The Association elected officers at the annual Pennsylvania Association of Conservation Districts (PACD) meeting on July 17, 2024, in State College, PA. Among them was Cambria County Conservation District Director Dennis Beck, who was re-elected President.

The 2024 PACD officers are as follows:

• President: Dennis Beck, Cambria County Conservation District
• 1^st Vice President: Emil Bove, Westmoreland Conservation District
• 2^nd Vice President: Kelly Stagen, Pike County Conservation District
• Secretary/Interim Treasurer: Sonia Wasco, Lancaster County Conservation District

Executive Board Members not up for election and continuing to serve their terms:

• North Central Region Director: Dr. Robert Shannon, Centre County Conservation District
• North West Region Director & NACD North East Region Representative: Cliff Lane, McKean County Conservation District
• North East Region Director: Thomas Herbert, Luzerne Conservation District
• South East Region Director: Piper Sherburne, Berks County Conservation District
• South West Region Director: Barb Peace, Indiana County Conservation District
• NACD Director: Ron Rohall, Westmoreland Conservation District
• Also, Sonia Wasco, Lancaster County Conservation District, will continue to serve as the Interim South Central Region Director and Secretary/Interim Treasurer.

The Foundation for PA Watersheds announced grant awards to advance the protection and restoration of our waterways.

Two conservation districts received funding:

• $11,385 to Indiana County Conservation District for the Lucerne 3A passive AMD treatment system.
• $7,500 to Westmoreland County Conservation District for the Irwin AMD treatment system land acquisition.

Congratulations to Indiana and Westmoreland Conservation Districts!

The Foundation for Pennsylvania Watersheds is a grant-making foundation and non-profit organization dedicated to the conservation and protection of Pennsylvania’s water resources. Founded in 1994, they invest in projects that protect the best and restore the rest of Pennsylvania’s streams. 

The PACD water resource trainer or instructional designer works under a technical training grant provided by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP). This grant provides technical training on 25 PA Code Chapter 102 (Erosion and Sediment Control) and 25 PA Code Chapter 105 (Dam Safety and Waterway Management). The position may also support other conservation, water resource, and water quality-related training. This is a full-time, salaried position based out of Harrisburg, PA. The position reports to the Executive Director. The salary range is $56,000-64,000/year.

Candidates must submit a resume and cover letter to the PACD via email with the subject heading “Water Resource Trainer” to jobs@pacd.org. The deadline to apply is June 5, 2024.

Click here for the full announcement. 

On April 29, 2024, Senator Gene Yaw and Senator Elder Vogel offered remarks regarding Conservation District Week in Pennsylvania. Click here to watch the video of Senator Yaw and here for the video of Senator Vogel. 

Thank you to conservation districts that reached out to their legislators and the public last week to share your great work!

The keynote presentation at the 2024 Watershed Congress was “The Pennsylvania Association of Conservation Districts, Local Conservation Districts, and You – Helping Achieve Pennsylvania’s Forest and Meadow Goals.” The keynote featured representatives from two Pennsylvania conservation districts discussing a PACD grant program that supports the creation of conventional riparian buffers, multi-functional riparian buffers, and lawn conversions. These programs were developed to help achieve Pennsylvania’s goal of planting 5,000 acres of upland forest and 5,000 acres of meadow by 2025.

The event was held on March 23, 2024, at the Montgomery County Community College, Pottstown, PA.

The speakers included Brian Vadino, Watershed Specialist for the Montgomery County Conservation District. Brian spoke about a project in the Perkiomen Creek Watershed that the districts completed through the PACD Riparian Buffer Sub-Grant for Conservation Districts program.

Kent Himelright, Watershed Coordinator for Berks County Conservation District, spoke about a riparian buffer project at Zartman Farm and a lawn-to-meadow conversion project at the Caernarvon Municipal Authority.

Click here to watch the presentation. 

Financial and other support for the Riparian Buffer Sub-Grant for Conservation Districts program 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.

 

Close to 4,000 township officials and guests from all over Pennsylvania will attend the annual Pennsylvania State Association of Township Supervisors (PSATS) Conference and Trade Show on April 14-16, 2024. Once again, there will be a conservation district booth at the show from Sunday, April 14, to Tuesday, April 16.

PACD is seeking volunteers for the following shifts:

• Sunday, April 14, 1:00 p.m.–5:00 p.m. (1st shift) (2 volunteers needed)
• Sunday, April 14, 6:30 p.m.–8:00 p.m. (2nd shift) (1 volunteer needed)
• Monday, April 15, 7:30 a.m.–Noon (1st shift) (1 volunteer needed)
• Tuesday, April 16, 7:30 a.m.–1:30 p.m. (2 volunteers needed)

Please consider volunteering for a morning or afternoon shift at the conservation district booth. This is a valuable opportunity to promote the districts and explain the type of work they do, as well as reinforce existing relationships with local township officials.

To volunteer, please contact Roxanne Dohner at rdohner@pacd.org.

With sadness, we report the passing of former PACD President Glenn Seidel on February 11, 2024.

Glenn served as a director at Berks County Conservation District for over twenty-five years. He served on the PACD Executive Board for five years. In that time, he served as 2nd Vice President, 1^st Vice President, and served as President from 2015 to 2017.He was also a member of the PACD Education and Outreach Committee.

Glenn was recognized for his dedication to conservation districts with the PACD President’s Award in 2010. He will be missed.

Click here to read his obituary. 

Thanks to funding and support from the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service and the Pennsylvania State Conservation Commission, PACD now has six conservation planners on staff. These new staff members will work toward conservation planning certification to assist in conservation efforts across the Commonwealth.

PACD conservation planners work out of USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) field offices to provide services as cost-effectively as possible.

• Bucks County – Grace Rhodes, 215-453-9527
• Dauphin County – Arek Moczulski, 717-559-4020 x3
• Erie County – Joshua Ferraro, 814-796-5031
• Franklin County – Daniel Hausman, 717-446-8566
• Indiana County – Nathan Edwards, 724-427-3333
• Susquehanna County – Kelsey Quinones, 570-278-1197

Click here to read more about the program.

Financial and other support for the Certified Conservation Planner Program is provided by the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service and the Pennsylvania State Conservation Commission.

PACD wrapped up its Winter Meeting with the PACD Executive Council Meeting via Zoom on January 25, 2024. Eighty-seven people attended. In addition to regular business, the meeting attendees heard from partners, including Jill Whitcomb, PA Department of Environmental Protection, Doug Wolfgang, State Conservation Commission, and Denise Coleman, USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service.  

Photo caption: Screenshots from the PACD Winter Meeting.

BCTV.org recently released a video on urban agriculture programs. The video features Briana Johanson, Agriculture Resource Conservationist, and host Ryan Bradley, Clean City Coordinator for the City of Reading, discussing urban agriculture programs offered by the Berks County Conservation District.

Click here to watch the video.