The 34th Pennsylvania Envirothon state competition was held at the University of Pittsburgh Johnstown on May 23 and 24, 2017. High school students from 64 Pennsylvania counties participated in this year’s event.

Congratulations to the 5-member team from Penncrest High School, Delaware County, which took top honors. The 2017 Pennsylvania Envirothon champions will represent the Commonwealth at the 29th North American competition planned for July 23-29 at Mount St. Mary’s University in Emmitsburg, Maryland. More than 46 states, eight Canadian provinces, and one Canadian territory have initiated Envirothon contests based on the program that was originally developed by Pennsylvania’s conservation districts. Best of luck to the Delaware County team this summer.

Congratulations to the Pennsylvania Envirothon Board of Directors and volunteers for another great year!

Help us mark the 70^th anniversary of the Joint Annual Conference July 12-13 at the Red Lion Harrisburg Hershey in Harrisburg, PA. With timely informational sessions and a soil health tour at beautiful Hershey Farms, you won’t want to miss this conference! The new conference location is outside of the city and easily accessible. Look for feature articles in upcoming issues of Front Page for more details about the tour and other conference activities. Click here to register, and for more information.

 

For their 2016-17 Nonpoint Source Pollution Prevention Educational Mini-grant project, Crawford County Conservation District reached out to residents of Canadohta Lake. Through the project, the district provided 21 technical assistance meetings, authorized 14 permits, and saw an increase in interest in best management practice installation.

The district will use this project as a prototype to implement at other lakes in the county.

 

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.

 

 

During Conservation District Week, Franklin County Conservation District held a legislative breakfast. The event was held April 28, 2017, at the district office in Chambersburg. Numerous elected officials attended the event and learned about district programs such as the Dirt, Gravel, and Low Volume Road Program, PA’s Nutrient Management Program, and the Erosion and Sediment Control Program.

Click here to read more. 

A proclamation for Conservation District Week was presented to the Berks County Conservation District (BCCD) on April 21, 2017 at the Berks County Ag Center. BCCD partners, including the Berks County Department of Agriculture, USDA Farm Service Agency, and USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, took the time to show their support and attend the presentation. The presentation was made during the district’s annual seedling sale and Backyard Basics workshop.

Twenty-two students attended the Intro to Conservation Planning training in Grantville, PA. The training was held May 16-18, 2017. The three days consisted of a mix of classroom learning and field experience.

The training was made possible by USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service and the State Conservation Commission. Administrative support was provided by PACD.

 

The Pennsylvania Land Trust Association honored Union County with the 2017 Government Conservation Leadership Award for demonstrated leadership in the conservation of our special landscapes and critical natural resources.

Union County has provided leadership, support, and guidance for numerous conservation and restoration projects and has served as a true partner to the conservation organizations working within the county.

The award was presented on May 6, 2017, in conjunction with the 2017 Pennsylvania Land Conservation Conference in Lancaster. County commissioner John Showers and conservation district manager Bill Deitrick accepted the award on behalf of the county.

Click here to read more. 

Through the 2016-17 Nonpoint Source Pollution Prevention Educational Mini-grant program, the Mifflin County Conservation District held a public watershed meeting on March 28, 2017. The meeting raised public awareness about watershed issues and received public comments on an update to the Watershed Implementation Plan for the impaired Upper Kish Watershed. Collaborating organizations, local residents, municipalities, farmers, and agricultural industry professionals attended this meeting.

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.

 

On May 9, PACD President Glenn Seidel (pictured on the right) presented the National Association of Conservation Districts Quality in District Official Training Award to Mike Flinchbaugh, Vice-chair of the State Conservation Commission, who accepted on behalf of the State Conservation Commission/PA Leadership Development Committee. The presentation was made during the State Conservation Commission meeting in Harrisburg.

The Jefferson Conservation District held a Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP) Workshop on April 4, 2017. This meeting, coordinated by Megan Whitlatch, Agricultural Conservation Technician/Nutrient Management Specialist, was held at the Jefferson Conservation Center in Brookville, PA.

CREP pays farmers and other landowners to conserve and enhance their land. In this workshop, participants learned about the benefits of CREP, riparian forest buffers, how to identify and control the spread of noxious and invasive weeds on your land, and safe herbicide use.

Financial and other support for the CREP Outreach Program Office Mini-grant Program was provided by the Pennsylvania Association of Conservation Districts, Inc. through a Growing Greener Watershed Protection grant from the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection and with additional support from USDA-NRCS.