QuickFacts

Our scenic ridges, forests, lakes, streams, and wildlife are integral to our rural character and heritage. But they won’t remain forever unless we act now to protect them.

Together, we can protect our water, our land and our way of life – before it’s too late.

We’re running out of time.
If we don’t protect Pike County’s exceptional value water, land, and quality of life today, it will be too late. With unprecedented population growth and accompanying development, water quality will be degraded, rural land and open space will be developed, and wildlife habitat lost. Each day it becomes more expensive to protect the truly special places, the scenic vistas, that are important to us.

We can preserve our exceptional water quality if we act now.
Today we enjoy exceptional water quality throughout the County. Each day it becomes more expensive to protect water recharge areas for our communities, our drinking water sources as well as the special places and scenic vistas that are important to us. We can protect these sources, by purchasing or protecting critical natural areas through partnerships with willing landowners

Preserving natural areas will strengthen our local economy.
Protecting Pike’s environment will help the County build a growing economy that provides new, higher-quality jobs. Tourism is already a significant employer in the County. Maintaining our rural character will draw new businesses. Balanced growth is the key to our future sustainability.

Protect our quality of life.
Without proper planning throughout the County, traffic could become so congested that people could have even more difficulty getting around the region. We could lose our rural quality of life in our communities.

It’s a small price to pay.
Development of the large tracts throughout the county may cause higher property taxes as local governments struggle to serve the needs of a growing population. State and federal funds are available to cover up to half of the municipal and county expenses for expanded planning. County funds, approved through a bond referendum, would double the money we have to protect our natural areas.