The 2025 Winter Staff Training Initiative kicks off this week with a Wednesday webinar presenting an overview of the PA Agricultural Ombudsman Program on January 29. Other upcoming programming includes a PACD webinar on Understanding the Legislative Process, the 5th Annual Conservation District Video Awards presentation, and a pair of virtual roundtable meetings focusing on administration and budgeting resources.

This year’s initiative also includes the Inspiring Action with Public Speaking workshop on March 12 in State College, PA. The workshop will provide attendees with an audience-driven approach to crafting and delivering compelling messages, and an opportunity for practice and feedback to help overcome speaking anxiety and build confidence as a presenter. Programs are open to all interested district personnel and partners. Visit Building for Tomorrow for registration information.

Financial and other support for the Building for Tomorrow Leadership Development Program is provided through a grant from the Pennsylvania State Conservation Commission. Guidance for the Program is provided through the Pennsylvania Conservation Partnership’s Leadership Development Committee.

Close to 4,000 township officials and guests from all over Pennsylvania will attend the annual Pennsylvania State Association of Township Supervisors (PSATS) Conference and Trade Show on May 4-7, 2025. Once again, there will be a conservation district booth at the show from Sunday, May 4, to Tuesday, May 6.

PACD is seeking volunteers for the following shifts:

• Sunday, May 4 – Noon to 6:00 pm
• Monday, May 5 – 7:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.
• Monday, May 5 – 11:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.
• Monday, May 5 – 6:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.
• Tuesday, May 6 – 7:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.

Please consider volunteering for a shift at the conservation district booth. This is a valuable opportunity to promote the districts and explain the type of work they do, as well as reinforce existing relationships with local township officials.

To volunteer, please contact Shannon Wehinger at swehinger@pacd.org.

PACD is hiring a conservation planner or nutrient management specialist who will work toward conservation planning certification for a two-year period to assist in conservation efforts in Dauphin County. The salary range is $45,000 to $50,000 per year.

Click here to read the entire job description.

Candidates must submit a resume and cover letter to PACD by e-mail with the subject heading “Conservation Planner Dauphin” to jobs@pacd.org. All application materials must be received by 4:00 p.m. on February 5, 2025.

Thanks to the conservation districts for submitting their 2024 highlights pages. The pages were sent to all PA General Assembly members.

Click here to see what other districts have accomplished this year!

Thank you to all the volunteers who made the conservation district booth at the PA Farm Show a success!

Thank you to the following conservation districts who sent volunteers:

• Berks
• Carbon
• Centre
• Chester
• Franklin
• Fulton
• Lebanon
• Mifflin
• Schuylkill
• Snyder
• Westmoreland
• And the PA Envirothon

The Indiana County Conservation District has launched a new tool for the submission of permits to their office for review.

Entities conducting earthwork in Indiana County who need to obtain a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit or need a review of an erosion and sedimentation control plan (E&S Plan) are now required to use the district’s online Permit Submittal Tool.

This launch comes after the PA Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) discontinued the use of its Chapter 102 E-Permitting system. The district’s new permit submittal tool guides permit applicants through applying for a General or Individual NPDES permit or E&S Plan review.

According to Executive Director Douglas Beri Jr., the district’s goal with this new tool is to help enhance the permit submission process in Indiana County to improve the completeness of submitted permits and reduce cost, review times, and paper waste.

Click here to read the entire press release. 

Discover how the Agriculture Conservation Assistance Program (ACAP) transforms farming in Southwest Pennsylvania. Meet two Westmoreland and Washington County farmers who implemented agricultural best management practices with the support of ACAP funding. Partnering with the Westmoreland and Washington Conservation Districts and USDA-NRCS, these farmers are improving water quality, enhancing their farms, and paving the way for sustainable agriculture. Watch their inspiring journey of collaboration, innovation, and agricultural conservation in action.

Click here to watch the video produced by Westmoreland and Washington Conservation Districts along with the Center for Agricultural Conservation Assistance Training.

The Center for Agricultural Conservation Assistance Training at Penn State Extension was formed in 2023 along with partners at the Pennsylvania State Conservation Commission (SCC) and the Pennsylvania State Office of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS). Funding for the center is provided through the state Agriculture Conservation Assistance Program (ACAP). 

Join PACD’s Executive Director Brenda Shambaugh for a free webinar on “Conservation Districts and Pennsylvania’s Legislative Process.” Brenda will share her more than three decades of experience building relationships with legislators during the webinar. Attendees will learn how conservation districts can engage legislators, the best time for engagement, and ideas and resources for making your efforts as effective as possible.

The event will occur via Zoom on February 5, 2025, from Noon to 1:00 p.m.

Click here to register. 

Have you visited the Pennsylvania Clean Water Academy lately? New courses are continuously added. Check out these courses today!

2024 PAG-02 General Permit 

This course provides training on the 2024 PAG-02 General Permit for Discharges of Stormwater Associated with Construction Activities, including information on changes in comparison to the 2019 PAG-02 General Permit, eligibility requirements, how to complete the PAG-02 NOI, and an explanation of new requirements. A completion certificate is available only to users with a login, so please create an account first if you desire a completion certificate.

Constructed and Restored Wetlands in the Agricultural Landscape

Participants will learn what wetlands are, why they are important, and how to leverage constructed and restored wetlands within the agricultural landscape to restore and improve water quality, reduce erosion, improve flood storage and damage, and restore natural habitats while enabling agricultural production. A completion certificate is available only to users with a login, so please create an account first if you desire a completion certificate.

PFAS and Emerging Contaminants: Surface Water Monitoring (must be logged in to view)

In this presentation, Amy Williams (Water Program Specialist, DEP) discusses emerging contaminants in PA over the last decade and explains the effects of endocrine-disrupting chemicals on aquatic life. She provides insight into PFAS, including their environmental persistence and sediment sampling for pesticides and PAHs. Lastly, she introduces total estrogenicity measures to assess impacts on both aquatic life and human health.

Please contact PACD Water Resource Trainer Kelly Davidson at kdavidson@pacd.org with any questions or to create an account.

Submitted by Abby Reiter, Ag Conservation Specialist, Montgomery County Conservation District

Montgomery County Conservation District (MCCD) partnered with Penn State Extension, the Montgomery County Planning Commission, and the Pennsylvania Association of Conservation Districts through an educational grant from the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection to film a video demonstrating the use of a no-till drill, which is available for rental through MCCD. This video provides a step-by-step guide on how to set up, calibrate, and use the no-till drill for planting.

This project aimed to create an educational video that serves as a resource for participants of the no-till drill rental program and provides general agricultural conservation education to promote no-till planting. The drill can be used for no-till seeding, pasture renovation, planting of pollinator plots, lawn-to-meadow conversion, and basin naturalization.

Click here to watch the video. 

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.