Photo caption: Duane Miller, Praedium Ventures, instructs the class.
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.
From left to right: PALTA Executive Director Andy Loza; Merrill Linn Land & Waterways Conservancy President Susan Warner Mills; Union County Commissioner John Showers; Union County Conservation District Manager Bill Deitrick; Coordinator for Merrill Linn Land & Waterways Conservancy Geoff Goodenow; and PALTA President Jeff Marshall. Photo used with permission from Pennsylvania Land Trust Association.
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.
Photo provided by Mifflin County Conservation District.
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.
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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.
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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.
Megan Whitlatch shows participants how to identify noxious and invasive plants. Photo provided by Jefferson County Conservation District.
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.
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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. |
Long-time Adams County Conservation District Manager Larry Martick retired on May 5, 2017. Managers and other friends gathered to say farewell in Cumberland County on May 1, 2017. The gathering was held during a luncheon in Larry’s honor following the South Central Region Managers Meeting. PACD Executive Director Brenda Shambaugh attended the event.
Senator Gene Yaw, Chair, Senate Environmental Resources and Energy Committee; Brenda Shambaugh, PACD Executive Director; Sandy Thompson, McKean County Conservation District Manager; Cliff Lane, McKean County Conservation District Director and PACD North West Region Director; Andy Trostle, Sullivan County Conservation District Director; John Dryzal, Cambria County Conservation District Manager; Joanne Day, Sullivan County Conservation District Director; and Senator Elder Vogel, Chair, Senate Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee. Not pictured are Berks County Conservation District attendees who were visiting Senator Schwank at the time.
On Tuesday, April 25, directors and staff from four conservation districts visited their legislators at the Capitol in Harrisburg. The districts included Berks, Cambria, McKean, and Sullivan. PACD Executive Director Brenda Shambaugh joined the visits to both House of Representative members and senators.
Lance Bowes staffs the conservation district booth.
District volunteers helped at the conservation district table at this year’s PA State Association of Township Supervisors (PSATS) Conference from Sunday, April 23, through Tuesday, April 25. About 4,000 township officials from across the Commonwealth attended the three day event.
The primary focus of the district exhibit was to share information about conservation district programs and initiatives that affect local townships. The district volunteers helped build new relationships and reinforce existing relationships with township officials.
Thanks to Morgan Schuster, Michele Ulmer, and Lance Bowes (pictured) for their help at the conference.
The Pennsylvania State Senate and the House of Representatives declared April 23-30, 2017 as “Conservation District Week.”
During Conservation District Week, offices across the state will hold events. These events will showcase the projects conservation districts work on every day that control pollution. PACD made fact sheets, a press release, and social media images available for conservation districts to use and share with their news outlets.
Click here to read the press release.
PA Secretary of Agriculture Russell Redding and PACD Director of Communication and Education Shannon Wehinger at the Cornucopia reception.
On April 18, 2017 agricultural organizations gathered in the Capitol’s East Rotunda for the annual “Taste of Pennsylvania” reception. The event showcased Pennsylvania’s agricultural products for the legislators in attendance. The reception is sponsored by the Pennsylvania State Council of Farm Organizations.