The Allegheny County Conservation District held its second annual Erosion Control Workshop on February 14 and 15, 2019. The district had over 100 participants, ranging from contractors and consultants to developers. This two-day workshop focused on proper installation and maintenance of erosion and sediment controls. Each participant left with an erosion and sediment field guide designed by the district to take into the field while conducting inspections.

Monroe and Pike County Conservation Districts partnered to hold two day-long workshops on green infrastructure and permit coordination in Tannersville, PA. The districts connected with engineers and other professionals involved in project planning and development.

Click here to read the entire article and to view the video.

Lehigh County Conservation District (LCCD) was awarded an urban agriculture conservation grant through a partnership with the National Association of Conservation Districts (NACD) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service to boost technical capacity nationwide.

LCCD will expand its pilot urban agriculture field experience education program in Allentown. Through program implementation, urban, school-aged youth will be provided with training for twenty-first century green-collar jobs, increased access to healthy foods, and STEM education – all of which are to be shared with the broader community. Equipping students with critical thinking skills through participation in this field experience curriculum ensures they will be outfitted with experience to address and predict the area’s current and future conservation needs.P

Click here to read more about the LCCD program and here for the full list of recipients.

Governor Tom Wolf announced the investment of $121 million for 25 drinking water, wastewater, and non-point source projects across 20 counties through the Pennsylvania Infrastructure Investment Authority (PENNVEST). Chester County Conservation District will receive over $1.1 million for non-point source water quality improvement projects:

• Project 1 – received a $695,838 loan to pay for a circular concrete manure storage facility, roofed stacking structure, barnyard and curbing with confinement fence, roofed heavy use area, gravel access road, roof cutters, downspouts, and reinforced gravel animal walkway on the Clair Good property. The project is expected to eliminate over 8,000 pounds of nitrogen, 3,529 pounds of phosphorus, and 10,180 pounds of sediment from Cedar Creek, a tributary to the Conestoga and Susquehanna Rivers.
• Project 2 – received a $469,308 grant to cover the costs related to construction of manure storage facilities, heavy use areas, walkways, and storm water controls on the Benuel Stoltzfus property. The project is expected to eliminate 6,612 pounds of nitrogen, 2,789 pounds of phosphorus, and 5,660 pounds of sediment from entering the Little Conestoga Creek, a tributary to the Conestoga and Susquehanna Rivers.

Click here to read the entire press release.

On October 25, 2018, the Clarion County Conservation District hosted a field tour on the impacts of nonpoint source pollution. There were four stops on the tour, including an acid mine drainage passive treatment system, a potato farm, a dirt and gravel road project site, and the construction site of a new office for the Cook Forest State Park.

Attendees included elected officials and district board members. The tour highlighted past and future nonpoint source pollution projects that will improve water quality.

Financial and other support for this project is provided by the Pennsylvania Association of Conservation Districts, Inc. through a grant from the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection under Section 319 of the Clean Water Act, administered by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

The Susquehanna County Conservation District has been developing local weekly radio outreach for many years. The “Conservation Corner” radio spot is aired for approximately 10 minutes on Thursdays. The radio spots from October 2018 to the present are now available online.

Recent topics include: riparian buffers, spotted lanternfly, wild turkeys, and Susquehanna County’s recycling efforts.

Click here to listen.

Last month, the Berks County Conservation District (BCCD) in partnership with the Tulpehocken Chapter of Trout Unlimited (TU) and Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission (PFBC) sponsored 10 new Trout in the Classroom aquarium setups for schools in Berks County. In addition, the BCCD funded two Trout in the Classroom display aquariums, one for the Berks County Agricultural Center Lobby and another for Berks Nature.

Schools that participate in the Trout in the Classroom program received brook trout eggs from the PFBC in early November. Trout eggs have started to hatch in the classroom aquariums, and students will continue to take care of the trout throughout the school year until they are fingerlings (about 2 – 3 inches long). Teachers use the aquarium ecosystem in lesson plans to learn about good water quality, life cycles, and being good stewards of natural resources.

In late April, students get to release the trout fingerlings into a PFBC-approved trout stream. Over 20 Berks County schools, and 16 of 19 Berks schools districts, now have an active Trout in the Classroom program.

Click here for more information. 

Bedford County Conservation District received a Nonpoint Source Pollution (NPS) Prevention Educational Mini-grant to conduct a project for homeowners. The “Homeowners Practices to Minimize NPS Pollution” project provided education at a variety of events in the county, such as the county fair, farmers market, and the home and garden club. Rain barrels were also distributed as part of the project.

Financial and other support for this project is provided by the Pennsylvania Association of Conservation Districts, Inc. through a grant from the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection under Section 319 of the Clean Water Act, administered by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

McKean County Conservation District held a Streamside Stewardship Workshop on October 20, 2018. The workshop was for landowners with a stream on their property. Participants learned about practices and tools to improve stream riparian areas and reduce non-point source pollution in local streams. Topics included  tree planting tips for successful riparian buffers, identifying invasive plants, and a demonstration of practices for healthy streams.

Financial and other support for this project is provided by the Pennsylvania Association of Conservation Districts, Inc. through a grant from the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection under Section 319 of the Clean Water Act, administered by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

As part of the Indiana County Conservation District’s Nonpoint Source Pollution Prevention Educational Mini-grant project, the district hosted over 40 attendees at a field day and pasture walk. Attendees learned about conservation practices to implement on agricultural land.

The field day was hosted at the Dave Pounds Farm where rotational grazing, no-till renovation of pastures, and other best management practices were showcased. Speakers included J.B. Harrold, Southwest regional USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service grazing specialist, and Dr. Sjoerd Duiker, Professor of Soil Management and Applied Soil Physics.

Financial and other support for this project is provided by the Pennsylvania Association of Conservation Districts, Inc. through a grant from the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection under Section 319 of the Clean Water Act, administered by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.