Pennsylvania Association of Conservation Districts

We support Pennsylvania’s Conservation Districts who work for clean water and healthy soil every day.

DEP Recognizes Conservation District Staff

The Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) recently recognized conservation district staff for their level of achievement and commitment to professional development in the PA Clean Water Academy.

PA Clean Water Academy (CWA) is a comprehensive digital training library containing over 160 courses comprised of webinars, eLearning, video, supporting documents, assessments, quizzes, and training programs. CWA is administered by the DEP Bureau of Clean Water and the PA Association of Conservation Districts. During the COVID-19 restrictions, DEP and conservation district staff have relied heavily on the Academy for training in delegated and contracted programs.

Conservation District Staff with Most Course Completions:

 

Staff

Conservation District

Courses Completed

1

Stephen Beach

Blair 

127

2

Matthew Golden

Washington 

123

3

Tom Ulrich

Washington 

93

4

Tyne Blazier

Blair 

83

5

Emily Wise

Washington 

71

6

Dave Taylor

Wyoming 

63

7

Heather Humbert

Beaver 

61

8

Robert Sabo

Indiana 

61

9

Wade Jodun

Clinton 

60

10

Jennifer Linebaugh

Beaver 

59

11

Rachael Moore

Northumberland 

58

12

Jessica Schaub

Armstrong 

58

Conservation Districts with High Achievement

 

Conservation District

Courses Completed

1

Washington

490

2

Blair

370

3

Lancaster

338

4

Allegheny

243

5

Beaver

215

6

Armstrong

195

7

Berks

179

8

Dauphin

178

9

Tioga

178

10

Wyoming

176

11

Indiana

171

12

Montgomery

167

Conservation district staff with the most courses completed will receive a signed certificate from DEP Secretary Patrick McDonnell.

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Cumberland County Conservation District Holds Virtual Engineer Workshop

Photo of webinar in progress by Vince McCollum with CCCD.

On October 22, 2020, Cumberland County Conservation District (CCCD) held a two-hour E&S/NPDES engineer workshop via webinar. Eighty-two engineers and consultants signed on to learn about the 2019 PAG-02 Permit, the new Notice of Intent and Individual Permit application, completing the Post Construction Stormwater Management spreadsheets, and other key program components. Click here to view videos of the presentations.

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Potter County Conservation District and Planning Commission Complete 2nd Round of Municipal Meetings

Photo provided by Potter County Conservation District.

The Potter County Conservation District (PCCD) recently teamed up with the County Planning Commission to complete 26 individual municipal meetings over two months. Elected officials from each of the municipalities, representatives from Erb Inspections, Inc., and local sewage enforcement officers were invited to these one-on-one meetings. This was the second round of meetings held since the effort was launched in 2017.

PCCD Manager Jason Childs, PCCD Resource Conservationist Glenn Dunn II, and Potter County Planning Commission GIS/Planning Director Will Hunt scheduled a total of nine sessions at outdoor venues throughout the county due to COVID-19. Popular topics of discussion during the sessions included the County Subdivision and Land Development Ordinances (SALDO), stormwater management, 911 addressing, permitting, district programs and assistance, and county planning, GIS programs, and assistance.

In addition, the conservation district and planning commission plan to update the “Municipal Resource Booklet” that was developed in 2017 and add a checklist for municipal officials and residents to use. Both offices felt that this was a great opportunity to open up lines of communication and strengthen partnerships. The district and planning commission would like to thank everyone who took the time to meet. This effort will be ongoing as it is a goal to host this series of meetings after every election year.

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PACD Creates PSA on Fall Leaves – Please Share!

PACD created a public service announcement (PSA) to encourage citizens to dispose of their leaf waste responsibly.

Materials include:

Click here to view the webpage of materials. Please share the PSA scripts with your local radio stations. Conservation districts and partners are encouraged to share the animated version on their social media channels.

