On February 1, 2022, from 1:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. PACD will host a virtual National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) Grants Writing Workshop. While there will be some focus on the Bay, the webinar will apply to all counties in PA.

This training aims to improve the ability of conservation districts to take advantage of NFWF funding opportunities. Staff, directors, and associate directors from Pennsylvania’s conservation districts are encouraged to attend.

Registration is free, but advanced registration is required. Click here for the flyer and here to register. 

Please get in touch with Holly Miller at hmiller@pacd.org with questions.

Update to “Bradford and Schuylkill Conservation Districts Receive NFWF Grants” article in the October 18, 2021 newsletter.

Franklin County Conservation District also received a National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) Grant in addition to Bradford and Schuylkill Conservation Districts as reported in the last issue of Front Page. They are mistakenly listed under the Virginia projects.

The Franklin County Conservation District will use the $50,000 grant to develop a Watershed Action Plan for the county to determine sources of nutrients and sediment in seven sub-watersheds. The project will identify best management practices for implementation to assist with the pollution reduction targets and water quality improvement goals identified in Franklin’s Countywide Action Plan.

Click here to read about all the projects. 

October is Riparian Buffer month! To celebrate, Juniata County Conservation District installed a riparian buffer educational sign at the Christian Retreat Center in East Waterford to explain the benefits of planting trees for water quality protection.

The signage was created from templates produced by PACD through a PA Department of Environmental Protection Environmental Education Grant. The templates are available here. 

The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) awarded over $4.1 million to 13 projects statewide that will help communities restore impaired local watersheds.

The Section 319 Nonpoint Source Management Grants program supports projects that carry out best management practices (BMPs) specified in Watershed Implementation Plans for 36 watersheds around the state, with special consideration for projects in Pennsylvania’s share of the Chesapeake Bay Watershed.

The following conservation district projects received Section 319 Grants:

• Pennsylvania Association of Conservation Districts: $362,565 to support nonpoint source pollution education by county conservation district offices.
• Clearfield County Conservation District: $722,661 for design, permitting, and construction of a passive treatment system to remediate Korb 4 AMD discharge in Little Anderson Creek in Bloom Township.
• Lancaster County Conservation District: $121,000 to identify and implement projects to install streambank buffers, streambank fencing, and livestock crossings on various tributaries in Mill Creek Watershed.
• Schuylkill Conservation District: $240,000 to design a streambank restoration project for the Swatara Creek floodplain in Ravine, Tremont Township.
• York County Conservation District: $508,581 to design, permit and construct a stream restoration project, including streambed and bank stabilization, on Willis Run, a tributary to Codorus Creek, and in the west branch of Codorus Creek, in the City of York.
• York County Conservation District: $280,898 for Codorus Creek Watershed stream restorations.

Click here to read the entire press release. 

Grant funding is provided by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and authorized through Section 319(h) of the federal Water Pollution Control Act.

On October 12, 2021, the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and the federal-state Chesapeake Bay Program partnership announced more than $10 million in grants for projects that will protect and restore the Chesapeake Bay and its surrounding watershed.

Fourteen projects that will benefit Pennsylvania received $3.88 million. The conservation district funded projects are:

1. Bradford County Conservation District – Accelerated Watershed Implementation Plan Development – II. Grant amount: $49,995. The project aims to accelerate the planning of Bradford County’s Watershed Implementation Plan in the areas of stream rehabilitation, agricultural management, stream-crossing replacement, and forestry. The project will address water quality impacts in the county by creating designs for stream rehabilitation and crossings, comprehensive nutrient management, riparian buffer installation, and reforestation.
2. Schuylkill Conservation District – Little Mahanoy Creek Headwaters Restoration Plan Development. Grant Amount: $50,000. Develop a detailed watershed restoration plan for the headwaters of Little Mahanoy Creek Watershed. The project will provide a blueprint for managing stormwater in the watershed, restoring habitat in the headwaters, and improving water quality to protect the unimpaired downstream sections where trout reproduce naturally.

