Cradle of Conservation – The History of Pennsylvania’s Working Landscapes
Cradle of Conservation moves across time and place, from the Haudenosaunee people of the Susquehanna Valley, to the iron furnaces of nineteenth-century Pittsburgh, to the diesel trucks on the twentieth-century Pennsylvania Turnpike. The book explores the histories of Pennsylvania’s river and coal regions and traces the environmental movements and crises that have led to public policy changes over the course of more than a century. The keynote presentation will focus on how Pennsylvanians have shaped and been shaped by their working landscapes.

Dr. Allen Dieterich-Ward is an environmental and urban historian with a focus on political ecology and community development. He is a Professor of History and Director of The Graduate School at Shippensburg University.  His first book, Beyond Rust: Metropolitan Pittsburgh and the Fate of Industrial America won the Arline Custer Memorial Award for Best Book on MidAtlantic History. His second book, Cradle of Conservation: An Environmental History of Pennsylvania is now available from Temple University Press. He is the past president of the Pennsylvania Historical Association, former editor of the Pennsylvania History Series, and a board member of PA Humanities. Allen is also active in the conservation and community development communities, serving on the board of the Cumberland Valley Rails-to-Trails Council and the steering committee of the Pennsylvania Conservation Heritage Committee, among others.