PACD members and partners are invited to register for the PACD/SCC Joint Annual Conference hosted by the Westmoreland Conservation District. The event will take place July 15-17 at Seven Springs Mountain Resort in Champion, PA. Go Laurel Highlands has compiled lots of fun things to do in the area and participants will receive a 20% discount on Seven Springs activity passes, so come early, stay late, and bring the whole family!

On Tuesday, July 15, participants can bike the beautiful Youghiogheny River Trail to Confluence, hike one of the trails at Ohiopyle State Park, or get together for scramble-format golf at the picturesque Highlands Golf Club at Seven Springs. Time has been set aside for members to talk about conservation district funding on Tuesday evening.

Wednesday, July 16, offers two educational tracks, one following the Oven Run AMD Project and one examining Large-Scale Solar in Pennsylvania. Both tracks include a morning session and afternoon tour. The day wraps up with dinner at Seven Springs and a reception celebrating the 80th Anniversary of the Pennsylvania State Conservation Commission (SCC) sponsored by Go Laurel Highlands. Join us for drinks, snacks, and conservation trivia!

On Thursday, July 17, PACD and the SCC will recognize outstanding members of the conservation community during our joint awards luncheon. The SCC Briefing Session in the morning will feature partner activities and highlight conservation district projects, followed by the SCC business meeting in the afternoon.

Westmoreland Conservation District invites conservation districts to show off their local pride by creating a basket of local items to donate to the basket raffle. Many thanks to Westmoreland for hosting the conference and organizing the basket raffle to benefit PACD.

One article can’t capture all the happenings at this year’s conference, so click here for more information and to register today! 

 

Registration is open for the 2025 Management Summit & PreCon, scheduled for September 16–18 at the Wyndham Garden Conference Center in State College.

This year’s program includes:

A PreCon day dedicated to helping emerging leaders navigate transition, uncertainty, and change
A Day 1 Keynote and Manager Roundtable on Artificial Intelligence
A Day 2 workshop on Communicating to Influence

Management Summit is open to all district managers, management staff, and partner staff. Attendance is free, but registration is required. Visit Building for Tomorrow for the Summit agenda, registration link, and room block information.

Financial and other support for the Building for Tomorrow Leadership Development Program is provided through a grant from the Pennsylvania State Conservation Commission. Guidance for the Program is provided through the Pennsylvania Conservation Partnership’s Leadership Development Committee.

This summer, PACD welcomes two new unpaid interns, Vanessa and Alexis. Throughout the summer, they will assist the office with tasks such as office organization, social media messaging, and supporting the upcoming PACD/SCC Joint Annual Conference. Welcome to the team!

Submitted by Ryan Harr, Watershed Resource Specialist, Butler County Conservation District

The Butler County Conservation District has partnered with local parks and schools to enhance biodiversity by increasing native plant species and phasing out traditional turf grass lawns. One of the latest projects took place at a park in Forward Township, where the district installed a 1000-square-foot meadow.

To prepare the site for planting, the district installed a 10-by-100-foot sheet of clear plastic over the area to be converted to meadow. This method, solarization, uses the sun’s heat and smothering to kill existing vegetation, and can also help reduce the seed bank in the soil. Once the solarization process was complete, the ground was lightly tilled to remove thatch and increase seed-to-soil contact. Danielle Rihel, Watershed Forestry Specialist through DCNR’s DIY Meadow Kit program, provided seed that was then broadcast on to the area. With spring rains and warm temperatures, the meadow should germinate in no time. 

Join us for the next Clean Water Academy Lunch & Learn session on June 26, 2025, from Noon–1:00 p.m. with Ryan Davis, Senior Forests Projects Manager for Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay.

Ryan will present “Riparian Forest Buffer Success through Outreach.” The session includes a discussion on riparian forest buffer success stories with a focus on communication and outreach.

Grab your lunch and join us for this engaging and informative discussion! Click here to register. Registration is free but required.

Stay tuned for more Lunch & Learn sessions in the coming months!

On June 10, 2025, Secretary Russell Redding joined the PA Department of Environmental Protection and other stakeholders to tour Charvin Organic Farms in Mifflin, PA, to show how investments through the Agriculture Conservation Assistance Program are improving Chesapeake Bay and local waterways.

