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Environmental Organizations

Links to general environmental organizations, particularly in Pittsburgh and southwestern Pennsylvania. See also more specific subcategories in environment.

Pittsburgh Region

  • 3 Rivers Wet Weather Demonstration Program
    a partnership of ALCOSAN and the Allegheny County Health Department established to provide county communities with the institutional, technical and financial tools to eliminate wet weather sewer overflows.
  • The Air & Waste Management Association, Allegheny Mountain Section
    Promoting better understanding of problems in the fields of air and water pollution and waste management and providing a means for exchanging information towards resolving those problems.
  • Allegheny County Conservation District
    the government agency responsible for conservation of the county's soil resources.
  • The Allegheny Defense Project
    An activist organization comprised of scientists, environmentalists, economists, students, individuals, and organizations working to protect and restore the native forest of the Allegheny Plateau.
  • Allegheny Land Trust
    Allegheny Land Trust is an independent Pennsylvania nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization incorporated in 1993 to protect land of natural value in and adjacent to Allegheny County.
  • The Allegheny Ridge Corporation (ARCorp)
    The Allegheny Ridge Corporation (ARCorp) is a private, non-profit corporation which develops, interprets and preserves the historic and cultural resources of the Allegheny Ridge Heritage Area in central/western Pennsylvania.
  • American Society of Safety Engineers, Western PA Chapter
    Its members manage, supervise and consult on safety, health and environmental issues in industry, insurance, government and education
  • Audubon Society of Western Pennsylvania
    The local chapter of the national bird conservation organization
  • Center for Environmental Oncology
    The purpose of the Center for Environmental Oncology at the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute is to promote further research on the environmental causes of cancer and educate the public about environmental risk factors for cancer.
  • Chatham University forms the School of Sustainability and the Environment (SSE)
    The first program offered through SSE will be the University’s newest graduate program, the Master of Arts in Food Studies.
  • Collaborative on Health and the Environment in Pennsylvania (CHE-Penn)
    CHE-Penn is a regional affiliate of the Collaborative on Health and the Environment, an active network of organizations and individuals sharing the basic goal of improving human health by reducing exposure to toxicants in our bodies and the environment.
  • Conemaugh Valley Conservancy
    The purpose of the Conservancy is to promote the conservation and preservation of natural and cultural resources and to encourage land-use practices along the Conemaugh River corridor.
  • Conservation Consultants, Inc.
    CCI is a non-profit organization whose mission is the responsible energy use in homes and other buildings. CCI offers a wide range of energy consulting services to improve energy efficiency and comfort in new and existing buildings. You can hire them to come do an audit of your house.
  • Duquesne University: Center for Environmental Research & Education (CERE)
    The Bayer School of Natural and Environmental Sciences offers a five year BS/MS and graduate degrees in their Environmental Science and Management Program.
  • Explorers Club of Pittsburgh
    The Explorers Club of Pittsburgh is a non- profit organization devoted to adventure and education in outdoor & wilderness recreation and conservation. Numerous activites, trips and schools are led by club members and include rock climbing, backpacking, mountaineering, canoeing, biking, scuba, skiing, ice climbing, rafting and orienteering.
  • Foundation for Pennsylvania Watersheds
    The Foundation for Pennsylvania Watersheds, formerly known as the Western Pennsylvania Watershed Program, is a grant-making foundation that invests in efforts to protect healthy, natural streams around the state — and also to clean up pollution and repair damaged wildlife habitat.
  • Friends of Latodami Environmental Education Center
    The Latodami, located in Allegheny County's North Park, north of Pittsburgh, consists of a barn, a pond, stream and wetland habitats, 300 acres of forest and fields, and 13 thirteen trails.
  • Friends of the Pittsburgh Urban Forest
    An environmental non-profit organization whose vision is to be a leader in creating a healthy, attractive and safe urban forest by inspiring and engaging citizens to maintain, plant and protect trees.
  • Friends of the Riverfront
    The Friends of the Riverfront was established to create and is dedicated to the continued expansion of the Three Rivers Heritage Trail, a wonderful pedestrian trail and greenway system running for 37 miles along both sides of the Allegheny, Mononghahela and Ohio Rivers in Pittsburgh.
  • GASP: Group Against Smog and Pollution
    A non-profit citizens' organization working for clean air and water in Southwestern Pennsylvania
  • Green Building Alliance
    The Green Building Alliance is a non-profit organization that integrates environmentally responsible--and high performance--design, construction and operating practices into the Greater Pittsburgh market.
  • The Green Design Institute
    Promotes environmentally conscious engineering, product and process design, manufacturing, and architecture. The institute has roots in two existing Carnegie Mellon centers: The Engineering Design Research Center, and The Environmental Institute.
  • GTECH Strategies
    GTECH Strategies is a nonprofit that revitalizes Pittsburgh's vacant lots and brownfields through bioenergy gardens. They plants crops, generally sunflowers, which transforms unused land into community spaces, improves soil quality and produces oil for biofuels. See the PopCity article: GTECH gardens vacant lots, creates green jobs for students.
  • Hollow Oak Land Trust
    Focuses on the conservation of resources, especially Montour Run Watershed, located in the five western Allegheny County municipalities (Coraopolis, Findlay, Moon, North Fayette, and Robinson) that make up the Pittsburgh International Airport corridor.
  • McKeever Environmental Learning Center
    Located about 75 miles north of Pittsburgh near Sandy Lake, Mercer County, the McKeever Environmental Learning Center is administered by Slippery Rock University and offers environmental education programs and hiking trails for the public in a natural wooded setting.
  • Montour Run Watershed Association
