PACD Executive Director Brenda Shambaugh joined the Pike County Conservation District Board of Directors to celebrate the 60th Anniversary of the District. State legislators, county commissioners, and cooperating agency partners, joined district board members and staff at a picnic hosted by the District on June 24, 2016 at Delaware State Forest at Lily Pond in Milford, PA. Click here for more on the celebration.

Conservation district staff in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed who will perform agricultural inspections, and their managers, are invited to attend a training session on Agricultural Inspection Standard Operating Procedures. Registration will open at 9:30am. The session will start at 10:00am and conclude by 3:00pm. There is no cost to attend. Lunch will be provided.

• July 13, 2016, Best Western Country Cupboard Inn, Lewisburg, PA
• July 19, 2016, The Woodlands Inn, Wilkes-Barre, PA
• July 26, 2016, The Inn at Leola Village, Lancaster, PA
• July 29, 2016, Shippensburg University, Shippensburg, PA

Click here to register. Contact PA Department of Environmental Protection’s Veronica Kasi with questions at 717-772-4053 or vbkasi@pa.gov.

Submitted by Susquehanna County Conservation District The Susquehanna County Conservation District hosted a trip to Stroud Water Research Center in Avondale, PA, for the Susquehanna County Envirothon’s first, second, and third place students. Students from Blue Ridge and Susquehanna Community High Schools were given a tour of the research center and hands-on interaction in the outdoor classroom. Students used LaMotte kits to measure nitrogen, pH, water temperature, and velocity in the White Clay Creek where they put their knowledge to work. Students got to see one of the longest monitored streams in the United States, the White Clay Creek. Thank you to everyone who came out and made it a great day for the students. We look forward to next year’s trip!

In 2015, the National Association of Conservation Districts (NACD) released the findings of its comprehensive survey of conservation district forestry activity. “Friends of the Forest” is a 32-page booklet that highlights the findings and includes a collection of forestry success stories from around the country. Page 23 features a success story from Lawrence County, PA. The district revitalized city lots by planting trees. Click here to download the booklet.

Susquehanna County Conservation District held its annual Fish Stocking Sale, a youth education fundraiser, last Sunday. This fundraiser has been held for many years. Thirty-four customers purchased over 1,000 fish. They sold over 200 bluegill sunfish, 65 pounds of fathead minnows, 10 koi fish, over 300 largemouth bass, and almost 250 rainbow trout.

The early-bird discount for the PACD/SCC Joint Annual Conference expires this Wednesday, June 29. That’s only three more days to take advantage of the $10 daily, early-bird discount! The conference takes place July 27-28 at the Ramada Conference Center in State College, PA. Click here to register and find out more.                                          

Submitted by Beaver County Conservation District On June 9, 2016, Jeff Leindecker, Leya Ramer, and Dan Griffith from Beaver County, Indiana County, and Westmoreland Conservation Districts (respectively) met with Lisa Blazure of Clinton County Conservation District at Schrack Farms in Loganton, Clinton County, to exchange ideas and information, and observe soil health in action. The operation is a 1,000 head dairy with 2,200 crop acres, many of which have been no-tilled for forty years with the addition of cover crops in the last five years. Click here to read more.

Please consider volunteering to help at the conservation district exhibit at the 2016 Pennsylvania State University Agricultural Progress Days. Ag Progress Days is held at the Russell E. Larson Agricultural Research Center at Rock Springs, nine miles southwest of State College, PA, and features the latest technology and research exhibits, educational programs, and guided tours. About 60% of the 45,000 expected to attend are actively engaged in agriculture or related activities. With so many farming families from across Pennsylvania at this event, it’s a great opportunity to call attention to the work and programs done at the districts. This year’s event will be held August 16-18, 2016. Volunteers are needed for the shifts listed below. Send your name and contact information to tfisher@pacd.org or call 717-238-7223 with questions or to schedule your shift. Tuesday Aug. 16: 9:00 am – 1:00 pm (1 volunteer needed) Tuesday Aug. 16: 1:00 pm – 5:00 pm (2 volunteer needed) Wednesday Aug. 17: 9:00 am – 1:00 pm (2 volunteer needed) Wednesday Aug. 17: 1:00 pm – 5:00 pm (2 volunteer needed) Wednesday Aug. 17: 5:00 pm – 8:00 pm (2 volunteer needed) Thursday Aug. 18: 9:00 am – 1:00 pm (2 volunteer needed) Thursday Aug. 18: 9:00 am – 1:00 pm (filled) A final volunteer schedule, parking passes and other show information will be sent to volunteers when available. For more information on Ag Progress Days go to their website at https://agsci.psu.edu/apd.

PACD is pleased to welcome Adam Long, attorney with McNees Wallace & Nurick’s Labor & Employment Group, as a presenter for the PACD/SCC Joint Annual Conference. Adam will join us on Thursday, July 28, from 11:00 am to Noon, to present on the new overtime rule, and provide other updates on employment law to the membership. Adam regularly provides advice and counseling to employers on a wide range of labor and employment law issues, including wage and hour compliance, employment discrimination, family and medical leave, labor relations, and non-competition agreements. He is familiar with conservation districts and has provided a number of well-regarded seminars on employment law for conservation districts through the Pennsylvania Leadership Development Committee. Interested in finding out more? Click here to register and learn more about the conference.

Montgomery County Conservation District planted a 3,000 square foot demonstration rain garden in Perkiomen Township. The project is part of a larger effort made possible by a nonpoint source mini-grant through PACD as well as a $30,000 grant from the Schuylkill River Restoration Fund. In addition to the rain garden, the district will retrofit a stormwater basin and construct two vegetated swales leading to and from the garden to create a stormwater treatment train. In addition to installing these practices, the district held tours and will install educational signage. Click here to see photos from the project.

Financial and other support for this project is provided by the Pennsylvania Association of Conservation Districts, Inc. (PACD) 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.