About Us - Keystone Elk Country Alliance

About the Keystone Elk Country Alliance

The Keystone Elk Country Alliance (KECA) is Pennsylvania’s premier nonprofit organization dedicated to conserving and enhancing Pennsylvania’s Elk Country for future generations.

Our work is rooted in the belief that healthy wildlife, thriving forests, and informed communities are essential to the future of conservation. Every day, we connect people with nature through meaningful experiences while protecting the places that make Pennsylvania’s Elk Country unlike anywhere else.

Whether you’re watching a bugling bull elk during the fall rut, bringing your classroom to the Elk Country Visitor Center, volunteering at one of our events, or supporting habitat restoration, you’re helping write the next chapter of conservation in Pennsylvania.

Who We Are

KECA is a Pennsylvania-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit wildlife conservation organization that proudly operates and manages the world-renowned Elk Country Visitor Center in Benezette through a long-term partnership with the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR).

While many people know us through the Visitor Center, our mission reaches far beyond our campus.
We work across Pennsylvania’s elk range to educate, conserve, restore habitat, and protect the natural resources that support one of the Commonwealth’s greatest conservation success stories—the Pennsylvania elk herd.

Our success is made possible through the support of our members, volunteers, donors, sponsors, grant partners, and conservation-minded businesses who believe that Pennsylvania’s natural heritage deserves to be protected.

What We Do

Conservation Education

Education is the heart of our mission.

Through immersive school programs, public events, guided tours, summer camps, outreach initiatives, educational exhibits, and the Elk Country Visitor Center, we inspire curiosity and create lifelong conservationists.

From preschool students to lifelong learners, our programs help people understand wildlife, ecosystems, habitat management, and the importance of conservation.

Habitat Enhancement

Permanent Land Protection

Why It Matters

Pennsylvania’s elk are one of the Commonwealth’s greatest conservation success stories.

Once eliminated from the state, elk now thrive because generations of conservationists invested in habitat, education, science-based wildlife management, and responsible stewardship.

Today, hundreds of thousands of people travel to Elk Country every year to experience free-ranging elk, explore the Pennsylvania Wilds, and reconnect with nature.

Every visitor, every student, every volunteer, every member, and every donor becomes part of protecting that legacy.

Our Impact

Conservation measured by people inspired and places protected

Conservation is measured by more than acres and numbers—it is measured by the people we inspire and the places we protect.

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Visitors

Each year KECA welcomes 250,000–300,000 visitors to the Elk Country Visitor Center.

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Countries

Each year we hosts visitors from all 50 states and more than 57 countries.

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Students

Each year we provide conservation education to 55,000+ students representing 47 Pennsylvania counties and 8 other states.

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Acres

We also have enhanced more than 905 acres of wildlife habitat.

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Chapters

We support conservation through 16 volunteer chapters across Pennsylvania.

Together, these efforts strengthen wildlife conservation while contributing millions of dollars to Pennsylvania's outdoor recreation and tourism economy.