    The MRWA has as its purpose the protection, remediation, and long-term stewardship of the Montour Run Watershed. This includes land, water, and biological resources of the watershed, as we strive to make the Montour Valley healthier for all its residents.
  • Mt. Lebanon Nature Conservancy
    The purpose of the Mt. Lebanon Nature Conservancy is to promote the enhancement, growth and careful use of Mt. Lebanon’s green space.
  • Nine Mile Run Watershed Association
    The Nine Mile Run Watershed is a small urban watershed located in Pittsburgh's East End. The 6.5 square mile Nine Mile Run watershed includes the boroughs of Edgewood, Swissvale, Wilkinsburg, and part of the City of Pittsburgh. It is home to close to 48,000 people as well as 250 plant species, 22 different mammals, and 189 types of birds. Water from the Nine Mile Run Watershed flows into the Monongahela, then the Ohio, then the Mississippi River, and eventually reaches the Gulf of Mexico.
  • PA CleanWays, Allegheny County Chapter
    A nonprofit environmental organization that helps people and their communities clean up mountains of trash from PA lands and waters through a local road, stream, and area adoption program that complements the state's Adopt-A-Highway program. The Allegheny County chapter was formed in September, 2000, to empower Allegheny County and City of Pittsburgh residents to eliminate illegal dumping and littering in their communities.
  • Pennsylvania Biodiversity Partnership
    A Pittsburgh-based public private partnership dedicated to increasing awareness of the importance of biodiversity conservation in Pennsylvania. PBP's mission is to conserve biodiversity statewide by promoting communication and cooperation among a broad spectrum of stakeholders.
  • Pennsylvania Environmental Council, Southwest Office
    Formerly the Allegheny Watershed Network
    A PA Environmental Council project "formed to allow citizen groups and government agencies active within the Allegheny River watershed an opportunity to exchange information and ideas about the protection and enhancement of their local water resources."
  • Pennsylvania Resources Council
    PRC has an office in Pittsburgh. Recognized as a state and national leader in waste reduction and recycling, the remainder of PRC's work focuses on litter and visual blight prevention, watershed awareness, and composting. They often run workshops on home composting.
  • Pittsburgh Geological Society
    Disseminates and promotes the geological sciences throughout the southwest Pennsylvania region.
  • Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy
    An advocacy and support group for the four regional parks within the city of Pittsburgh - Frick, Highland, Riverview and Schenley.
  • Rachel Carson Homestead - Springdale, PA
    Its mission is to preserve, restore, and interpret Rachel Carson's birthplace and childhood home; to design and implement environmental education programs in keeping with her precepts; and to serve as an international resource for information about her life and work.
  • Rachel Carson Institute
    Located at Chatham College, the Institute continues the legacy of its former student by providing a forum for public education and discussions of significant environmental issues.
  • Regional Environmental Education Center
    The Regional Environmental Education Center (REEC) is a new facility nestled within 475 acres of Boyce-Mayview Park just 12 miles south of downtown Pittsburgh.
  • Roaring Run Watershed Association
    An environmental preservation organization whose mission is to restore and protect the watershed that is near Apollo, Pennsylvania, and includes both Rattling Run and Roaring Run, which flow into the Kiskiminetas River.
  • Scott Conservancy
    The Scott Conservancy is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to the active pursuit of the appropriate use, preservation, and development of both the natural and man-made environment.
  • Sierra Club: Allegheny Group
    Sponsors a year-round outings program and is involved actively in environmental issues affecting the Pittsburgh metropolitan area and southwestern Pennsylvania.
  • Steinbrenner Institute for Environmental Education and Research (SEER)
    An institute at Carnegie Mellon University that focuses on Air Quality and the Atmosphere, Energy Systems, Green Buildings and Communities, Green Product Design, Green Practices, Green Chemistry, and Risk Analysis, Management, and Communication.
  • Steel City Biofuels
    Steel City Biofuels (SCB) is a new project of the Pennsylvania Resources Council that is building the awareness, policy and infrastructure necessary for the widespread production and use of biofuels in South Western Pennsylvania.
  • Sustainable Pittsburgh
    Sustainable Pittsburgh, a non-partisan, civic forum, advocates the integration of economic growth, environmental health, and social equity as the foundation for high quality of life and long-term prosperity of southwestern Pennsylvania.
  • Turtle Creek Watershed Association
    The Turtle Creek Watershed Association is dedicated to promoting the conservation of the natural resources of the Turtle Creek watershed.
  • University of Pittsburgh Certificate Program in Environmental Law, Science, and Policy
    A program in environmental law by the Pitt School of Law which offers an Environmental Law Clinic.
  • Western Pennsylvania Coalition for Abandoned Mine Reclamation (WPCAMR)
    WPCAMR is an alliance of 24 County Conservation Districts and cooperative organizations in the bituminous coal region of Western Pennsylvania dedicated to improving water quality and working to halt abandoned mine drainage into Western Pennsylvania's waterways.
  • Western Pennsylvania Conservancy
    Pennsylvania's largest private land conservation organization whose one essential purpose is to conserve water, land, and wildlife.
  • Western Pennsylvania Mushroom Club
    Interested in wild mushrooms but afraid to pick and eat them? Learn all about fungi with this local club.
  • Windy Ridge Wildlife Refuge, Inc.
    A non-profit, 135 acre multi-habitat wildlife rehabilitation facility providing care, rehabilitation and release of orphaned, ill and injured wildlife.
  • Wings of Wonder
    Wings of Wonder is a partnership between the Three Rivers Habitat Partnership, ASSET, Inc. and Carnegie Science Center that unites the wildlife teams of PPG and Bayer with local schools to study migratory birds and butterflies.
  • Youghiogheny River Trail North
    a 43-mile limestone-surfaced walking and bicycling trail built along the "railbanked" right-of-way of the Pittsburgh & Lake Erie Railroad between McKeesport and Connellsville. Maintained by the Regional Trails Council.

