The Snyder County Conservation District (SCCD) held its annual Farmers Winter Meeting on Friday, February 14, 2020, near Selinsgrove.

Ninety-six people attended the meeting. Topics presented during the meeting included understanding the science and the practical application of soil health on your farms, U.S. Department of Agriculture updates, the PA Resource Enhancement and Protection (REAP) tax credit program, repairing and maintaining farm lanes, and the SCCD’s stream buffer program.

Guest speakers came from the farming community, PA No-Till Alliance, Stroud Water Resource Center, USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, USDA Farm Service Agency, PA State Conservation Commission, Penn State Center for Dirt & Gravel Roads Studies, SCCD, and Penn State Extension.

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.

 

PACD Executive Director Brenda Shambaugh traveled to Potter County on March 6, 2020, for the district’s legislative luncheon.

The luncheon was held at the beautiful Susquehannock Lodge and Trail Center. It was a productive afternoon with district and legislative updates and a question and answer session. The event is a way to showcase efforts and discuss conservation issues and policies throughout the Commonwealth. The district staff and board have been busy planning and constructing numerous projects to conserve our natural resources in Potter County. Also, the district has been actively assisting and educating farmers and the general public on local resource concerns.

On January 9, 2020, Jefferson Conservation District hosted an “Erosion and Sedimentation Control in our Forests” Workshop for foresters, loggers and contractors at the Cobblestone Inn in Punxsutawney.

Presenters from Bureau of Forestry, PA Fish and Boat Commission, Armstrong Conservation District, Clarion Conservation District and Jefferson Conservation District provided attendees with a wide variety of information about topics including erosion and sedimentation control, Chapter 105 regulations, invasive plant species and ticks, fish and boat regulations, and insects and forest health.

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.

On Thursday, February 20, 2020, Chester County Conservation District (CCCD) Urban Team Leader Gordon Roscovich and District Engineer Molly Deger gave a presentation about the December 2019 National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit updates to a full room of 180 design professionals at a facility outside of Coatesville, PA.

The venue and presentation logistics were coordinated by Chester County Engineers, a local membership-based organization, which agreed to host an open forum for CCCD to give a 2.5-hour presentation on the updates. Initial survey responses have been positive, and recommendations for things to change next time are to make it longer and to do a follow-up in six months or more with lessons learned at that point.

A PDF of the PowerPoint slides is available here or if you would like the PowerPoint file for any use please reach out to Gordon at groscovich@chesco.org or Molly at mdeger@chesco.org at CCCD.

The Lehigh and Northampton County Conservation Districts are hosting a Chapter 102 Workshop on March 24, 2020, at the Lehigh Valley Hotel and Conference Center. The event will include National Pollution Discharge Elimination System updates from the PA Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) and conservation districts, as well as separate breakout tracks for engineers/developers, contractors, and municipal representatives. Please click here for registration information.  A detailed agenda will be published shortly.

Discounted tickets are available for conservation district employees/board members and DEP staff interested in attending. Please contact Holly Kaplan for more information. 

The National Association of Conservation Districts (NACD) announced $1 million in urban agriculture conservation funding for 21 conservation districts across 13 states.

NACD and the U.S. Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service first partnered through the Urban Agriculture Conservation Grant Initiative in 2016 to support technical assistance activities in developed or developing areas.

Two recipients are from Pennsylvania:

1. Allegheny County Conservation District (ACCD)
   Soil Health 2.0: Enhancing Productivity in Allegheny County
   The ACCD will support a series of soil health science and management workshops, development of an urban soil management guide, provide staff support for a pilot master composter program, and map out soil properties for potential urban ag lands across vacant lots in two low-income communities.
2. Indiana County Conservation District (ICCD)
   Growing Community Education of Urban Agriculture with Community Partners
   The ICCD will establish local partnerships to improve operations and locate spaces for edible plants to provide onsite examples for workshops on urban agriculture and soil health best management practices. District staff will be trained to prepare and run workshops to expand knowledge of local agriculture as well as soil and water management.

Click here to read about the other recipients. 

Submitted by Judy Becker, Manager, Northumberland County Conservation District

The smell of breakfast was in the air as 75 farmers and landowners gathered the Saturday morning of January 25.  In the initial planning phases to create water quality goals in the Warrior Run watershed, the Warrior Run Watershed Team decided a pancake breakfast was a great way to connect with those living in the watershed.  The Team could not think of a better way to engage the community than to offer free breakfast and time of fellowship where they can learn about the watershed in which they live.

Click here to read the entire article and see more photos of the event. 

The Lawrence County Conservation District (LCCD) created an edible rain garden for their 2019-20 Nonpoint Source Pollution Prevention Mini-grant Project.

LCCD Watershed Specialist Mary Burris installed an edible rain garden at the Lower East Side Community Garden in conjunction with the Lower East Side Neighborhood Watch, Tri-County CleanWays, and DON Enterprises. Columbia Gas also provided volunteer labor and heavy machinery.

The community garden feeds more than 50 families, and the edible rain garden will supply blueberries, elderberries, Aronia berries, strawberries, and rhubarb. The rain garden also serves as a stormwater best management practice to catch and slow runoff and will provide a location for education programs.

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.

Recently, the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service wrote a Conservation Showcase titled “Streambank Restoration at Waynesboro Church,” written by Justin Atkins. The piece features a stream restoration project by Franklin County Conservation District.

From the piece:

Streambank erosion is currently one of the most common problems affecting streams in Pennsylvania. When a stream is eroded, sediment contaminates the water; sediment is currently one of the largest contributors to pollution in the Chesapeake Bay. When a streambank that ran along the property of Great Commission Deliverance Ministries Church in Waynesboro, Pennsylvania, began to erode, Jana Mellott connected with Tammy Piper, Watershed Specialist for the Franklin County Conservation District, in May of 2014 to see what could be done to improve the stream.

Click here to read the article. 

On October 28, 2019, the Armstrong Conservation District held a stormwater workshop. Thirty-five attendees attended the workshop. As part of the project, the district distributed thirty-two rain barrels, produced a stormwater sign, and created a rain barrel demonstration area at the conservation district office.

This project was funded by a PA Department of Environmental Protection environmental education grant and a Nonpoint Source Pollution Prevention Mini-grant through PACD.

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.