Districts are encouraged to identify priority areas for multi-functional buffers in anticipation of applying for these sub-grants

The Wolf Administration today announced close to $1 million in grant investments to five recipients throughout Pennsylvania for planting trees and income-producing species along streams. Stream buffers help keep nutrients and sediments from the land from impacting water quality.

All projects include multi-functional buffers. They contain species such as nut trees, berries, and willows in buffer zones so that the landowner can sell these products and realize some income from land dedicated to buffers.

PACD is the largest grant recipient at $451,000. This funding will support conservation districts in constructing approximately 85 acres of multi-functional riparian forest buffers along waterways throughout Pennsylvania. This sub-grant program will provide an opportunity for stakeholders to complete demonstration projects statewide, in partnership with local conservation districts. Each buffer will be designed for the needs of the watershed and interests of the landowner, resulting in a diversity of harvested products.

Pennsylvania has a goal of planting 95,000 acres by 2025.

For more information on PACD’s Multi-functional Riparian Buffer Sub-Grant for Conservation Districts, contact PACD Program Manager Amy Brown at abrown@pacd.org or (717) 238-7223 x104.

Click here to read the entire press release.

PACD has scheduled five free communication webinar series for conservation districts. Presented by Water Words That Work, LLC, these environmental communication trainings will begin in January 2019 and end in March 2019. Each topic has three parts, so plan to attend all three dates for the topics you choose.

How do we get more participation at our programs? How can we effectively reach our target audiences and the general public? What are the most cost-effective means to get the word out about our programs? How can I work effectively with landowners to get more practices installed? Find out answers to these questions and more during these webinars.

Each webinar series consists of three 90-minute sessions. Please mark your calendar for all three dates so you don’t miss part 1, part 2, or part 3. Each session builds on the previous one, so don’t miss out!

The Closing the Deal with Rural Landowners webinar will be repeated twice. Please only sign up for one series.

The dates are:

• Water Words that Work – January 22, 24, 29 from 9:30–11 a.m. 
• More Than a Message – February 5, 7, 12 from 9:30–11 a.m. 
• Perfect Outreach Projects – February 19, 21, 26 from 9:30–11 a.m. 
• Closing the Deal with Rural Landowners Session 1 – March 5, 7, 12 from 9:30–11 a.m. 
• Closing the Deal with Rural Landowners Session 2 – March 19, 21, 26 from 1–2:30 p.m. 

The webinars are free, but registration is required. Space is limited to 15 participants for each topic. Please plan to attend all three parts of the topic you choose. Please register each person participating from your office separately.

Click here for a brochure on the webinars, which includes the course descriptions. Click on the links for each session above to register.

Financial support for this project is provided by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection through the Chesapeake Bay Implementation Grant, the Clean Water Fund and the Chesapeake Bay Regulatory and Accountability Program (CBRAP).

On December 11, 2018, PACD Executive Director Brenda Shambaugh traveled to Carlisle to attend the Cumberland County Conservation District board meeting. Brenda spoke to the board about the toolkit PACD is developing for project promotion, the new PACD office location, and how to get to know new legislators.

 

On October 25, 2018, the Clarion County Conservation District hosted a field tour on the impacts of nonpoint source pollution. There were four stops on the tour, including an acid mine drainage passive treatment system, a potato farm, a dirt and gravel road project site, and the construction site of a new office for the Cook Forest State Park.

Attendees included elected officials and district board members. The tour highlighted past and future nonpoint source pollution projects that will improve water quality.

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.

The Susquehanna County Conservation District has been developing local weekly radio outreach for many years. The “Conservation Corner” radio spot is aired for approximately 10 minutes on Thursdays. The radio spots from October 2018 to the present are now available online.

Recent topics include: riparian buffers, spotted lanternfly, wild turkeys, and Susquehanna County’s recycling efforts.

Click here to listen.

