On March 26, at Deer Country Farm and Lawn in Manheim, PA, stakeholders gathered for the announcement of $5.5 million to improve soil and water quality in the Susquehanna River Basin. Included in the announcement were grants for Lancaster County Conservation District and Lebanon County Conservation District.

PACD Director of Communications and Education Shannon Wehinger attended the event.

The Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture awarded $392,119 in Sustainable Agriculture Grants to 16 farms, and$5.1 million in Public Private Partnership Grants to six conservation organizations.

Grants are funded through the Pennsylvania Most Effective Basins program, a partnership among federal and state government and the private sector to support Pennsylvania in achieving its water quality goals for the agricultural sector under the Chesapeake Bay Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) and Pennsylvania’s Phase III Watershed Implementation Plan (WIP).

Click here for the event recap, including photos and the full press release. 

PACD has $180,000 remaining to fund the current round of APRP and is accepting applications for farming operations in the Delaware, Ohio, and Chesapeake Bay watersheds on an ongoing basis through June 30, 2026, or until all funds are spent, whichever comes first. Plans eligible for reimbursement include:

• New or updated Manure Management Plans
• New or updated Agricultural Erosion and Sediment Control Plans (Ag E&S Plans)
• New or updated Act 38 Nutrient Management Plans or NRCS 590 plans
• New or updated Conservation Plans

Click here for more information. 

Financial and other support for the Ag Plan Reimbursement Program is provided through a grant from the Pennsylvania State Conservation Commission.

 

 

The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) has invested an additional $15.2 million in the environmental restoration of 15 abandoned mine land (AML) projects as part of the Abandoned Mine Land and Abandoned Mine Drainage Grant Program.

Conservation districts that received grants are:

Clearfield County Conservation District – $1,133,928

Chestnut Grove North – This project is the second and final phase in treating the KORB4 abandoned deep mine discharge in Bloom Township, impacting the Little Anderson Creek within the Anderson Creek Watershed. Grant project work includes constructing a vertical-flow pond, a drainable limestone bed, and a flush pond.

Schuylkill Conservation District – $6,632,829

Schuylkill Haven East – Over 247,000 cubic yards of waste coal slurry will be removed from an abandoned dredge desilting basin located along the Schuylkill River in North Manheim Township. These reclamation efforts will restore nearly 21.5 acres of the Schuylkill River floodplain.

Somerset County Conservation District – $112,986

Rock Tunnel Discharges – Project work includes the development and engineering design of a future abandoned mine drainage abatement project. Project development and engineering design will be completed to determine the most effective method for removing coal refuse and to prepare a design plan to expand the Rock Tunnel Outfall passive treatment system in Conemaugh Township to treat additional abandoned mine drainage discharges that impair South Branch Bens Creek.

Click here to read the entire press release. 

 

State Senator Tracy Pennycuick’s office helped the Berks County Conservation District obtain a PA Department of Community and Economic Development Watershed Restoration and Protection Program grant in the amount of $143,703. The grant funds will be used to restore a wetland and a tributary to Oysterville Creek in Pike Township, Berks County.

Currently, the tributary is routed along the road shoulder and is a traffic concern, especially in winter, when it causes ice buildup. With that come road salt issues, namely road salt entering an exceptional-value, wild brown trout stream. The Berks County Conservation District plans to return the tributary to its original channel and restore the wetlands. 

The Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR) recently announced awards from the 2025 round of Community Conservation Partnerships Program (C2P2) grants. 

Awards totaled nearly $82 million for 295 recreation and conservation projects across Pennsylvania. The DCNR website includes a complete list of awarded projects. 

Chester County Conservation District and PACD both received awards:

• Chester County Conservation District, $132,100, Installation of approximately 21 acres of meadows and/or upland trees in the Lower Delaware River Watershed, Chester County. Work to include landowner outreach and engagement, watershed forestry plantings and post-planting establishment; project sign and other related site improvements.
• Pennsylvania Association of Conservation Districts Inc., $500,000, Installation of approximately 20 acres of riparian forest buffers and 30 acres of lawn to habitat along waterways throughout Pennsylvania. Work to include 2026 mini-grant program; landowner outreach and engagement; watershed forestry plantings and post-planting establishment; project sign and other related site improvements. Conservation districts can apply for a mini-grant here. 

Funding for this round of C2P2 comes from the Keystone Fund, Environmental Stewardship Fund, and other funding sources.

Applications are now being accepted for the 2026 round of funding. To get started, visit the DCNR Grants Customer Service Portal. 

 

The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) is investing $17,325,163 for 89 projects across Pennsylvania that will restore streams, improve fish and wildlife habitat, and reclaim mine lands. The grants are part of the Growing Greener program, Pennsylvania’s largest environmental grant program.

Conservation District Projects Funded include:

