Land Use the Sustainable Way

Like many people, Roy Kraynyk is upset about flooding in places like Millvale and the landslide in Kilbuck Township. As the executive director of Allegheny Land Trust (ALT), Kraynyk doesn’t want to simply fix these issues. He wants to prevent such problems from ever happening. How? Kraynyk says we need to look to the trees.

Woodlands might not be the first thing you think of for flood prevention, but Kraynyk says they play an integral role in keeping rainwater from becoming floodwater. The Pittsburgh region is infamous for its hills and steep slopes. And anyone who gardens knows that much of the land in this part of the state is composed of hardpan, clayey soil. This combination means that rainwater needs a place to go before it reaches the streams. This is where trees come in.

Kraynyk explains that woodlands act like sponges for rainwater, keeping a significant amount of it from ever reaching streams. And that means less flooding. Studies show that a lone oak tree can keep up to 27% of rainfall from ever reaching the ground. And a whole forest can intercept up to 76% of total annual precipitation. ALT would like to see the conservation of strategic woodlands as the centerpiece of a multifaceted, inter-governmental, watershed-based flood prevention plan.

“The bottom line,” explains Kraynyk, “is that woodlands do more to prevent floods than floodplains do, because woodlands intercept rainfall before it reaches the streams.”  

Unfortunately, the same wooded areas that can help to prevent flooding in downstream communities are often prime targets for new real estate development in upstream communities. More development means more runoff. The difference in runoff between a woodland and a developed area is staggering: between six and 50 times as much.

Kraynyk is concerned with not just the safety of such developments, but also with the loss of scenic character that occurs when hillsides are laid bare. He’d like to see more sustainable development that also preserves our region’s unique scenery. In some cases, he says, it’s as simple as moving development sites back 50 feet from the ridge of slopes. “It’s not one or the other,” he says. “You can have both the condo and the vegetation.”

An Ounce of Prevention
The flooding of Girty’s Run and Pine Creek in Millvale over the past several years are tragic examples of how upstream development can seriously impact downstream communities. Sadly, says Kraynyk, “There’s no way they’re going to prevent it from happening again. We’re seeing similar events with much less rain.” Still, he praises Shaler’s plan to use federal funds to buy houses located in floodplains and suggests that now is the time to investigate other flood prevention opportunities. “There are lands upstream that are doing a great deal of rainwater interception. If we could protect them, we could keep that much water out of the streams and the floodplains. If we don’t protect them, it’s a lose-lose situation.”

Another way to encourage more sustainable development is temporary land banking. Kraynyk explains that developable land in flood-prone areas could be “banked” until the infrastructure can be upgraded to accommodate the additional storm water and sanitary inputs that new development brings. “Permitting new development that pollutes our waterways with raw sewage is irresponsible and negatively impacts public health and property values,” says Kraynyk. He suggests banking the land until the infrastructure is fixed, and then selling it at appreciated values to help offset the cost of the infrastructure improvements.

GREENPRINT
ALT was incorporated in 1993 with the goal of protecting land of natural value in and adjacent to Allegheny County. The non-profit protects natural lands by accepting donations of property and conservation easements, as well as purchasing lands of particular natural significance.

According to ALT’s records, the organization has protected more than 1,300 acres in Allegheny and Washington Counties. But Kraynyk wonders if that’s enough. “Sometimes I think, ‘We protected 50 acres today, but so what? What is that really doing?’” he asks. “Sure, the people around that area have access to open space, and they don’t have to worry about development. But how can we position land conservation to have the greatest public benefit? Because that’s why we exist: we’re a non-profit here to provide public benefits.”

When ALT embarked on an intensive strategic planning process in January 2006, Kraynyk says they quickly realized that not all land is created equal. Buying one acre of land may achieve one of ALT’s three goals: preserving biodiversity, maintaining unique scenic character, or facilitating better water management. But was it possible to protect land that would result in all three of those benefits? ALT’s new plan to get the biggest bang for its land conservation buck does just that. It’s called GREENPRINT—A regional conservation agenda prioritizing land conservation for public good™.

GREENPRINT compiles data from 15 sources, collected over the past 20 years, to create a map that identifies pieces of land where these three key components overlap. “There’s limited time and resources to do what we need to do,” Kraynyk explains. GREENPRINT aims to identify the lands that are providing the greatest public benefit.

Public Support Needed
Kraynyk admits that it’s unrealistic to think that ALT and other land trusts in Southwestern Pennsylvania can save all of the land that needs to be protected or sustainably developed for the greater good. He says that municipalities need to be part of conservation efforts because they control land use and zoning. “They really hold the cards,” he says.

Kraynyk is a realist when it comes to what motivates people. Money talks, even – or especially – in the realm of land conservation and zoning laws. That’s why Kraynyk hopes to see the development of economic metrics to support the science of GREENPRINT.

He says that ALT is currently looking for funding to support an economic impact study. While economic data for land conservation programs exists for other regions, it’s not the type of information that can be applied universally. Kraynyk says that we need regional data in order to make smart regional decisions.

Kraynyk is optimistic about the future. He says that ALT’s surveys show that the public has an increasing awareness of the value of conservation, public green space, and sustainable development. He hopes to raise awareness, and funds, to further GREENPRINT and ALT’s other projects so that citizens and their elected officials can be more proactive in protecting and preserving our natural resources.

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Jennifer McGuiggan, a freelance writer and editor, is owner of The Word Cellar. Her last article for Pop City was about modern local libraries. To read it click here.  

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Captions:

Roy Kraynyk at the new offices of the Allegheny Land Trust

Cliff-top development above a landslide

Kraynyk considers the water in a Sewickley stream

Land recently acquired by the ALT

Erosion in Millvale

All photographs copyright Brian Cohen