Two hours from the tall buildings of Manhattan and Philadelphia live some of the world’s largest black bears . They are in northern Pennsylvania’s Pocono Mountains, a home they share with an abundance of other wildlife .
The streams , lakes , meadows (草地) , mountain ridges and forests that make the Poconos an ideal place for black bears have also attracted more people to the region . Open spaces are threatened by plans for housing estates and important habitats (栖息地) are endangered by highway construction . To protect the Poconos’ natural beauty from irresponsible development. The Nature Conservancy (大自然保护协会) named the area one of America’s “Last Great Places”
Operating out of a century-old schoolhouse in the village of Long Pond, Pennsylvania, the conservancy’s bud Cook is working with local people and business leaders to balance economic growth with environmental protection. By forging partnerships with people like Francis Altemose, the Conservancy has been able to protect more than 14,000 acres

某些世界上最大的黑熊居住在从高楼大厦的曼哈顿和费城开车要两个小时车程的地方。那就是宾夕法尼亚州北部的Pocono山区，一个除了他们，还是其他大量野生动物共同生活的家园。

河流，湖泊，草原，山岭和森林，Pocono地区不但为黑熊提供了理想的家园，而且也吸引了更多人们的目光。这片公共空间，同时也是重要的栖息地正受到计划建造房产和建设高速公路的威胁。为了防止不负责任的开发毁掉Pocono地区的自然之美。大自然保护协会已经把该地区命名为美国“最后的胜地”之一。

经营着宾夕法尼亚州一家百年历史的长池村庄学校，保护区支持者bud Cook正在和当地人民及商业领袖们一道平衡经济发展与环境保护两者之间的关系。通过加强与Francis Altemose这样的人的伙伴关系，保护区已经能够保护超过14,000英亩面积的区域了。