Last fall, the McKean County Conservation District held an Erosion Control in Our Forests Workshop. Thirty foresters, loggers, logging contractors, and private forest landowners attended the event. Attendees learned more about the fundamentals of erosion control, permitting, planning before a timber harvest, best management practices to implement during the harvest, and stream crossing practices.

The workshop was made possible through a multi-county effort by the conservation districts of Tioga, Potter, Cameron, Elk, and McKean Counties in cooperation with the PA Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI) Implementation Committee and PA Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, Bureau of Forestry.

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 April 13, 2024, the Monroe County Conservation District held a riparian buffer workshop and tree planting at Cherry Valley National Wildlife Refuge in Stroudsburg, PA. Fifty-four people attended the event.

The event included hands-on conservation, such as tree planting, and a presentation on how attendees can protect water quality. The participants also toured the site to learn about previous restoration efforts and how they are working to protect the county’s water resources.

The project was funded by the PACD Nonpoint Source Pollution Prevention Educational Mini-grant Program.

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.

Jefferson County Conservation District held a Farmer Workshop on April 18, 2024, in Brookville, PA. Topics included soil and manure management, the importance of setbacks, and weed identification and control.

The PACD Nonpoint Source Pollution Prevention Educational Mini-grant Program funded 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.

The 2024-25 round of the Nonpoint Source Pollution Prevention Educational Mini-grant Program for Conservation Districts is now open. This program will award up to $2,000 in funding to conservation districts to implement water quality and pollution prevention education programs for adult audiences.

This round offers a total of $32,000. Click here for guidance and the online application. The application period closes on April 30, 2024.

Contact PACD Director of Communications & Education Shannon Wehinger at swehinger@pacd.org with questions.

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.

Mark your calendars for the 2024 Section 319 Virtual Watershed Planning and Implementation Meeting from 9:00 a.m. to Noon May 28-29, 2024. The event is open to entities involved in Section 319 Nonpoint Source Management projects, including conservation district staff, DEP and EPA staff, incorporated watershed associations, counties, municipalities, councils of governments, 501(c)(3) non-profits, educational institutions, and municipal authorities. Look for a registration announcement in an upcoming edition of Front Page.

On October 20, 2023, ninety-eight farmers and agency employees attended an educational grazing field day titled “Harvesting Abundance: Sustainability in our Grazing Havens,” held at the Wilson Land & Cattle Co. in Tionesta, PA.

Most attendees plan to implement the conservation practices they learned, including soil health improvement, rotational grazing, biodiversity, and non-point source pollution reduction via cover crop planting with a no-till planter.

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.

Submitted by Barry Spangler, Ag Conservation Technician, Snyder County Conservation District

The Snyder County Conservation District held a Farming for the Future Day event at the Middlecreek Valley Antique Association Grounds in Selinsgrove on November 1, 2023. Eighteen farmers, landowners, consultants, and conservationists attended the event.

Click here to read more and see more photos. 

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 Friday, September 22, 2023, in partnership with Variety – the Children’s Charity of the Delaware Valley, Montgomery County Conservation District (MCCD) held a “Native Meadow and Riparian Buffer Showcase.” This event toured and described a native meadow and two riparian plantings installed on the Variety campus. The benefits, steps to installation, maintenance requirements, funding, and other project details were discussed.

The meadow planting was completed as a demonstration through a partnership between MCCD, USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, Penn State Extension, and Variety – the Children’s Charity of the Delaware Valley.

The riparian plantings were completed through funding from the TreeVitalize Watersheds (now “Trees for Watersheds”) grant program. The partnership between MCCD and Variety – the Children’s Charity of the Delaware Valley has been ongoing since 2019, with the meadow planting in Fall 2019 and riparian plantings installed in Fall 2020 and Fall 2021. There were approximately 40 people in attendance at the event, coming from many organizations and groups, but all coming together in their interest in environmental conservation projects.

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.