The PA Wilds Planning Team is one of the largest and longest-standing governance structures around the PA Wilds effort.
It was formed in 2006 through a groundbreaking Intergovernmental Cooperation Agreement (ICA), the largest geographically of its kind in Pennsylvania. The ICA brings together the region’s county governments, typically through representation of the county planner, the region’s four Economic Development Districts, two Heritage Areas, visitor bureaus, PA Wilds Center, conservation partners and others to work on regional planning issues related to outdoor recreation development.
The PA Wilds Planning Team includes representatives from the twelve county governments, as well as over 40 other partners around the work, who collectively work together on regional planning issues and capacity-building initiatives. The Planning Team played a critical role in drafting the Declaration of Principles for the Pennsylvania Wilds Team, a heartfelt document that continues to guide the work. The regional approach was recognized by the Tom Corbett administration in 2012 with a Governor’s Award for Local Government Excellence.
The Planning Team continues to meet regularly to share information, discuss potential impacts of regional development projects, and assist communities in capitalizing on the Initiative’s economic potential without spoiling the region’s rural character and charm.
The PA Wilds Planning Team has its own set of governing bylaws and executive board, including a chair, vice chair and secretary/treasurer.
Planning Team Projects
PA Wilds Design Guide
The Pennsylvania Wilds Design Guide for Community Character Stewardship, a voluntary resource for communities that want to protect or enhance their community character as they grow or develop, is one of the core projects of the Planning Team. The first edition, produced in 2007, won a Planning Excellence Award from the state chapter of the American Planning Association. A second edition of the PA Wilds Design Guide was produced in 2017 and may be downloaded for free!
Training & Resources
In 2007 and 2012, the Planning Team held community leadership training workshops -- “Balancing Nature & Commerce” and “Connecting Nature, Economy and Character” respectively -- to assist community groups looking to advance nature and heritage tourism projects in their areas. The Planning Team has also held or supported regional workshops for community stakeholders around tourism-related asset development, including Trails Workshops in 2009 and 2010 and a series of Bike Tourism Workshops held in conjunction with PA Route 6 Alliance in 2019.
Champion of the PA Wilds
The PA Wilds Planning Team launched the Champion of the Pennsylvania Wilds awards program in 2010, with the first eleven individuals and/or organizations being recognized for their efforts to grow nature and heritage tourism as a way to create jobs, diversify local economies, inspire stewardship and improve quality of life. More than 120 Champions have been honored for their work to advance the PA Wilds strategy since the launch of the awards program.
Business & Community Investments
The Planning Team pushes for investments in both manpower and community-level projects to advance the PA Wilds strategy. From collaborations with Lumber Heritage Region that resulted in studies on and development of the PA Wilds Artisan Development Initiative and the Proudly Made in the Pennsylvania Wilds brand in 2007, to calling for the first full-time staff position to help the private sector leverage the brand in 2008, to funding community signage that incorporated the PA Wilds logo back in 2012, the Planning Team has been critical to the growth of the regional initiative.
Relationship with PA Wilds Center
In 2015, core partners from the PA Wilds Planning Team, PA Wilds Marketing Corp (comprised of regional DMOs) and PA Wilds Center for Entrepreneurship (a new nonprofit founded by the full-time person hired by the Planning Team) began to set the Wilds work up for long-term sustainability, after years of programs and services being housed and maintained by various regional stakeholders. The PA Wilds Center for Entrepreneurship (PA Wilds Center) was identified by partners to be the lead organization in the Conservation Landscape. After a formal integration process in 2016, members of the Planning Team and Marketing Corp joined the Center’s Board of Directors in 2016.
The PA Wilds Center serves as the fiscal and administrative home for PA Wilds Planning Team. However, the Planning Team has its own bylaws, committee structures, work plans and initiatives separate from the primary programs and services offered by the PA Wilds Center and which also advance the PA Wilds strategy. (Note: the PA Wilds Center manages the Wilds Cooperative of PA, a network of more than 600 PA Wilds-businesses and organizations, the second core stakeholder group of the PA Wilds strategy and a direct result of the early PA Wilds Artisan Development efforts of the Planning Team.)
