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. |
