PACD is offering complimentary space at our 2018 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.

Contact Sandy Austin at saustin@pacd.org or 717-238-7223 by October 2^nd with the type of display you have to offer. Since this is something new, at this time we’re just trying to gauge interest and are happy to discuss your ideas.

Click here to read more about the PA Farm Show.

Please register now if you are planning to become a Certified Professional in Erosion and Sediment Control (CPESC) and wish to attend the Exam Review Course sponsored by PACD. The course will held on September 26, 2017 at the Red Lion Hotel Harrisburg Hershey, Harrisburg, PA. Register at the EnviroCert website – click here to view the flyer for details. 

The review course is open to anyone – district, agency, or private – who is actively pursuing a CPESC certification through EnviroCert International, Inc. Please pass this information along to anyone who may be interested.

CPESC is a professional designation for E&S technicians, engineers, and other specialists involved in design, construction, inspection, or other aspects of erosion and sedimentation control. The review course is designed to ensure that CPESC applicants understand which concepts will be covered by the exam and acts as a review for most of those concepts.

There is special pricing for PA conservation district staff. Contact Terry Fisher at tfisher@pacd.org for the district staff discount code or with other questions.

PACD is partnering with the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) and the State Conservation Commission (SCC) to deliver a three day Introduction to Conservation Planning course. This free training will take place November 7-9, 2017 at the Holiday Inn Harrisburg (Hershey area) in Grantville, PA.

Please note that this training is taking place this fall instead of next spring due to funding issues. There will not be an Intro to Conservation Planning Training offered in 2018.

The event is for entry-level employees of all organizations in Pennsylvania delivering conservation planning technical assistance, including but not limited to, NRCS, conservation districts, SCC, farmland preservation entities, non-profits, and private consultants. Lunch will be provided.

The application link will be emailed to those who are interested in taking the course after they have submitted their pre-requisite certificate of completion to swehinger@pacd.org. Click here for information on the pre-requisite. The deadline to apply is October 20, 2017.

Registration is now open for the 17^th Annual Conservation District Watershed Specialist Meeting. Highlights from this year’s agenda include:

• Sessions on topics including social media, the PracticeKeeper watershed module, lake habitat improvement, and urban stormwater management
• The annual watershed specialist project showcase, featuring presentations about unique projects from fellow watershed specialists
• Regional breakouts with watershed specialists and watershed managers to discuss regional issues and opportunities
• An optional field tour that includes three projects in the Tangascootack Creek watershed and a wetlands mitigation site tour

The meeting will be held October 4-6, 2017. Registration for this meeting is open to conservation district watershed specialists and invited guests only. The deadline to register is Friday, September 22. Click here for more information and to register for the meeting. Please contact Molly Burns at mburns@pacd.org with any questions.

PACD Executive Assistant & Meeting Planner Molly Burns recently attended the 2017 National Association of Conservation District’s (NACD) Northeast Regional Meeting, August 13-15 in Burlington, Vermont. When asked what she found most valuable, Molly said “Learning about districts in other states – our similarities and differences – is an eye-opening experience. I hope that our members all take advantage of having the regional meeting so close to home next year. There is so much we can learn from each other.”

During the meeting, Molly gained valuable contacts and hands-on information to help coordinate the 2018 NACD Northeast Regional Meeting, which will take place in combination with the PACD/SCC Joint Annual Conference, July 15-18, 2018, at the DoubleTree Resort by Hilton Hotel in Lancaster, PA.

Ag Progress Days at Penn State was held August 15-17, 2017. PACD organized a booth for conservation districts to speak with attendees.

Several volunteers made the booth possible: Ann Donovan (Centre), Eric Naguski (Dauphin), Eric Ernst (Union), Shanon Burkland Stamm (Union), Abbe Hamilton (Huntingdon), Pierce Wilson (Fayette), Joe Dietrick (Westmoreland), and Rob Shannon (Centre). Thank you for your time and for helping to make the booth a success!

As is their custom, the Pennsylvania House and Senate Agriculture and Rural Affairs committees held a joint informational meeting on August 16, 2017 at Ag Progress Days. The session covered the state’s contributions to the multi-state effort to restore the Chesapeake Bay. The second hearing was organized by Congressman Thompson and addressed the state of agriculture in Pennsylvania in front of a panel consisting of the PA Farm Bureau President, two congressmen, and the Secretary of Agriculture. 

PACD Executive Director Brenda Shambaugh provided testimony during these two sessions. Click here to read the text of Shambaugh’s testimony titled, “Conservation District Activities within the Chesapeake Bay Watershed” and here for “Barnyard Discussion: Issues Driving the State of Pennsylvania Agriculture.”

Click here to read more about the meeting. 

 

Mark your calendars for July 15-18, 2018, because the 2018 National Association of Conservation Districts (NACD) Northeast Regional Meeting is coming to Pennsylvania! The meeting will be held in conjunction with the PACD/SCC Joint Annual Conference at the DoubleTree Resort by Hilton Hotel in Lancaster, PA. Look to future editions of Front Page for more information.

During the PACD/SCC Joint Annual Conference, a soil health tour was held. The group visited Hershey Farms in Elizabethtown, PA. The farm is owned by Jim Hershey, President of the No-Till Alliance of Pennsylvania.

The tour was led by Joe Kraft, USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) State Soil Scientist. Joe highlighted cover cropping, interseeding, and no-till as methods to encourage and maintain soil health.   

PACD and the SCC would like to extend special thanks to Jim Hershey and NRCS for making this tour possible.

Click here to see photos of the tour. 

 

During the Hospitality Suite at the PACD/SCC Joint Annual Conference, several brave individuals participated in a new PACD game show, the “Newly Misled Game.” Friends paired up to see how well they knew each other.

Congratulations to Karen Books and Fred Fiscus for winning the game.

Thanks to Allegheny, Armstrong, Susquehanna, and York Counties for providing the snacks for our hospitality suite!