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Pennsylvania

  • 10,000 Friends of Pennsylvania
    An alliance of organizations and individuals committed to promoting land use policies and actions that will enable Pennsylvania to strengthen its diverse urban, suburban, and rural communities and reduce sprawl. Currently it encompasses over 160 organizations representing over 300,000 Pennsylvanians.
  • 21st Century Environment Commission
    a commission set up by Pennsylvania Governor Tom Ridge on July 1, 1997 to help Pennsylvania set environmental priorities and explore new methods of achieving its environmental goals in the next century.
  • Citizens for Pennsylvania's Future (PennFuture)
    A statewide nonprofit advocacy group that protects Pennsylvania's environment and economy by combatting pollution, encouraging sustainable development and the use of renewable energy.
  • Clean Air Council
    Clean Air Council is a member- supported, non-profit environmental organization dedicated to protecting everyone's right to breathe clean air. The Council works through public education, community advocacy, and government oversight to ensure enforcement of environmental laws. It has offices in Philadelphia, Harrisburg, Pittsburgh and Wilmington, Delaware.
  • Community Environmental Legal Defense Fund (CELDF)
    Headquartered in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, CELDF provides free and affordable legal services to grassroots, community-based groups and local governments working to protect their quality of life and natural environment through building sustainable communities.
  • Friends of Allegheny Wilderness
    Friends of Allegheny Wilderness works with local communities to ensure that increased wilderness protection is a priority of the stewardship of the Allegheny National Forest.
  • National Defense Center for Environmental Excellence (NDCEE),
    Located in Johnstown, PA, the NDCEE was created to serve as a national leadership organization to address high priority environmental problems for the Department of Defense, other government organizations, and the industrial community.
  • PennEnvironment
    A consumer action group advocating for clean air, clean water and open spaces.
  • Pennsylvania Alliance for Environmental Education
    a non-profit organization which promotes and supports environmental education activities and efforts throughout Pennsylvania.
  • Pennsylvania Association of Conservation Districts, Inc. (PACD)
    Organized in 1950 to serve as a collective voice of Pennsylvania's conservation districts, PACD provides districts with education and information to help them in their work in land and water conservation and represents districts at the state and national levels in soil, water, and related resource management.
  • Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP)
    Includes Bureau of Air Quality, Ozone Action in Pennsylvania, Drive Clean Pennsylvania: Vehicle Emission Inspection & Maintenance Program, Weekly Environmental Protection Update, and Information by Subject.
  • Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR)
    This is the website for information on State Parks and Forests, Rails-To-Trails, Topographic & Geologic Survey, Heritage Parks, Rivers.
  • Pennsylvania Environmental Council
    The Pennsylvania Environmental Council (PEC) protects and restores the natural and built environments through innovation, collaboration, education and advocacy.
  • Pennsylvania Environmental Defense Foundation
    Uses citizens' suit powers contained in both state and federal laws to stop pollution, prevent misuse of the land and obtain environmental justice
  • Pennsylvania Institute for Conservation Education
    The PA Institute for Conservation Education at Juniata College is dedicated to advancing awareness, knowledge and skills in natural history and conservation of natural resources.
  • Raymond Profitt Foundation
    A public interest non-profit organization, located in Langhorne PA, concerned with the enforcement of environmental protection laws.
  • Sierra Club: Pennsylvania Chapter
    Includes links to local chapters, publications, events.
  • Southern Alleghenies Conservancy
    The Southern Alleghenies Conservancy is a regionally based non profit, non government corporation with 501 (c) (3) tax status organized to assist local organizations throughout the Southern Alleghenies region (Bedford, Blair, Cambria, Fulton, Huntingdon and Somerset counties) to carry out resource conservation activities which are first suggested by local communities. The Conservancy also acts as a land trust organization and accepts donations of property which owners wish to see preserved.