Click here to read about all the projects. 

PACD is now accepting mini-grant applications for up to $3,000 to implement educational and outreach activities that support and extend the work of the Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP). Projects should focus on CREP enrollment, re-enrollment, and/or CREP maintenance.

The guidelines and application for the CREP Mini-grant Program for Conservation Districts are posted here. The deadline to apply is November 12, 2021. Questions should be directed to Holly Miller at hmiller@pacd.org.

Financial and other support for the CREP Outreach Program Office Mini-grant Program is provided by the Pennsylvania Association of Conservation Districts, Inc. through a Growing Greener Watershed Protection grant from the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection and with additional support from USDA-NRCS.

The National Association of Conservation Districts (NACD) announced $2.1 million in new technical assistance grants to nearly 60 conservation districts in 23 states and territories. In Pennsylvania, Cambria County Conservation District received a grant.

The funding supports resource technicians, conservation planners, program support specialists, and technical specialists based on local needs and priorities.

Click here to read more. 

PACD received a PA Department of Environmental Protection Environmental Education grant for Template Watershed Signage. This project aims to provide templates for conservation districts to use for interpretative signage to educate the public on completed stream restoration projects. The topics are vegetative buffers, fish structures, and macroinvertebrates.

At the request of a conservation district, a smaller version of the template signage is now available (18×24”). These smaller templates are NOT editable. Vacker Signs will make updates for you for a very reasonable price. 

Also, additional multi-seat licensed stock photos and a new log vane deflector illustration are available here. (This link includes ALL the template signage materials.)

Thanks to Tammy Piper at Franklin County Conservation District for partnering with PACD on this project. Contact Shannon Wehinger at swehinger@pacd.org with questions.

Financial and other support for this signage has been provided by the Department of Environmental Protection’s 2020 Environmental Education Grants Program.

Reminder: PACD is accepting sub-grant applications to implement multi-functional riparian buffers. The implementation of these grants will help the commonwealth plant 95,000 acres of riparian buffers by 2025.

To date, PACD has awarded $307,769 in sub-grants to 19 conservation district projects covering 67.69 acres of multi-functional riparian buffers.

• 2 grants from Allegheny County Conservation District
• 1 from Armstrong Conservation District
• 1 from Berks County Conservation District
• 2 from Butler County Conservation District
• 1 from Chester County Conservation District
• 1 from Columbia County Conservation District
• 1 from Dauphin County Conservation District
• 1 from Huntingdon County Conservation District
• 4 from Indiana County Conservation District
• 1 from Lancaster County Conservation District
• 1 from Monroe County Conservation District
• 2 from Montgomery County Conservation District
• 1 from Westmoreland Conservation District

This grant is 100% paid. There is no match required.

The guidelines and application for the statewide sub-grant program for conservation districts are available here. Direct questions to Holly Miller at hmiller@pacd.org.

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 Conservation and Natural Resources, Bureau of Recreation and Conservation.

PACD received a PA Department of Environmental Protection Environmental Education grant for Template Watershed Signage. This project aims to provide templates for conservation districts to use for interpretative signage to educate the public on completed stream restoration projects. Draft versions of the signs were shown to the watershed specialists during their annual meeting in October.

The templates are complete and now available at this link. The topics are vegetative buffers, fish structures, and macroinvertebrates. The templates are in Publisher so districts can insert their logo, update the URL and phone number, and swap out photos.

Districts may apply for the Nonpoint Source Pollution Prevention Mini-grant program (see above) to create a sign using the templates. Contact Shannon Wehinger at swehinger@pacd.org about what should be included in this type of application.

Thanks to Tammy Piper at Franklin County Conservation District for partnering with PACD on this project.

Financial and other support for this signage has been provided by the Department of Environmental Protection’s 2020 Environmental Education Grants Program.