Last month, the Berks County Conservation District (BCCD) in partnership with the Tulpehocken Chapter of Trout Unlimited (TU) and Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission (PFBC) sponsored 10 new Trout in the Classroom aquarium setups for schools in Berks County. In addition, the BCCD funded two Trout in the Classroom display aquariums, one for the Berks County Agricultural Center Lobby and another for Berks Nature.

Schools that participate in the Trout in the Classroom program received brook trout eggs from the PFBC in early November. Trout eggs have started to hatch in the classroom aquariums, and students will continue to take care of the trout throughout the school year until they are fingerlings (about 2 – 3 inches long). Teachers use the aquarium ecosystem in lesson plans to learn about good water quality, life cycles, and being good stewards of natural resources.

In late April, students get to release the trout fingerlings into a PFBC-approved trout stream. Over 20 Berks County schools, and 16 of 19 Berks schools districts, now have an active Trout in the Classroom program.

Click here for more information. 

Conservation district staff, board members, and partners are invited to attend the 2019 PACD/SCC Winter Meeting January 30-31 at Toftrees Golf Resort in State College, PA. Take in the beautiful winter views at Toftrees while enjoying a hot beverage with your counterparts from across the state. Conference learning opportunities will include an update on Chapter 102 ePermitting and a program on parliamentary procedure. Beat cabin fever and join us in State College! Click here for details and to register.

Bedford County Conservation District received a Nonpoint Source Pollution (NPS) Prevention Educational Mini-grant to conduct a project for homeowners. The “Homeowners Practices to Minimize NPS Pollution” project provided education at a variety of events in the county, such as the county fair, farmers market, and the home and garden club. Rain barrels were also distributed as part of the project.

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.

The 103^rd Pennsylvania Farm Show runs from January 5-12, 2019, in Harrisburg, PA. This year, the conservation districts will share booth space with the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service.

Two volunteers are needed for the following shifts:

• Saturday, 1/5 – 8 a.m.­­–12:30 p.m. and 12:30–5 p.m.
• Sunday, 1/6 – 8 a.m.­­–12:30 p.m. and 12:30–5 p.m.
• Monday, 1/7 – 8 a.m.–5 p.m.
• Wednesday, 1/9 – 8 a.m.–5 p.m.
• Thursday, 1/10 – 8 a.m.–5 p.m.
• Friday, 1/11 – 8 a.m.–5 p.m.
• Saturday, 1/12 – 8 a.m.­­–12:30 p.m. and 12:30–5 p.m.

Volunteers receive a free parking pass to the event. Please email PACD Administrative Assistant Jann McNamara at jmcnamara@pacd.org to sign up or for more information.

$60,000 in Mini-grant Funds Available for Conservation Districts

Through a grant from the PA Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), conservation districts are eligible for mini-grants (up to $1,500) to hold local Manure Management Manual and/or Agricultural Erosion & Sedimentation Plan workshops. These sessions would help farmers understand requirements and lead to the development of a complete manure management plan and/or agricultural erosion and sedimentation plan. Districts are encouraged to use these mini-grant funds to market to and train private consultants (including certified crop advisors, seed/fertilizer salespeople, etc.) to help their clients write manure management plans.

Applications will be approved on an ongoing basis. You should hear within a week if your project is approved for funding. Please note that there is limited funding available for this round and mini-grants will be awarded on a first-come, first-served basis. This grant will pay for eligible expenses on a reimbursement basis.

The mini-grant application and guidelines are available here.  The deadline to apply is January 31, 2019 (or until all funds are allocated). Mini-grant activities must be completed and final reports must be submitted by May 28, 2019. No extensions will be granted. Contact Shannon Wehinger with questions about the mini-grants.

Please note that there will not be any more “train the trainer” workshops. Instead, the PA Department of Environmental Protection is working with Penn State Extension staff to create web-based training for district staff to access as needed.

Financial support for this project is provided by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection through the Chesapeake Bay Implementation Grant, the Clean Water Fund and the Chesapeake Bay Regulatory and Accountability Program (CBRAP).