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Columbia County Conservation District Hosts Haunted Trail

Photos of animal skulls from the haunted trail provided by the Columbia County Conservation District.

The Columbia County Conservation District held a “Haunted Trails” event at their district-owned Kocher Nature Park on Saturday, October 24, 2020. Approximately 150 adults and children came through the trails, which the district carefully designed with social distancing protocols and lots of environmental education opportunities!

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Blair County Conservation District Opens NatureWorks Park

Photo caption (left to right): Bonnie Young, Chelsey Ergler, Tyne Blazier, Beth Futrick, Donna Fisher, Rich Huether, Stephen Dumm, and Steve Beach. Suzanne Black was absent from the photo. Photo provided by Blair County Conservation District.

The Blair County Conservation District hosted a ribbon-cutting for NatureWorks Park on October 8, 2020. About 40 invited guests participated in the event to “open” Blair County’s first environmental-specific outdoor recreation area. The property is owned by the Blair County Conservation District and managed by the district staff with many volunteers’ assistance! A PA Department of Conservation and Natural Resources Community Conservation Partnerships Program Grant was received to cover a portion of the cost of construction. Keller Engineers, Inc. of Hollidaysburg provided the design and permitting of the site. For more information on the park, visit our website at https://natureworkspark.org or check out the park on Facebook

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McKean County Conservation District’s My Growing Tree Program Goes Remote

Kits were provided to teachers for the My Growing Tree Program. Photo provided by McKean County Conservation District.

The popular ‘My Growing Tree’ program, traditionally delivered to all McKean County elementary school first graders in April for Arbor Day, took a hiatus during the pandemic. This fall, the McKean County Conservation District, with the Potter County Conservation District and PA DCNR Bureau of Forestry, re-worked the program into a remote kit that could be delivered to schools without visiting classes.

The remote kits loaned to teachers include a lesson plan, videos, activities, and additional resources.

Click here to read the entire article. 

This program was made possible by a DEP Environmental Education Grant.

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PACD to Host Video Content Creation Webinar

During the PACD Education & Outreach Committee meeting on July 13, 2020, the committee discussed the continuing need to create educational content that can be accessed virtually. As a result, PACD Software Specialist Nick Yeagy will host a webinar for conservation districts on creating educational videos. Nick’s full-time job is to create instructional videos for the Clean Water Academy. During the webinar, Nick will share his knowledge and experience to help districts create a video, including providing suggestions for hardware and software and sharing general tips for producing higher quality videos.

The Zoom webinar will take place using Zoom Friday, July 31, 2020, at 10:00 a.m. and is open to all PA conservation district staff, directors, and associate directors. Please send any topics you would like covered or questions you would like answered to Nick at nyeagy@pacd.org by July 28, 2020. You will also have the opportunity to ask questions during the Zoom session.

Please RSVP to Shannon Wehinger at swehinger@pacd.org by July 30 to receive the information to access the webinar.

Thank you to the PA Department of Environmental Protection for supporting PACD in this educational endeavor.

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NACD Announces 2021 Stewardship Theme

The NACD Stewardship and Education Committee is excited to announce the release of the 2021 Poster Contest and Stewardship Week theme: “Healthy Forests = Healthy Communities.”

Trees and forests are critical in providing clean air and water, healthy soil, abundant wildlife habitat, and valuable resources we use every day. Rules, entry forms, and other resources for the 2021 NACD Poster Contest will be available for download later this summer.

The 66th Annual Stewardship Week will take place April 25-May 2, 2021. For more information, visit the NACD Stewardship Program webpage

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PACD Creates PSA on Native Plants – Please Share!

PACD created a public service announcement (PSA) to encourage citizens to plant native plants.

Materials include:

Click here to view the webpage of materials https://pacd.org/?page_id=20773. Please share the PSA scripts with your local radio stations. Conservation districts and partners are encouraged to share the animated version on their social media channels.

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