• Allegheny County Conservation District – $176,417 for Technical Assistance for Improved Resilience and Healthier Streams in Allegheny County Communities
• Armstrong Conservation District – $171,670 for Buffalo Creek Scenic Drive Streambank Stabilization and Fish Habitat
• Armstrong Conservation District – $34,518 for the Kiski and Cowanshannock Stormwater BMP Demonstration and Implementation Project
• Beaver County Conservation District – $42,238 for Brush Creek Streambank Stabilization
• Beaver County Conservation District – $138,700 for Raccoon Creek Watershed Streambank Stabilization #1 (Energy Transfer Settlement)
• Beaver County Conservation District – $67,924 for Raccoon Creek Watershed Streambank Stabilization #2 (Energy Transfer Settlement)
• Berks County Conservation District – $416,031 for Multi-Project Stream and Floodplain Enhancement Along Cacoosing Creek
• Blair Conservation District – $307,049 for Lewis-Clark Manure Storage for Better Management
• Blair Conservation District – $317,846 for Stock Farm Manure Storage for Better Management
• Cambria County Conservation District – $264,765 for the Cambria County Chesapeake Bay Sediment and Nutrient Reduction Projects – Phase IV
• Cambria County Conservation District – $141,620 for Cambria County Ohio River Watershed Sediment and Nutrient Reduction Projects – Phase III
• Centre County Conservation District – $50,050 for the Centre County Agricultural Plan Development
• Clearfield County Conservation District – $138,900 for the Clearfield County Agricultural Technical Assistance Project
• Clinton County Conservation District – $394,966 for Clinton – Fishing Creek Watershed Improvements
• Erie County Conservation District – $150,000 for the PA VinES Program (Pennsylvania Vested in Environmental Sustainability
• Indiana County Conservation District – $25,393 for Indiana County Riparian Buffers
• Indiana County Conservation District – $302,313 for Stewart Heavy Use Area Implementation
• Indiana County Conservation District – $247,901 for the Pine Run Streambank Stabilization Project
• Indiana County Conservation District – $334,056 for Heeter Farm Manure Storage Implementation
• Indiana County Conservation District – $499,055 for the McNutt Heavy Use Area and Manure Storage Implementation Project
• Lawrence County Conservation District – $94,886 for Slippery Rock Creek Streambank Restoration and Fish Habitat Improvement
• Lehigh County Conservation District – $396,800 for Little Lehigh Creek Stabilization and Enhancement
• Lehigh County Conservation District – $169,140 for Restoration of an Unnamed Tributary to Laurel Run
• Luzerne Conservation District – $85,000 for the Toby Creek Watershed Assessment
• McKean County Conservation District – $487,707 for the Bucks Hollow Agricultural BMP Initiative
• Mifflin County Conservation District – $146,863 for the Falb Stream Restoration
• Northampton County Conservation District – $21,882.00 for the Little Bushkill Creek Stream Bank Restoration and Enhancement Project
• Schuylkill Conservation District – $73,745 for Little Mahantango Creek – Ry-Nan Farm Agricultural BMPs Design and Permit
• Snyder County Conservation District – $328,943 for Snyder County Agricultural BPMs and Stream Restoration Projects
• Snyder County Conservation District – $500,000 for the Rockhill Dairy Roofed HUA and Mortality Composting Project
• Sullivan County Conservation District – $127,809 for Sullivan County Agricultural BMPs from Stormwater and Resource Protection
• Union County Conservation District – $370,561 for Winfield Creek Stream Improvements Phase 2
• Warren County Conservation District – $171,831 for Middle Allegheny River Basin Streambank Stabilization Best Management Practices – Phase 1
• Washington County Conservation District – $205,550 for the 2025 Pike Run Stream Restoration Project
• Westmoreland County Conservation District – $132,606 for Oklahoma Borough Park Streambank Stabilization
• Westmoreland Conservation District – $104,510 for the Manor Park Streambank Stabilization Project
• Westmoreland County Conservation District – $50,000 for Westmoreland County Act 167 Plan Update (Act 167 Grant)

Click here to read the full press release. 

The Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission (PFBC) announced that it has awarded $196,832 in grant funding through its R3 Education Grant Program. 

Through this program, the PFBC will support 16 education projects in 10 counties to promote new and renewed interest in fishing and boating in Pennsylvania through the recruitment of new participants, retention of existing participants, and reactivation of former participants – collectively known as “R3.”

The Mercer County Conservation District received a grant for a “Fishing Skills Workshop Series.”

The next round of grants is expected to open for applications on September 15, 2025. 

Click here to read the entire press release. 

The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) has awarded $5,222,250 for the environmental restoration of seven abandoned mine lands (AML) projects as part of the Abandoned Mine Lands and Acid Mine Drainage Grant Program.

The Elk County Conservation District was awarded $437,761 for the continued operation and maintenance of two lime silos located in Winslow Hill, Saint Mary’s City.

Click here to read the press release. 

The Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission (PFBC) was awarded $134,900 from the United States Department of the Interior’s 2023 Inflation Reduction Act Recovery Implementation Grant program to fund a stream restoration project to benefit federally protected freshwater mussel species in French Creek, Crawford County. The PFBC Board voted to approve a Threatened and Endangered Species Grant to the Crawford County Conservation District (CCCD). 

The grant, not to exceed $134,900, will be used by the CCCD to restore approximately 350 feet of eroding streambank, which impacts instream habitat in a portion of French Creek known to support endangered, threatened, candidate, and rare freshwater mussel species. Stream restoration will include the installation of instream habitat structures to stabilize the eroding streambank, the removal of a gravel bar to reestablish a natural channel cross section, and native vegetation will be planted within the riparian buffer zone to promote streambank stability.

Click here to read more. 

 

The National Association of Conservation Districts (NACD) announced the award of $17.5 million in Outreach and Technical Assistance grants to 161 conservation districts in 45 states and territories.

In partnership with the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), the NACD Outreach and Technical Assistance Grant Program advances the adoption of conservation practices by increasing the capacity of conservation districts across the country to provide technical assistance to farmers, ranchers, and forest stewards. This assistance includes developing conservation plans, designing conservation practices, enrolling producers in conservation programs, and supporting practice implementation.

Pennsylvania’s recipients include:

• Bucks County Conservation District 
• Lehigh County Conservation District 
• Northampton County Conservation District 

Click here to read more.