The 2018 Management Summit was held September 5 and 6 at the Ramada Conference Center in State College. 

Sixty-three district managers, assistant managers, and team leaders attended this free event, which included presentations on “Financial Oversight and Segregation of Duties” from Greg Hall of Smith Elliott Kearns, LLC, and “Workplace Sexual Harassment in the Era of #metoo” from Adam Long of McNees Wallace & Nurick, LLC.  Mary Kay Williams from Mindshift Consulting presented two sessions including “Time Management Strategies” and “Managing Respectful Workplaces.”

In addition to these speakers, representatives from the PA Department of Environmental Protection presented information on revenue account codes, ePermitting, and the Chesapeake Bay WIP process. The Conservation Partnership’s Leadership Development program discussed topics including strategic planning grants, web-based training and professional development resources, and topic requests for leadership development programming for 2019 and beyond.

In June, the Westmoreland Conservation District (WCD) held a green infrastructure tour in the Turtle Creek, Sewickley Creek, and Jacobs Creek Watersheds. The tour highlighted how green infrastructure projects can help manage stormwater and reduce nonpoint source pollution. Among the attendees were municipal managers and engineers, elected officials, staff from a water and sewer authority, and staff from the urban redevelopment authority.

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 more. 

PACD is partnering with the PA Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) to facilitate Chapter 102 Fall Regional Sessions. These free sessions are for conservation district and DEP staff.

Click here for the draft agenda. 

Click on the links below to register for the session in your region. Due to limited space, please limit registrations to 3-4 staff per office.

September 25, 2018 (deadline to register is September 14)
Northcentral Chapter 102 Fall Regional Session
DEP Northcentral Regional Office, Williamsport, PA

October 2, 2018 (deadline to register is September 21)
Northwest Chapter 102 Fall Regional Session
DEP Northwest Regional Office, Meadville, PA

October 3, 2018 (deadline to register is September 22)
Southwest Chapter 102 Fall Regional Session
Cranberry Public Library, Franklin Station Room, Cranberry Township, PA

October 16, 2018 (deadline to register is October 5)
Northeast Chapter 102 Fall Regional Session
DEP Northeast Regional Office, Wilkes-Barre, PA

October 30, 2018 (deadline to register is October 19)
Southeast Chapter 102 Fall Regional Session
DEP Southeast Regional Office, Norristown, PA

November 6, 2018 (deadline to register is October 26)
Southcentral Chapter 102 Fall Regional Session
DEP Southcentral Regional Office, Harrisburg, PA

Contact Shannon Wehinger swehinger@pacd.org with questions.

The 2018 Conservation District Watershed Specialist Meeting will take place at Toftrees Golf Resort in State College, PA, on October 9-11 for newer watershed specialists and October 10-11 for the full group. Special training for newer watershed specialists will take place on October 9.

Highlights from this year’s agenda include macroinvertebrate training by the Stroud Water Research Center, hands-on training with PAOneStop and the Web Soil Survey, an update on invasive species, and much more.

Registration is open to conservation district watershed specialists and invited guests. The deadline to register is Monday, October 1. Click here for more information and to register for the meeting.

 

Ag Progress Days, Pennsylvania’s largest outdoor agricultural exposition was held August 14-16, 2018, at The Pennsylvania State University’s Research Farms in Rock Springs. Despite the rain and mud on Tuesday, PACD and conservation districts from Centre, Union, Dauphin, Bradford, Huntingdon, and Bedford counties met hundreds of landowners and farmers to discuss local conservation during the three day event.

A BIG thank you goes out to all who volunteered for this great networking experience!

Submitted by Paige LaDuca, Chesapeake Bay Resource Conservationist, Chester County Conservation District

On August 15th, Chester County Conservation District staff and local farmers had the opportunity to attend an educational tour given by the Chesapeake Bay Foundation. We departed from the Baltimore Aquarium and discussed the effects that rivers and tributaries have on the Bay before continuing our journey to test water turbidity (clearness), dredge the bottom of the Harbor for sediment, and view the city’s aquatic trash wheels and skimmers.

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. 

Submitted by Jennifer Bratthauar, Ag Conservation Technician, Franklin County Conservation District

The Franklin County Conservation District (FCCD) held its third annual Summer Conservation Farm Tour on August 1, 2018, which was made possible through a PACD Nonpoint Source Pollution Prevention Educational Mini-Grant Project. In addition to recognizing the FCCD’s Conservation Farmer of the Year, this tour also provided attendees with a first-hand look at Best Management Practices (BMPs) that reduce soil and nutrient runoff leaving the farm. This year’s Conservation Farmer of the Year was Martin Farms in Chambersburg.

Financial and other support for this project was 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. The FCCD also received financial support from AgChoice Farm Credit.

Click here to read the entire article.

Snyder County Conservation District Manager Craig Bingman retired on August 3. PACD Executive Director Brenda Shambaugh traveled to Snyder County in July for his retirement recognition.

Craig began his work with the Snyder County Conservation District (SCCD) under the title Executive Assistant on October 1, 1977. Craig was on the original Envir-Olympics board, came up with the name Envirothon, and helped coordinate the first state event in 1984 at Shaver’s Creek. Craig served on the PA Envirothon board for over 30 years, serving as chair for one year and vice-chair for the first National Envirothon at King’s Gap in 1988.

PACD is pleased to announce the five state level winners of the National Association of Conservation Districts 2018 “Watersheds – Our Water, Our Home” poster contest.

The winners in each age category are:

K–1^st Grade: Aaliyah Basile, Carbon County
2^nd–3^rd Grade:            Tvisha Jani, Delaware County
4^th–6^th Grade:            Bethany Boecker, Sullivan County
7^th–9^th Grade:            Eric Chen, Bucks County
10^th–12^th Grade:        Paige Hollibaugh, Huntingdon County

To promote education on the importance of healthy watersheds, students from kindergarten through twelfth grades entered posters conveying their thoughts and ideas through original artwork. Submissions were judged based on the entry’s conservation message, visual effectiveness, originality, and universal appeal.

PACD thanks all of the participants in the contest for their interest and dedication to conservation. Best wishes to the state level winners in the upcoming national judging competition.

For more information about the NACD poster contest, visit https://www.nacdnet.org/general-resources/stewardship-and-education-materials/contests/.

Over a year ago, the PACD Education & Outreach Committee began the process of creating a shared photo library for conservation districts to use. The library is now up and running! Conservation districts are able to upload photos to share with PACD and other districts, as well as download photos to use.

A photo release is available and must be used for photos with people who are “recognizable by a reasonable person.” The release must be uploaded along with the photos. PACD staff will then review the release and add photos to the library, which is organized by category.

Jessie Albright, Allegheny County Conservation District Marketing and Operations Director created a “how-to” video for the library. Click here to view it. 

Click here for more information and to request access to the library. A usage agreement form is required prior to receiving access to the library. PACD asks that only one or two people per district request access–or better yet, use your district’s general email address, which doesn’t change as staff does.

Thank you to the Education & Outreach Committee for their assistance with the project, especially Jessie Albright for spearheading the effort and providing the photos to start the library.