Glossary

Palustrine
  1. Describes wetlands; areas intermediate between aquatic and terrestrial habitats, supporting predominantly hydrophytic vegetation, where conditions are at least periodically wet enough during the growing season to produce anaerobic soil conditions and thereby influence plant growth.
PDA (Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture)
  1. The Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture encourages, protects and promotes agriculture and related industries throughout the commonwealth while providing consumer protection through inspection services that impact the health and financial security of Pennsylvania's citizens. http://www.agriculture.state.pa.us
Pennsylvania Agricultural Conservation Easement Purchase Program
  1. Developed in 1988 to help slow the loss of prime farmland to non-agricultural uses, the program enables state, county and local governments to purchase conservation easements (sometimes called development rights) from owners of quality farmland. The first easements were purchased in 1989. Counties participating in the program have appointed agricultural land preservation boards with a state board created to oversee this program. The state board is responsible for distribution of state funds, approval and monitoring of county programs and specific easement purchases. [Source: Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture: http://www.agriculture.state.pa.us]
Pennsylvania Greenways Action Plan
  1. An Action Plan for Creating Connections is designed to provide a coordinated and strategic approach to creating connections through the establishment of greenways in the Keystone State. This plan is the direct response to Governor Ridge's Executive Order 1998-3, charging the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR), the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), and the Department of Transportation (PennDOT), assisted by the Pennsylvania Greenways Partnership Commission, to develop an action plan for advancing a Pennsylvania greenways partnership program into the 21st century. As a result of implementing this plan, by 2020 the Commonwealth should have a distinguishable greenways network, similar to the Interstate Highway System that is today the backbone of Pennsylvania's system of roadways. [source: http://www.dcnr.state.pa.us]
Pennsylvania Greenways Program
  1. The goal of the Pennsylvania Greenways Program is to establish an interconnected network of greenways “on-the-ground.” This network will connect Pennsylvania’s natural, historic, and scenic landscapes, as well as our cultural and recreational sites. Greenways can be a tool for conserving natural resources, extending opportunities for outdoor recreation, and even providing the means to walk and bike to community destinations. This network will come about by planning for greenways in our municipalities, counties, and state. The PA Greenways Program has identified a network of “Major Greenways” and encourages counties and municipalities to plan for greenways. [http://www.pagreenways.org]
Pennsylvania Natural Heritage Program
  1. The Pennsylvania Natural Heritage Program (PNHP) is a member of NatureServe, an international network of natural heritage programs that gather and provide information on the location and status of important ecological resources (plants, vertebrates, invertebrates, natural communities and geologic features). PNHP's purpose is to provide current, reliable, objective information to help inform environmental decisions. PNHP information can be used to guide conservation work and land-use planning, ensuring the maximum conservation benefit with the minimum cost. [Source: http://www.naturalheritage.state.pa.us]
Permanent Pasture
  1. Pasture of perennial or self-seeding annual plants maintained through several years of grazing. (animal science) [source: New Mexico State University, Agriculture Glossary: http://aces.nmsu.edu/news/aggloss.html#P]
Persistent Organic Pollutant
  1. A complex organic chemical which resists decomposition in the environment and can migrate over great distances, which bioaccumulates and biomagnifies, and which is suspected of being toxic to humans or other organisms exposed to even low concentrations if such exposure occurs over a long period of time. Examples include certain pesticides (aldrin, chlordane, DDT, dieldrin, endrin, heptachlor, mirex, and toxaphene), industrial chemicals (PCBs and hexachlorobenzene, which is also a pesticide), and unwanted by-products of combustion and industrial processes (dioxins and furans). [Source: Organisation for Economic and Co-Operation Develoipment, Sustainable Development's Glossary: http://www.oecd.org]
PFBC (Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission)
  1. The mission of the Fish and Boat Commission is to protect, conserve, and enhance the Commonwealth’s aquatic resources and provide fishing and boating opportunities. http://www.fish.state.pa.us
PGC (Pennsylvania Game Commission)
  1. The PGC manages Pennsylvania’s wild birds, wild mammals, and their habitats for current and future generations. http://www.pgc.state.pa.us
PNDI-Pennsylvania Natural Diversity Inventory
  1. The acronym for Pennsylvania Natural Diversity Inventory, PNDI is a dynamic inventory system of Pennsylvania rare and threatened species maintained in a cooperative effort between the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy, the Pennsylvania Bureau of Forestry, and The Nature Conservancy. [source: DCNR State Forestry Resource Management Plan, Glossary of Terms: http://www.dcnr.state.pa.us/forestry/sfrmp/glossary.htm]
point source pollution
  1. Pollution that comes from a single, identifiable source.
Polluter Pays Principle
  1. The principle that polluter should bear the expenses of carrying out pollution prevention and control measures decided by public authorities, to ensure that the environment is in an acceptable state (i.e. costs of these measures should be reflected in the cost of goods and services which cause pollution). [Source: Organisation for Economic and Co-Operation Develoipment, Sustainable Development's Glossary: http://www.oecd.org]
Prescribed Burning
  1. The deliberate use of fire under specified and controlled conditions to achieve a resource management goal. Benefits include: site preparation for reforesting, hardwood control in pine stands, wildlife hazard reduction, improved wildlife habitat and threatened and endangered species management. [source: Virginia Department of Forestry, Prescribed Fire and Smoke Management: http://www.dof.virginia.gov]
Preservation
  1. In environmental work, preservation often used interchangeably with conservation. Preservation suggests that natural resources will be left undisturbed, while conservation usually indicates some resource management. [source: Glossary of Conservation Terms, Ridge and Valley Conservancy, Inc., http://www.rvclandtrust.org]
Press Conference
  1. A press conference is a meeting organized for the purposes of distributing information to the media and answering questions from reporters.
Public Dedication
  1. Pennsylvania municipalities have the power under Section 503(11) of the state’s Municipalities Planning Code (“MPC”) to require developers to dedicate land to the municipality for public parks and recreation purposes. Called “public dedication” in the MPC, this tool is often referred to as “mandatory dedication” by those in the land use planning field. Under Section 503(11), municipalities may also provide the option for developers to choose from several alternatives to public dedication. However, municipalities may not mandate these alternatives. For more information, see www.conserveland.org
Purchase of Development Rights (PDR)
  1. The purchase of land use rights, usually coupled with a conservation easement, typically by a public agency. The easement extinguishes the development rights on the original property, but if used in conjunction with a transfer of development rights program, the holder may be entitled to transfer or sell the rights to another property (see "transfer of development rights) [Source: Elizabeth Byers and Karin Marchetti Ponti, The Conservation Easement Handbook, Published by the Trust for Public Land and the Land Trust Alliance, 2005.]