Mark your calendars for the Agricultural Conservation Technical Training (“Boot Camp” Basic level and Level II). Conservation district staff are encouraged to take advantage of these free, week-long training opportunities which include both classroom learning and experience in the field.

• Agricultural Conservation Technical “Boot Camp” Training – Basic Level
  April 2-6, 2018
  Keystone Conference Center, Ft. Indiantown Gap, Annville, PA (Lebanon County)

• Agricultural Conservation Technical Training – Level II
  April 23-27, 2018
  Keystone Conference Center, Ft. Indiantown Gap, Annville, PA (Lebanon County)

Questions? Contact Shannon Wehinger at swehinger@pacd.org.

These training opportunities are made possible by the following sponsors: Natural Resources Conservation Service, State Conservation Commission, and the Pennsylvania Association of Conservation Districts, Inc.

Submitted by Susquehanna County Conservation District

The Susquehanna County Conservation District (SCCD) held its 70th Anniversary Banquet with over 100 people from the community attending. The SCCD was created by County Commissioner proclamation on May 12, 1947. Since that day the SCCD has endeavored to conserve the soil and water of Susquehanna County.

During a delicious meal prepared by the staff of the VFW, a slide show of past pictures of district directors, district staff, cooperators, and projects reminded attendees of the the district’s past successes in conservation. In a short presentation, Dairy Princess Michayla Stahl and Alternate Princess Victoria Clark extolled the virtues of dairy products for good health. After the crowd moved to the upper level of the VFW banquet facility, District Manager Jim Garner narrated a PowerPoint timeline of the district’s 70 years. The banquet also featured two special guest speakers. Richard Fritsky, Wildlife Diversity Biologist with the PA Game Commission, spoke on owls, farming, and the PA Game Commission. Denise Coleman, USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service State Conservationist, gave a presentation on Conserving Pennsylvania’s Private Lands. Each was well received by the audience.

After the speakers, the district honored several awardees for their contribution to conservation in Susquehanna County. Awards presented were:

• Envirothon Donors – Forest Lake Township, Bob Warriner (In Memory), Chief Oil & Gas, Repsol, and Bluestone Gathering
• Dirt and Gravel Road Cooperator – Apolacon Township
• No-Till Cooperator – Edward Chianese

At the close of the meeting, Emcee Jim Kessler disbursed the beautiful centerpieces and presented the speakers with a gift of maple syrup.

 

By Jann McNamara, PACD Administrative Assistant, jmcnamara@pacd.org

Before coming to PACD, I worked for five years with the Department of Agriculture providing administrative support to the Deputy Secretaries and the Legislative Director (which was PACD Executive Director Brenda Shambaugh!). At the end of my career with the Department, I had the opportunity to work with the Bureau of Markets working with commodities and the Fair Fund Program.

On a personal note, except for a brief stint in San Antonio when my husband was in the Air Force, I have lived in the Harrisburg area. My husband Kevin and I have three children and we are officially “empty nesters” with our youngest starting his freshman year in college in August.

I am thrilled to be back working with Brenda and the rest of the awesome staff at PACD and look forward to helping the districts however I can with all the great work you do!

Editor’s Note: Jann joined PACD after former part-time Administrative Assistant Sandy Austin moved on to pursue full-time employment. We wish Sandy well and thank her for her six years of dedication to PACD.

Conservation district staff, board members, and partners are invited to attend the 2018 PACD/SCC Winter Meeting January 17^th and 18^th at Toftrees Golf Resort in State College, PA. This annual meeting provides a forum for important issues, time for key PACD and State Conservation Commission business, and valuable opportunities for networking and fellowship. If you’re looking for even more reasons to attend, Penn State’s original all-female a cappella group, Savoir Faire, will perform during Wednesday’s banquet! Click here to register and for more information. 

Registration is now open for the Manure Management Manual Train-the-Trainer Workshops PACD and DEP are hosting in January of 2018.

The workshops are designed to provide attendees with a solid understanding of how to use the Manure Management Manual to write plans and how to train others to use the manual. Participants will also learn techniques for conducting plan writing workshops to help farmers develop manure management plans.

The workshops are for conservation district, DEP, Penn State Extension, and other agency staff involved in helping agricultural producers write manure management plans. Both new and experienced staff are invited to attend.

The workshops are free and lunch will be provided.

Dates and Locations are:

• January 23, 2018 DCNR Bureau of Forestry Office, Clarion, Clarion County, PA
  Click here for more information or to register for this workshop
• January 25, 2018 Penn State Extension Building, New Bloomfield, Perry County, PA
  Click here for more information or to register for this workshop
• January 30, 2018 PA Department of Ag – Region 3 Office, Tunkhannock, Wyoming County, PA
  Click here for more information or to register for this workshop

Financial support for this project is provided by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection through the Chesapeake Bay Implementation Grant and the Clean Water Fund.

 

The Perry County Conservation District recently hosted their annual Land Judging Competition for students in grades 9-12. The event was held on November 1 at a local farm in Duncannon owned by district board member Ken Martz.

A total of 58 students were in attendance along with 20 agency staff, volunteers, teachers, and special guests who helped at the stations and participated in the award ceremony. Brie Hess of Greenwood High School took 3rd place, Jared Foster of West Perry High School took 2nd place, and Garrett Beal of West Perry High School took 1st place.

 

The “Ecosystem Engineer” photo was taken by Westmoreland Conservation District’s Chelsea Walker. The photo won the annual photo contest at the Watershed Specialist Meeting in early October. PACD will enter the photo in the National Association of Conservation Districts (NACD) annual photo contest in the “close-up conservation” category.

The photo was taken in the Kiskiminetas River during a river clean-up event in Avonmore, PA. The close-up shot shows a mussel at work.
Winners will be announced at the NACD Annual Meeting in January 2018. Best of luck Chelsea!

Click here to read more.

PACD will again host a conservation district booth at the 2018 PA Farm Show. We took a new approach this year and lined up five conservation districts to present displays at the booth Monday through Friday of Farm Show week.

We are still looking for volunteers to staff the booth on the weekend days of Saturday, January 6; Sunday, January 7; and Saturday, January 13. Shifts run from 8 am to 12:30 pm and 12:30 pm to 5 pm. The booth is not staffed after 5 pm.

Let us know as soon as possible if you would like to fill one of these shifts. We’d like to have our schedule set by November 30. Just contact Sandy Austin at saustin@pacd.org with your contact information and the shift you’d like to fill.

Mark your calendar and join us for the PACD spring region meetings!

The region meeting dates and locations are as follows:

March 8, 2018
PACD South West Region Meeting
Westmoreland Conservation District, Greensburg, PA

March 20, 2018
PACD South Central Region Meeting
Cumberland County Conservation District, Carlisle, PA

March 22, 2018
PACD South East Region Meeting
Franconia Heritage Restaurant, Telford, PA

March 27, 2018
PACD North West Region Meeting
Forest County Conservation District, Tionesta, PA

April 12, 2018
PACD North Central Region Meeting
Clinton County Conservation District, Mill Hall, PA

April 13, 2018
PACD North East Region Meeting
DEP Northeast Regional Office, Wilkes-Barre, PA

Twenty-nine students completed the Intro to Conservation Planning Course in Grantville from November 7-9, 2017. The training included classroom and field experience. The course targeted entry-level conservationists, introducing them to the conservation planning process, and related tools and technology in Pennsylvania.

PACD partnered with the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service and the State Conservation Commission to deliver the three-day training.