  • Wildlands Conservancy
    Wildlands Conservancy is a non-profit, member-supported organization dedicated to land preservation, river preservation, trail development and environmental stewardship through education. Located in Emmaus, their conservation efforts are in eastern Pennsylvania.
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Nearby States

  • Canaan Valley Institute
    CVI is a not-for-profit, non-advocacy organization committed to enhancing the ability of the residents of the Mid-Atlantic Highlands (including portions of Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and all of West Virginia) to create sustainable communities.
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United States

  • Audubon Society
    The mission of the National Audubon Society is to conserve and restore natural ecosystems, focusing on birds and other wildlife for the benefit of humanity and the earth's biological diversity.
  • eelink
    These are resources for environmental education professionals collected by the North American Association for Environmental Education.
  • EnviroEducation.com
    EnviroEducation.com is part of education.org, based in Pittsburgh, and offers a comprehensive directory of environmental schools and programs.
  • EnviroLink
    The EnviroLink Network is a non-profit organization which has been providing access to thousands of online environmental resources since 1991.
  • Environmental Defense Fund
    300,000 members working to find solutions to environmental problems.
  • Environmental Law Institute
    An internationally recognized environmental organization, dedicated to protecting our environment through law, policy, and education
  • Friends of the Earth US
    Friends of the Earth is a national environmental organization dedicated to preserving the health and diversity of the planet for future generations. As the largest international environmental network in the world with affiliates in 63 countries, Friends of the Earth empowers citizens to have an influential voice in decisions affecting their environment.
  • Green Party Platform
    A grassroots political party supporting the following values: grassroots democracy, social justice and equal opportunity, ecological wisdom, nonviolence, decentralization, community-based economics and economic justice, feminism and gender equity, respect for diversity, personal and global responsibility, future focus and sustainability.
  • National Council for Science and the Environment (NCSE)
    a national, non-profit organization working to improve the scientific basis for making decisions on environmental issues.
    • National Library for the Environment
      A universal, timely, and easy-to-use single-point entry to environmental information and data for the use of all participants in the environmental enterprise.
  • National Environmental Education and Training Foundation (NEETF)
    Provides environmental education initiatives for many segments of society.
  • The Natural Resources Defense Council
    A non-profit organization with more than 350,000 members nationwide, NRDC's mission is to preserve the environment, protect the public health, and ensure the conservation of wilderness and natural resources through research, advocacy, litigation and public education.
  • The Nature Conservancy
    The Nature Conservancy is the leading conservation organization working to protect the most ecologically important lands and waters around the world for nature and people. Founded in 1951, it works in all 50 states and more than 30 countries and has protected more than 117 million acres of land and 5,000 miles of river around the world.
  • North American Association for Environmental Education
    a network of professionals and students working throughout North America and in over 55 countries around the world.
  • Plant Conservation Alliance
    The PCA is a consortium of ten federal government Member agencies and over 145 non-federal Cooperators representing various disciplines within the conservation field: biologists, botanists, habitat preservationists, horticulturists, resources management consultants, soil scientists, special interest clubs, non-profit organizations, concerned citizens, nature lovers, and gardeners. PCA Members and Cooperators work collectively to solve the problems of native plant extinction and native habitat restoration, ensuring the preservation of our ecosystem.
  • Preserve & Protect
    A not-for-profit corporation providing space on the World Wide Web for Historic Preservation and Environmental Protection Organizations.

