it from development and preserve it for future generations.”
- The November 2004 report, An Ecological and Physical Investigation of Pittsburgh’s Hillsides, prepared
for the Pittsburgh Department of City Planning and its Hillsides Committee, noted “a City’s
distinctive identity is a competitive asset that contributes directly to its economic well-being.”
- A Campos Market Research survey of Pittsburgh International Airport area residents in 1995
showed 68% felt there had been enough development in their communities, and 75% said
conservation needed to be emphasized more than development.
...and Protecting Land that Addresses Regional Threats
Allegheny Land Trust recently sought input from its own stakeholders through a broad public survey and a series of focused interviews with groups including realtors, developers, civic leaders, and the funding community, totaling 400 people. These highlights from the survey results echo the call to conserve land, and respondents pinpointed the precise types of land that mattered most to them.
ALT's Criteria for a Regional Conservation Agenda...
ALT learned from public surveys and focused interviews that the public wants to protect open space that can help to prevent the impact and economic loss from threats such as flooding and landslides. Protecting these lands is an efficient form of prevention while addressing biodiversity and unique scenic landscapes. This diagram illustrates how lands will be targeted and prioritized based on three criteria.
...and Prioritizing Land Conservation for the Public Good
The Strategic Plan calls
for first developing the ALT Greenprint: A Regional
Conservation Agenda™, a map of
regional conservation targets. As this
diagram illustrates, the Greenprint will
be the result of compiling and processing
important data gathered over the past 20 years
to identify lands containing the three primary
criteria—biodiversity, unique scenic character, and
water quality and stormwater management
functions. This methodology ensures that we concentrate our resources to protect lands that
provide the greatest public benefit-per-acre.
Implementing the ALT Greenprint will require an increase in staff, infrastructure and heightened outreach to the public
stakeholders and funders. Increased
capacity will enable ALT to accelerate protection of beneficial lands that help address regional
threats.