The Keystone Elk Country Alliance (KECA) was founded with a simple but ambitious mission: to conserve and enhance Pennsylvania’s Elk Country for future generations. As Pennsylvania’s elk herd continued to grow and attract visitors from across the nation, conservation leaders recognized the need for an organization dedicated to protecting the region’s natural resources while educating the public about the importance of wildlife conservation.
At the center of this vision was Rawland Cogan, a lifelong conservation advocate and one of the driving forces behind the creation of KECA. Cogan believed Pennsylvania’s elk herd was one of the Commonwealth’s greatest natural treasures and saw an opportunity to create a destination that would not only showcase the elk but also inspire visitors to become stewards of the land and wildlife that make Elk Country so special.
In the early 2000s, discussions began about creating a world-class visitor center in the heart of Pennsylvania’s elk range. What started as an ambitious idea quickly grew into a grassroots conservation movement. Community leaders, conservation organizations, volunteers, businesses, private donors, and state agencies joined together to make the vision a reality. Through countless meetings, fundraising efforts, partnerships, and volunteer hours, support for the project continued to build.