Troy Firth to receive Western PA Environmental Award

Pittsburgh – Troy Firth, the founder of the Foundation for Sustainable Forests, based in Crawford County, is being honored with a 2019 Western Pennsylvania Environmental Award for his work in forest management and conservation.

The Western Pennsylvania Environmental Awards are presented annually by Dominion Energy and the Pennsylvania Environmental Council (PEC) to local organizations that demonstrate leadership, effectiveness, and results in making an impact on the environment. The organization is among a total of five that were chosen by a group of independent judges, environmental experts, and PEC staff in response to a call for entries earlier this year.

As part of his award, the Foundation for Sustainable Forests will receive $5000 in Mr. Firth’s honor.

As a practicing forester in northwestern Pennsylvania, Mr. Firth created the Foundation for Sustainable Forests (FSF) in 2004, a nonprofit land trust that protects sustainable working forests and highlights healthy forest practices for the benefit of the land. 

Since its inception, the FSF has helped forest landowners and other conservation organizations overcome some of the challenges of forest management. Mr. Firth the FSF are slowly helping the community to understand that a forest left “untouched” is still prone to invasive species and the impacts of climate change, and that thoughtful, proactive management can improve the overall health and vigor of a forest.

In his professional career, Mr. Firth has played a role in the management of over 100,000 acres of forest in the region. To date, the FSF has protected over 1,000 acres of forested land and is nearing completion of projects totaling over 1,000 additional acres.

The Western Pennsylvania Environmental Awards program is open to individuals, businesses, and organizations that demonstrated a commitment to environmental excellence, leadership and accomplishment, and made significant contributions toward improving Western Pennsylvania’s environment. Dominion Energy and the Pennsylvania Environmental Council sponsor the Western Pennsylvania Environmental Awards each year to encourage the community to emulate the achievements of the winning entries, thereby promoting innovative environmental efforts and enhancing the quality of life in Western Pennsylvania.

The winners will be honored at the Western Pennsylvania Environmental Awards Dinner and Awards Ceremony on Wednesday, May 22, 2019 at The Westin Pittsburgh in downtown Pittsburgh.

About the Western Pennsylvania Environmental Awards

The Western Pennsylvania Environmental Awards recognizes and honors outstanding achievements of organizations, businesses, and individuals in a wide range of environmental initiatives throughout the region and pays tribute to those that have demonstrated a commitment to environmental excellence, leadership, and accomplishment in their respective fields.

By sponsoring these awards, the Pennsylvania Environmental Council and Dominion hope to encourage the community to emulate the achievements of the successful nominees, thereby promoting innovative environmental efforts and enhancing the quality of life in Western Pennsylvania.

About Dominion Energy

Nearly 7.5 million customers in 18 states energize their homes and businesses with electricity or natural gas from Dominion Energy (NYSE: D), headquartered in Richmond, Va. The company is committed to sustainable, reliable, affordable and safe energy and is one of the nation’s largest producers and transporters of energy with about $100 billion of assets providing electric generation, transmission and distribution, as well as natural gas storage, transmission, distribution and import/export services. As one of the nation’s leading solar operators, the company intends to reduce its carbon intensity 60 percent by 2030. Through its Dominion Energy Charitable Foundation, as well as EnergyShare and other programs, Dominion Energy contributed nearly $35 million in 2018 to community causes. Please visit www.dominionenergy.com to learn more.

About the Pennsylvania Environmental Council

The Pennsylvania Environmental Council is a statewide organization that brings people, government, and business together to find real world solutions for environmental challenges. These solutions bring about sustainable communities, protect our water resources, and address energy and climate issues. PEC was founded in 1970 and serves the entire state through offices in Luzerne, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, and State College.

For more information about the Pennsylvania Environmental Council, visit its website at www.pecpa.org.