Conservation districts and their partners are invited to register for the Combined 2018 National Association of Conservation District’s (NACD) Northeast Regional Meeting and 71^st PACD/SCC Joint Annual Conference.

The combined conference will take place at the DoubleTree Resort by Hilton Hotel in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. NACD events will take place July 15-17, 2018 and PACD/SCC events will take place July 17-18, 2018.

Anyone is welcome to attend the entire event or only the NACD or Pennsylvania portion. All four days will offer sessions and activities of interest to our members and partners and, as the host state, we hope that Pennsylvania will be well represented.

Click here for more information or to register. 

Tioga County Conservation District, PA DEP, Shell, Gas Field Specialists, and Northern Tier Solid Waste Authority joined forces on Thursday, April 19, to clean up a challenging illegal dump site, known as “Site 24,” to eliminate a potential source of pollution to the Cowanesque River.

The cleanup resulted in the removal of 3.17 Tons of accumulated waste material and 3.81 Tons of tires (277 tires) from an abandoned railroad grade adjacent to the Cowanesque River. Heavy equipment provided by Shell was used to remove the material from the steep embankment and placed in roll-off containers provided by Northern Tier Solid Waste Authority.

Click here to read the entire press release.

 

The Westmoreland Conservation District received a Nonpoint Source Pollution Prevention Educational Mini-grant through PACD’s 2017-18 round. With this funding, the district developed two informational videos about stormwater basin design, assessment, and maintenance to help educate municipal staff, engineers, and others about the role of basins in stormwater management.

The videos were displayed at the district’s annual Municipal Roundtable and Engineers’ Workshop.

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.

Click here to view Part 1: https://youtu.be/oSWJWTjEB54 and here for Part 2: https://youtu.be/Y0lhtrxM7uk.

The Allegheny County Conservation District collected over 30 bags of trash on April 23, 2018, along Little Deer Creek Valley Road as part of PennDOT’s Adopt A Highway Program. Ten staff members participated in the two-mile clean up to mark the District’s fourth year adopting a highway.

Montgomery County Conservation District (MCCD) was awarded a 2017-18 Nonpoint Source Pollution Prevention Educational Mini-grant for a “Storm Drains to Streams: Pollution Prevention Education for Businesses” project.

For the project, MCCD and the Partnership for the Delaware Estuary’s Schuylkill Action Network partnered with Simon Property Group to host an Earth Week Pollution Prevention Mixer for the King of Prussia restaurant, food service, and hospitality community. The event was held at King of Prussia Mall on April 24, 2018, and was attended by 50 individuals.

Attendees included (but were not limited to) several hotel, restaurant facility, and business managers from the King of Prussia area.

The goal of the event was to educate the target audience about cost-effective, good housekeeping practices/actions that are recommended to prevent water pollution and protect clean water. The event also provided an opportunity for the Montgomery County Office of Public Health to stress the importance of implementing such practices to improve community health and safety.

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.

 

Click here to read the entire article written by Jessica Buck, MCCD Interim District Manager. 

On May 1, PACD board members and staff traveled to the Ramada Hotel and Conference Center in State College for an in-person board meeting.

In addition to their regular meeting, the board discussed PACD presence at trade shows, the PACD/SCC Winter Meeting, and the PACD building.

Regional Conservation Partnership Program: “CCCD Partnership for Chesapeake Bay Water Quality”

Submitted by Dan Miloser, Agricultural Team Leader, Chester County Conservation District

The Chester County Conservation District (CCCD) is proud to announce its award for $3.6 million to fund Farm Bill financial assistance applicants in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed by working with USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) and agricultural consultants to develop plans and install conservation practices.

CCCD proposed that applicants be given a higher ranking score based on willingness to implement or maintain a stream buffer and commitment to work with one or more of the district’s partners to develop plans and/or best management practices (BMPs). As part of a new initiative for this program, CCCD staff will conduct site visits with each landowner after his or her contract is complete to ensure continued operation and maintenance of onsite BMPs.

In response to the nationwide RCPP announcement, CCCD Managing Director Chris Strohmaier said, “As a result of an increased demand for funding to implement BMPs in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed, the Chester County District is very excited to have been awarded funds through RCPP to supplement our traditional funding allocations to continue our mission of: Conserving Soil for Clean Water.” 

Click here for more information on RCPP.

On April 19, Lycoming County Conservation District held a legislative breakfast. PACD Executive Director Brenda Shambaugh traveled to Williamsport, PA for the event. Three legislators in attendance spoke about how they are supporting conservation and agriculture.

Click here to read a news article on the event.

Twenty-six individuals attended Agricultural Conservation Technical Boot Camp Training – Level II April 23-27, 2018, at Fort Indiantown Gap in Lebanon County. Attendees included staff from conservation districts, the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service and affiliates, local agricultural preservation boards, and the PA Department of Environmental Protection.

The Level II training consists of two learning tracks: agronomy and engineering. The two tracks allow participants to focus more deeply on their area of study. The event features a balance of classroom work and field work to give participants hands-on experience.

The training is sponsored by the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service and the State Conservation Commission. PACD works with these partners to coordinate the training.

 

Introducing PACD’s New Conservation Engineer in the Somerset Office Danielle Kalp!

Danielle is the PACD Conservation Engineer for the Southwest Region. She graduated from the University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown with a B.S. degree in Civil Engineering Technology in 2008. She is a licensed Professional Engineer, certified Sewage Enforcement Officer, and certified Bridge Safety Inspector. Her prior experience includes wastewater treatment, water treatment, geotechnical, and structural engineering.

In her spare time, Danielle enjoys spending time in nature, including fishing, hunting, backpacking, and gardening. She also raises chickens and brain tans animal pelts.

Danielle can be reached at dkalp@pacd.org.

Introducing PACD’S New Program Manager Amy Salansky!
By Amy Salansky, PACD Program Manager, asalansky@pacd.org

Before coming to PACD, I worked for ten years with the Luzerne Conservation District as a Conservation Agricultural Specialist. Coordinating the yearly envirothon, writing and implementing growing greener grants, working with PA Department of Environmental Protection special projects, PACD mini-grants, REAP, and Farmland Preservation, and assisting with USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service and Conservation Planning are some of the highlights of my position at the district.

I was raised on a dairy farm in Maryland, where I learned about conservation and conservation districts, and for the past 20 years have raised horses, hogs, sheep, and dairy heifers for my daughters’ 4H projects. I have three beautiful daughters, one grandson (whom I spoil to death) and two more grandsons on the way in June and July. I couldn’t be more excited.

In April 2018, I moved from my Luzerne County home to a home in Lebanon County.

I am super excited to be able to work here at PACD in Harrisburg and continue to work with all my conservation district counterparts.