PACD’s Acting Executive Director Amy Brown, attended the event.

Click here to view photos from the event. 

PACD Project & Event Specialist Molly Burns traveled to Franklin County Conservation District (FCCD) on June 12, 2025. Following their board meeting, the district celebrated Associate Director Sam Worley’s 104th birthday!

Sam has served on the FCCD Board of Directors since 1992 and continues to be an invaluable resource to Franklin County. He also serves on the PACD Ways & Means Committee and was a familiar face at PACD conferences for many years. In 2017, Sam was awarded the PACD Ann Rudd Saxman Conservation District Director Excellence Award. In 2011, he received the President’s Award as part of the PACD Executive Board, where he served as Treasurer.

The Berks County Conservation District held its Legislative Breakfast on June 6, 2025, hosted by Giorgi Mushroom Company at their facility in Blandon, PA. The event highlighted the impact of collaboration among agencies and funding sources, specifically the Growing Greener Plus Grant Program. With $64,799 in grant funds and $27,023 in-kind and cash contributions from Giorgi, the project supported environmental management planning for mushroom farms, compliance visits with the PA Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), Best Management Practices implementation, and digital mapping of operations.

Following the presentation, attendees toured parts of the mushroom farm. The event welcomed representatives from Giorgi, the Berks County Conservation District, the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, Penn State Extension, state legislators and staff, the Berks County Commissioners, the DEP, and the State Conservation Commission. Giorgi went above and beyond in their hospitality by assisting with all aspects of the event and offering attendees local mushroom products and branded gifts. The Conservation District extends its sincere thanks to Giorgi Mushroom Company and all who participated in making the event a success.

 

Tuesday, June 24, is the last day to reserve your overnight room at the special conference rate of $169.00 plus tax with no resort fee! This is a significant savings over the hotel’s regular rates, so be sure to make your overnight reservations before the block expires.

Speaking of the conference, did you know Westmoreland Conservation District is hosting a basket raffle to benefit PACD at the event? The district is asking each conservation district to bring a basket valued at $75-$100 showcasing what you can find in your county. Be creative and show us what makes your county a standout in Pennsylvania. Bring cash to the conference to buy tickets and win the basket of your dreams! Email Tammy Marsh at wcd@wcdpa.com by July 1 with the theme and contents of your basket to include in the basket raffle program.

The PACD/SCC Joint Annual Conference will take place July 15-17 at Seven Springs Mountain Resort in Champion, Pennsylvania. Click here to register and for more information. Questions? Contact Molly Burns at mburns@pacd.org.

 

In April, Lebanon County Conservation District held a rain barrel workshop with funding from the PACD Nonpoint Source Pollution Educational Mini-Grant Program. Twenty-five people were educated on the topic of nonpoint source pollution and the water quality of local waterways. The district also held a brief demonstration of rain barrel installation and maintenance. The district distributed twenty-five rain barrels to workshop participants through this grant.

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 Environmental Protection under Section 319 of the Clean Water Act, administered by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

This Friday, June 13, is the last day to get in on early-bird rates to save up to $30 on registration for the PACD/SCC Joint Annual Conference!

The meeting will be held from July 15 to 17, 2025, at Seven Springs Mountain Resort in Champion, PA. If you’re arriving early, have some fun in the great outdoors and take in the beauty of the Laurel Highlands with one of our preconference activities on July 15 from 1:00 PM-4:30 PM.

Golf Outing: Highlands Golf Club at Seven Springs

Join Berks County Conservation District Manager Dean Druckenmiller for a scramble-format golf outing at the beautiful Highlands Golf Club at Seven Springs, which offers fun and challenging course featuring picturesque views of the Laurel Highlands. Berks will even throw in a sleeve of three balls for each player! A charge of $44 per person will cover a golf cart and greens fees.

Biking and Hiking at Ohiopyle State Park

Not a golfer? Join Emil Bove with the Westmoreland Conservation District for a scenic bike ride. Get to know the Youghiogheny river with Riverkeeper Eric Harder before riding the scenic Youghiogheny River Trail to Confluence. If you’d rather enjoy a day of hiking, exploring Ohiopyle, or just enjoying nature on your own, the park offers plenty of options, including hiking trails from easy to challenging. These activities are free to participate!

Click here for more information and to register.