Act 24 – the Pennsylvania Appalachian Trail Act requires Pennsylvania municipalities along the Appalachian National Scenic Trail (AT) to adequately protect the AT as a public natural resource.  Eleven counties and 58 municipalities in Pennsylvania are impacted by Act 24.  In September, 2008 a Steering Committee was formed to implement Act 24 and to support planning activities related to the Act.  The Committee selected the firm of Wallace Roberts & Todd, LLC (WRT) to lead a planning team to prepare resource materials and assist the Committee in developing a strategy for implementation. In order to provide planning resources for the impacted municipalities, the planning team will reach out to understand the community environments and stakeholder concerns along the entire AT in Pennsylvania through site visits, county and stakeholder interviews, and a project website.  Following this community assessment a State of the Trail Report and potential regulatory and non-regulatory tools to protect the AT corridor will be prepared.  In several regional forums along the AT corridor the State of the Trail Report and potential conservation tools will be presented for municipal review and input.  Based on the feedback from the regional forums, an AT Conservation Guidebook and Implementation Program with model regulations and suggested municipal strategies for protecting the AT will be completed.  A concluding workshop will be scheduled after the distribution of the AT Conservation Guidebook to further support municipalities in a “hands-on” environment.