At its November meeting, the PACD Executive Board voted to hold PACD Winter Meeting activities virtually. The winter 2022 PACD Executive Council Meeting will take place as a video conference on January 27 at 10:00 a.m. Committees will meet virtually prior to the Executive Council session, so watch future editions of Front Page for committee dates. Need to update your district’s slate of voting delegates prior to January? Contact Molly with PACD at mburns@pacd.org.
PACD is offering complimentary space at our 2022 Farm Show booth to conservation districts who would like to set up a display for a day and educate folks from all over the state. It’s an opportunity to highlight your district, your county, and what’s going on in your neck of Penn’s Woods. If your district has an exhibit that travels easily and you would like to spend a few hours enjoying the Farm Show, then this opportunity is for you.
The show will be held January 8 through 15, 2022.
Let us know as soon as possible if your district would like to reserve a day. Please contact Diane Young at dyoung@pacd.org by November 30 with the type of display you have to offer.
On October 21, 2021, PA Department of Conservation and Natural Resources Secretary Cindy Adams Dunn traveled to Adams County. A ceremonial tree was planted at Knouse Foods by the Secretary and a representative from Knouse.
PACD Executive Director Brenda Shambaugh also attended the event and presented the 2021 Maurice K. Goddard Award for Excellence in Environmental Recreation to Secretary Dunn.
On September 29, 2021, the Somerset Conservation District (SCD) held the Stonycreek-Conemaugh River Improvement Project’s 30th Anniversary Tour. SCD Manager Len Lichvar kicked off the tour of the Oven Run Watershed Mine Drainage Abatement Site D near Hooversville then handed it over to PACD staff. PACD Conservation Engineer Danielle Kalp, PE, and PACD Conservation Technician Philip Wilson showed attendees how the water is treated. Also, SCD Watershed Specialist Greg Shustrick contributed to the tour.
PACD immediate past President and South West Region Director Mike Price attended on behalf of the PACD Executive Board.
Click here to read an article and view photos of the event.
Formal and non-formal educators convened in Harrisburg on September 23, 2021, for The Dive Deeper Summit. The summit gathers youth water educators in the Mid-Atlantic Region that pairs knowledge and resource sharing with networking opportunities. Attendees could participate in person or virtually this year.
Shannon Wehinger, PACD Director of Communications and Education, and conservation district staff attended the summit. The summit provided ample opportunities to experience hands-on activities to enhance water education.
The 2021 Conservation District Watershed Specialist Webinar Series will take place October 5-7, 2021. Watershed specialists will learn how to use Stroud Water Research Center’s EnviroDIY program and Monitor My Watershed to build, program, install, and manage a standard Enviro DIY monitoring station; learn how a seasoned watershed specialist approaches project management; learn about prevailing wage; get tips on putting together a project bid package from a conservation district perspective, and much more. Registration is open to conservation district watershed specialists and invited guests only. For a registration link, contact Molly Burns with PACD at mburns@pacd.org.
Ag Progress Days, Pennsylvania’s largest outdoor agricultural exposition, was held August 10-12, 2021, at The Pennsylvania State University’s Research Farms in Rock Springs. PACD and conservation districts from Berks, Cambria, Clinton, Huntingdon, and Lycoming Counties met hundreds of landowners and farmers to discuss local conservation during the three-day event.
Thank you so much to all who volunteered to share the great work of conservation districts with the public!
Conservation District managers from the South Central Region met at Raystown Lake on July 19, 2021. The managers were joined by PACD Executive Director Brenda Shambaugh and a few retired managers as well.
Conservation district directors, associate directors, and staff; partner agency staff; and invited guests are encouraged to register for the PACD Executive Council Video Conference, which will take place from 10:00 a.m. to Noon on July 29, 2021. With PACD committee meetings concluded, this will be the final event in the 2021 Virtual PACD Annual Conference video conference series.
Registration is free and required. Registrants will receive a link to the Zoom meeting, instructions to participate, and a phone number for anyone who needs to participate via conference call. To request a registration link, contact mburns@pacd.org.
The 2021 Virtual PACD Annual Conference will take place as a series of video conferences this July, beginning with the PACD Conservation Committee on July 8 and ending with PACD Executive Council on July 29. Registration is open to all conservation district directors, associate directors, and staff; partner agency staff; and invited guests. Registrants will receive a link to the Zoom meeting and instructions to participate online or via phone.
Please email the listed contact for each video conference you’d like to attend to request a registration link.
PACD Conservation Committee Video Conference
July 8, 2021 | 1:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m.
Contact mburns@pacd.org to request a registration link.
PACD District Employees Committee Video Conference
July 9, 2021 | 1:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m.
Contact hmiller@pacd.org to request a registration link.
PACD Education and Outreach Committee Video Conference
July 14, 2021 | 1:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m.
Contact swehinger@pacd.org to request a registration link.
PACD Legislative Committee Video Conference
July 15, 2021 | 1:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m.
Contact mburns@pacd.org to request a registration link.
PACD Ways and Means Committee Video Conference
July 20, 2021 | 1:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m.
Contact abrown@pacd.org to request a registration link.
PACD Operations Committee Video Conference
July 22, 2021 | 1:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m.
Contact mburns@pacd.org to request a registration link.
PACD Executive Council Video Conference
July 29, 2021 | 10:00 a.m. to Noon
Contact mburns@pacd.org to request a registration link.