“These awardees demonstrate that individuals and organizations can have a profound impact on conservation and outdoor recreation in the Commonwealth,” PEC President Tom Gilbert said. “We salute them and appreciate all of their good work.”
Cynthia Carrow
PEC bestowed its Lifetime Achievement award on Cynthia Carrow, who retired this spring after an extraordinary 51 years with the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy.
As the organization’s head of government affairs, Ms. Carrow played a leading role in the 2006 reauthorization of the federal Abandoned Mine Land Reclamation Fund, which delivered $1.4 billion to reclaim abandoned mine sites and clean up polluted watersheds in Pennsylvania.
In addition to managing WPC’s Natural Heritage and Community Greening programs, she spearheaded historic land and water conservation projects including a 17,000-acre expansion of Elk State Forest in McKean County, one of DCNR’s largest-ever acquisitions of public land, and the preservation of more than 80,000 acres in the Laurel Highlands. Read more here.
Cambria County Conservation & Recreation Authority
The event also celebrated the trailblazing success of the Cambria County Conservation and Recreation Authority in leveraging abandoned mine land reclamation and other conservation efforts to develop and activate one of the state’s fastest-growing trail systems.
That system includes Pennsylvania’s 2025 Trail of the Year, the Path of the Flood Trail in Johnstown, as well as the 49 -mile Ghost Town Trail, designated Trail of the Year in 2020.
Through sustained collaboration among local governments, business, state and federal partners, and an army of volunteers, CCCRA’s efforts have elevated the regional profile, providing quality of life improvements through vibrant outdoor recreation assets.
DEP RISE PA Decarbonization Program
Acting Secretary Jessica Shirley accepted the Decarbonization Leadership award on behalf of the Department of Environmental Protection, which launched the $396 million Reducing Industrial Sector Emissions in Pennsylvania (RISE PA) program in 2024.
“We make a lot of things here,” Acting Secretary Shirley said. “And because of that, our industrial sector is the largest sector for greenhouse gas emissions in Pennsylvania.”
Funded through the federal Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, RISE PA offers grants for both larger and smaller scale projects designed to improve technologies and reduce both costs and air pollution from heavy industry.
The sector provides 11 percent of all jobs in Pennsylvania and contributes about 30 percent of the Commonwealth’s carbon emissions.
“DEP demonstrated real leadership in securing this funding, which showcases how technological advancements can make Pennsylvania’s business and industry more competitive while producing job growth and environmental wins,” said Tom Gilbert, President of PEC. “It positions Pennsylvania as a national leader on industrial decarbonization.”
RISE PA grants will help companies meet the often steep up-front cost of investing in energy efficiency, electrification, and other technologies that have the most potential to reduce emissions and operating costs for manufacturers.
Not only do such investments improve local air quality and create jobs for Pennsylvanians, they also enhance Pennsylvania's competitiveness in a global marketplace with increasingly strict controls on the climate impacts of imported goods.
RISE PA is the first program of its kind in the U.S. and likely to become a model for other manufacturing states, according to Valerie Karplus, Professor of Engineering and Associate Director of the Wilton E. Scott Center for Energy Innovation at Carnegie Mellon University.
“It's already drawn a lot of attention,” Prof. Karplus said. “We have an opportunity that is unique, that positions us to operate at the cutting edge nationally and globally, and helps to develop the state as a test bed for future generations of technology and modernization.”
For more information on programs, initiatives and special events, visit the PA Environmental Council website, visit the PEC Blog, PEC Bill/Regulation Tracker, follow PEC on Twitter or Like PEC on Facebook. Visit PEC’s Audio Room for the latest podcasts. Click Here to receive regular updates from PEC.
(Photos: Top-- Tom Gilbert, President of PEC, Cynthia Carrow and John Oliver, past President of the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy; Bottom- Acting DEP Secretary Jessica Shirley and Louis Krak, Manager of the RISE PA Program; Right- Cliff Kitner, Executive Director representatives of the Cambria County Conservation and Recreation Authority.)
[Posted: May 23, 2025] PA Environment Digest
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