PA Wilds report outlines accomplishments

Friday, April 30, 2010BRADFORD - On Thursday, more than 100 elected officials and other leaders from across the Pennsylvania Wilds gathered at the University of Pittsburgh at Bradford to explore the economic impact of the Pennsylvania Wilds initiative, and also to honor some of the region's most dedicated and productive community activists.The primary focus was on "Making an Impact," a new report that the Pennsylvania Wilds Planning Team released at the luncheon and made available to the public at www.pawildsresources.org. The Making an Impact report includes findings from two major studies that measure the jobs, tourism dollars and other benefits that the Pennsylvania Wilds has generated to date. It also highlights the major investments that have been made in the area as part of the Pennsylvania Wilds Initiative."This is a very important document for the Pennsylvania Wilds and this region," said Pennsylvania Wilds Community Outreach Specialist Sam MacDonald. "It is incredibly difficult to measure something like ‘economic impact' across a region as large and diverse as the PA Wilds. Our communities, businesses and state parks are not like theme parks; there is not a turnstile counting people as they walk through the door....MORE