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Pennsylvania Biodiversity Partnership
History

Key Dates in PBP's History

 

September 1998 Pennsylvania 21st Century Environment Commission Report (chaired by James Seif and Caren Glotfelty) recommends the formation of a public-private partnership to move forward its recommendations on biodiversity.

 

October 1999 John Oliver (Department of Conservation & Natural Resources), Peter Colangelo (Pennsylvania Fish & Boat Commission), Vern Ross (Pennsylvania Game Commission), and Jim Brett (Governor's Sportsmen's Advisor) convene a meeting of over 30 groups and individuals to discuss implementation of the 21st Century Environment Commission recommendations.
  Meetings continue through the winter.

 

February 2000 Group votes to create the Pennsylvania Nartural Diversity Conservation Partnership.
  Interim Executive Board is formed, including representatives from state agencies, industry, and conservation organizations as well as individuals, and given one year to determine PBP's role and to establish the organization.
  The Wild Resource Conservation Fund provides a $20,000 grant for start-up expenses.
  Dr. Sue A. Thompson is appointed as the volunteer Interim Executive Director of PBP.

 

August 2000 Team of six Pennsylvania educators, headed by PBP, participates as the only statewide group at the National Biodiversity Education Leadership Institute in Florida.

 

September 2000 Board unanimously votes to change the name to the Pennsylvania Biodiversity Partnership.

 

December 2000 Articles of Incorporation as a nonprofit organization in Pennsylvania are filed.

 

January 2001 Interim Executive Board approves a slate of nominees for the first Board of Directors of PBP, chaired by P. Randolph Gray, State Director of The Nature Conservancy of Pennsylvania.
  Sue Thompson and Joan Clippinger represent PBP at the National Biodiversity Symposium in Washington, D.C.
  PBP receives major funding from the Heinz Endowments to develop a statewide plan for biodiversity conservation.

 

April 2001 PBP receives funding from DCNR for the Pennsylvania Biodiversity Conservation Plan.

 

June 2001 PBP Board approves bylaws.

 

September 2001 At the recommendation of funders, the PBP Board votes to operate under the umbrella of the Tides Center (PA) for administrative functions.

 

November 2001 PBP hosts the first statewide biodiversity conference, What Is the State of Biodiversity in Pennsylvania?, in State College, PA.

 

January 2002 After an international search, Dr. Sue A. Thompson is hired as the first President and CEO of PBP.
  PBP establishes an office in Pittsburgh, PA.

 

March 2002 PBP officially becomes a project of the Tides Center (PA).

 

April 2002 PBP establishes the Pennsylvania Biodiversity Listserve (PABIODIV), an electronic communication forum, open to anyone interested in biodiversity issues in Pennsylvania.

 

July 2002 PBP receives a federal Wildlife Restoration and Conservation Program grant for outreach on biodiversity as part of developing the Biodiversity Conservation Plan.

 

December 2002 PBP releases Biodiversity in Pennsylvania: Snapshot 2002, a report on the state of biodiversity in the Commonwealth, at a press conference in Harrisburg.
  The PBP website (www.pabiodiversity.org) goes on-line.

 

July 2003 PBP is the only project in Pennsylvania, and one of 29 projects in the nation, to receive funding from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Title VIII competitive grant program.
  PBP completes the Blueprint for the Pennsylvania Biodiversity Conservation Plan.

 

November 2004 PBP hosts its second statewide conference, Economic Prosperity and Biodiversity Conservation: Planning for Pennsylvania's Future, in Harrisburg.

 

February 2005 Dr. Paulette Johnson, Pennsylvania Center for Environmental Education, is elected as chair of the PBP board.

 

August 2005 PBP staff interact with over 13,000 people, a new record for a single month, at just two events (Ag Progress Days in State College and the BASS Outdoor Expo in Pittsburgh).
  The PBP Board votes that PBP actively pursue its own non-profit status in 2006.
  Last Updated: Dec 07

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