  • Resources for the Future
    RFF is a nonprofit and nonpartisan think tank located in Washington, DC that conducts independent research - rooted primarily in economics and other social sciences - on environmental and natural resource issues.
  • The Sierra Club
  • Student Conservation Association
    Provides people the opportunity to serve and protect our nation's valuable national parks, forests and urban communities.
  • Student Environmental Action Coalition
    a student run and student led national network of progressive organizations and individuals whose aim is to uproot environmental injustices through action and education.
  • Union of Concerned Scientists
    This website offers information on food, vehicles, environment, energy, and security issues. Their current issues include Antibiotic resistance, Biotechnology, Clean vehicles, Forests, Global warming, Invasive species, Missile defense, Nuclear energy, Nuclear weapons, and Renewable energy.
  • United States Green Building Council
    The U.S. Green Building Council is the nation's foremost coalition of leaders from across the building industry working to promote buildings that are environmentally responsible, profitable, and healthy places to live and work.

  • US Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSM)
    The bureau of the Department of the Interior responsible for protecting citizens and the environment during coal mining and reclamation.
  • Wildlife Habitat Council
    A nonprofit, nonlobbying 501(c)(3) group of corporations, conservation organizations, and individuals, WHC helps large landowners, particularly corporations, manage their unused lands in an ecologically sensitive manner for the benefit of wildlife.
  • Women's Environment and Development Organization
    a global organization actively working to increase women's visibility, roles and leadership in public policy-making through peace, gender, human rights, environmental and economic justice campaigns; and through international, national, and local advocacy.
  • World Resources Institute: EarthTrends
    The Environmental Information Portal
    A free online database that focuses on issues of sustainable development and the environment. This site draws statistical, graphic, and analytical information from over 40 internationally recognized data sources.
  • World Stewardship Institute
    promotes environmental leadership and innovation in business, science and religion
  • Worldwatch Institute
    Each January, the Worldwatch Institute publishes a 200+ page "State of the World" report on progress toward a sustainable society. Older volumes are available for free download in .pdf format.

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International

  • Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC)
    The CEC facilitates cooperation and public participation to foster conservation, protection and enhancement of the North American environment for the benefit of present and future generations, in the context of increasing economic, trade and social links between Canada, Mexico and the United States.

  • Conservation International
    "a field-based, non-profit organization that protects the Earth's biologically richest areas and helps the people who live there improve their quality of life. CI uses science, economics, policy, and community involvement to promote biodiversity conservation in tropical rain forests and other endangered ecosystems worldwide."
  • Earthwatch Institute
    The mission of the Earthwatch Institute is to promote sustainable conservation of our natural resources and cultural heritage by creating partnerships between scientists, educators and the general public. Earthwatch Institute is an international non-profit organization, founded in Boston and now with offices in Oxford, England, Melbourne, Australia and Tokyo, Japan, with 50,000 members.
  • Forest Action Network
    The Forest Action Network (FAN) is a grassroots organization with a network of over 500 forest activists and twenty-two organizations throughout British Columbia, North America and Europe
  • Friends of The Earth UK
    One of the leading environmental pressure groups in the UK with a network of campaigning local groups, working in 250 communities in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
  • Greenpeace International
    Greenpeace is the leading independent campaigning organization that uses non-violent direct action and creative communication to expose global environmental problems and to promote solutions that are essential to a green and peaceful future.
  • North American Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC)
    An international organization created by Canada, Mexico and the United States under the North American Agreement on Environmental Cooperation (NAAEC), the CEC was established to address regional environmental concerns, help prevent potential trade and environmental conflicts, and to promote the effective enforcement of environmental law. They publish an online newsletter called TRIO.
  • United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)
    An international attempt to coordinate environmental programs.
  • The World Bank topics: Environment
    Environmental Programs, Publications, and news
  • The World Wildlife Fund Internatioanl
    The page below is a directory to the World Wildlife Fund throughout the world.