Adopt A Highway

This spring, the Beaver County Conservation District (BCCD) adopted a stretch of State Route 151 in Independence Township. The PA Department of Transportation runs the Adopt A Highway Program to beautify our roads. Twice a year, roadside litter is cleaned up by the organization that adopted the highway. On Earth Day, April 22, 2021, BCCD  staff and directors conducted their first clean-up! The district picked up forty bags of trash, some more oversized items, and a few tires along the roadside. These efforts will improve the look of the road. More importantly, this clean-up will prevent all that trash from ending up in Raccoon Creek or its tributaries which flow along the roadside. 

Tire Collection

The Beaver County Conservation District’s (BCCD) West Nile program conducted its first tire collection event this May. BCCD was awarded money through the DEP West Nile grant to offer mosquito habitat reduction and public outreach through the collection of tires from residents of Beaver County.

The district collected over 1,150 tires during the collection event. With the help of the grant, BCCD lowered the cost for residents by offering a discount price per tire for the first 600 tires collected. The event was a tremendous success. The 600-tire limit for the discount was met on the first day of the collection!

This year the district accepted light truck and car tires up to 20″ off rim. BCCD collaborated with a tire facility that recycles the tires. The district made information available describing the methods of recycling and products made from the recycled rubber. They distributed mosquito dunks for standing water at residents’ homes with information about West Nile Virus, mosquito habitat, and protection from mosquitoes, and offered mosquito activity books for kids. BCCD is so pleased with this year’s event and hopes to expand the event to additional tire types next year.

Clarion Conservation District held a Backyard Conservation workshop on May 6, 2021. The district had to turn away folks after their maximum number of attendees was exceeded. The workshop topics included edible and pollinator rain gardens, rain barrels, and no-till gardening. The event was held outside at the conservation district office.

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 McKean County Conservation District board of directors, along with conservation district and McKean County Planning Commission staff, cleaned up litter along their adopted two-mile stretch of Route 6 West of Smethport. Twenty bags, plus a few larger items, were gathered. The district is part of the Adopt-A-Highway program with PennDOT and holds the litter collection every spring and fall.

Westmoreland Conservation District planned to host a workshop/pasture walk for equine owners. Due to COVID-19 restrictions, the project was reimagined as a video series. The conservation district created a three-part video series showing the connection between horse farm practices and water quality and how the use of manure management plans and good pasture management will reduce those impacts.

• The first video is an introduction to nonpoint source pollution and how horse farms may impact water quality. 
• The second video walks the viewer through writing their farm’s manure management plan. 
• The third video discusses the importance of pasture management. 

The videos contain helpful tips and suggested resources that will help horse owners achieve their goals. The videos are available on the Westmoreland Conservation District YouTube channel. 

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 Snyder County Conservation District (SCCD) held its Farmers Spring Thaw Meeting on April 9, 2021, in the Paxtonville United Methodist Church’s roofed picnic pavilion.

Fifty-six people attended the meeting. Topics included better management of farm soils and manure, updates on Snyder County’s Action Plan, USDA program updates, and protecting water resources while mixing and loading.

Guest presenters from the conservation district, Snyder County Commissioners, USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA), and Penn State Extension presented either in person or through recordings.

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.

Greene County Conservation District staff and Greene County Farm Bureau held a Clean-up Day on April 28, 2021. They collected 43 bags of trash!

The Bucks County Conservation District (BCCD) wrapped up April with an Adopt A Highway cleanup along Ferry Road in Plumstead Township. Through this cleanup and others during April, BCCD staff removed at least 400 pounds of trash that would have otherwise washed into local waterways.

Snyder County Conservation District (SCCD) held four half-day manure management plan writing workshops in October 2020 and March 2021. Thirteen farmers attended.

Barry Spangler, SCCD Agricultural Conservation Technician, gave an overview of the new Manure Management Manual and other agricultural environmental regulations. He gave a step-by-step process of writing manure management plans that meet these new regulations.

Spangler also showed a video demonstrating PAOneStop, a free Penn State-managed website where farmers can create their own maps. 

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.

After receiving a tip from a concerned citizen, the Jefferson County Conservation District helped remove material dumped in North Fork Redbank Creek. The district collected 11 bags of trash.

The district is participating in the Elk County Conservation District trash challenge. The deadline to participate in the challenge is July 1, 2021. 

Potter County Conservation District planned to bring together local producers for an on-farm field day to demonstrate how rotational gazing can benefit their farm financially and environmentally. However, with COVID-19 restrictions, the format was changed from an in-person field day to a series of rotational grazing videos.

The videos include:

• Intro to Rotational Grazing 
• Benefits and Methods of Rotational Grazing 
• Equipment for Rotational Grazing 

The videos are available on the district YouTube channel. 

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.