On May 16th, AMC staff presented its study “Protecting Significant Views on The Circuit: A Visual Assessment of Conservation Priorities Along The Circuit Trails” at the Pennsylvania Land Conservation Conference.

The annual conference, hosted by the Pennsylvania Land Trust Association, was held at the Skytop Lodge in the Poconos. On Thursday afternoon, Appalachian Mountain Club presented the findings of its 18-month long visual assessent study of 30 Circuit Trails. The study purpose was to rank priority conservation lands within trail viewshed areas in order to preserve high quality trail experiences. The presentation covered the development of the study methodology, testing of the methodology through the Schuylkill River Trail pilot project, discussion of three trail case studies and overall study results. Session attendees asked excellent questions about the study itself and about the next steps of the project. The next phase of the visual assessment project includes development of an interactive on-line map and a top 10 most threatened views list. AMC also plans to expand the visual assessment study to include new Circuit Trails and non-Circuit trails in eastern Pennsylvania. Questions about the visual assessment study can be directed to Catherine Poppenwimer, AMC’s GIS Researcher, at cpoppenwimer@outdoors.org.

The Presentation

A pdf of the Powerpoint presentation from the PALTA Conference can be viewed by clicking the image below.