Murrysville resident enjoys role with land trust

Betsy Aiken has been a constant presence at the Westmoreland Land Trust, serving on its board and earlier on a steering committee that helped form the nonprofit in December 2007.

A decade later, she has moved into the role of part-time executive director, a post created earlier this year.

Aiken, 63, of Murrysville, sought the position not as a career move, but as an opportunity to devote more of her efforts to a mission she's passionate about — conserving local open spaces for current and future generations to enjoy.

“I'm thinking of doing the work that has the most value to me, that seems the most important to making a positive difference to our county and our region,” Aiken said of her new title with the land trust. “It's work that I strongly believe in, that I'm committed to.”

The trust's work includes purchasing or obtaining a conservation easement to protect land in Westmoreland County that has cultural, historical, ecological, recreational or scenic value.

While drawing on strengths of the land trust board members, Aiken said as executive director, she'll have more time to coordinate projects and to pursue the funding needed to bring them to fruition.

“Land conservation is an inherently expensive process,” she said. “There is not only the cost of acquisition of land, but costs attendant to projects — surveys, appraisals, environmental assessments.”

Aiken also hopes to expand on the land trust's outreach efforts — perhaps tweaking its website or producing printed materials — to better connect with potential funders or owners of parcels the nonprofit may want to add to its holdings.

Chuck Duritsa, who chairs the land trust board, said Aiken brings many assets to her new job.

“She's a thoughtful person, she's energetic, she's persistent and she's passionate about what she believes in,” he said, adding, “She has the institutional knowledge of the organization.”

Hailing originally from Fox Chapel, Aiken traces her love of the outdoors to her longtime interest in riding horses.

“I've always had an appreciation for nature,” she said, noting she now likes to hike or bike on the developing network of recreational trails in the Murrysville area.

After Aiken moved to Murrysville, she served as the community's chief municipal administrator for three years — during a transitional period for the local government in the 1990s. She would go for walks in the town's Duff Park at lunchtime.

“It gave me an appreciation of the parks of that community and the great value that Murrysville residents place upon their parks and open spaces,” she said.

She acted on that sentiment, co-founding the Friends of Murrysville Parks and the Murrysville Trail Alliance.

She also became involved with the Murrysville-based Westmoreland Conservancy, which, according to its website, has preserved 444 acres of land in the Murrysville area.

“I was active in the Westmoreland Conservancy, which formed in the early 1990s, and because of that, I became involved in the steering committee for the land trust,” Aiken said.

Aiken continues to serve on the Citizens' Advisory Board to the Westmoreland County Bureau of Parks and Recreation and on a state trails advisory committee.

She also is helping to organize next year's annual March for Parks event. It will be held March 24 at two locations — Twin Lakes Park and the Murrysville Community Center — to raise money for park and trail projects in Westmoreland County.

Last year's march raised more than $100,000. Some of the money generated at the 2018 event is expected to help cover engineering costs for a project that is close to Aiken's heart — the Turtle Creek Extension of the Westmoreland Heritage Trail.

A section of the trail running more than 3 miles, from Murrysville to Export, will be the next to be developed.

“That will be such a tremendous asset for the community and the region,” Aiken said.

In its first decade, Aiken has seen the land trust conserve 11 properties totaling 235 acres, often in cooperation with like-minded organizations and local government.

With the exception of a 4-acre parcel in Ligonier Township that was turned over to the Loyalhanna Watershed Association, most of these properties have been in the central and western sections of the county — including five adjoining pieces of land that helped to expand a park in Murrysville.

“That's the region of the county that has experienced the greatest growth over the past several years and is expected to continue to experience the greatest growth,” Aiken said.

Jeff Himler is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at 724-836-6622 or jhimler@tribweb.com.