Over 75 conservation district personnel and partner staff attended the three Employment Law for Conservation Districts seminars on February 18, 19, and 20. Adam Long of McNees Wallace & Nurick LLC presented the seminars on best practices for hiring and managing employees, wage and hour laws, leave rights, policy review and updates, discriminatory harassment, and employment law trends for 2025 and beyond.

A seminar reference book is posted at Building for Tomorrow, and a follow-up webinar to address detailed employment law and policy questions is scheduled for March 18.

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.

Individuals working in agricultural conservation can dive into professional development opportunities by attending the “ACAP Ag Conservation Con,” April 1-3, 2025, at Best Western Premier: The Central Hotel and Conference Center at 800 East Park Drive in Harrisburg, PA.

This conference is designed for conservation district employees, agricultural conservation professionals, and anyone associated with the Agriculture Conservation Assistance Program (ACAP) or other conservation financial assistance programs.

Click here for more information and to register. A discounted early registration fee of $55 is available through March 7, 2025.

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). 

Pennsylvania Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) has provided $500,000 per super gauge for the U.S. Geological Service to install and monitor super gauge monitoring stations at the following locations: Chiques Creek – Lancaster County, Swatara Creek, and Dauphin County. The newest ones being installed are on Swift Run – Adams County, Towanda Creek – Bradford County, Saucony Creek – Berks County, Fishing Creek – Clinton County, and Conneaut Creek – Crawford County. The real-time, continuous sampling devices contain sensors capable of collecting data on temperature, specific conductance, pH, dissolved oxygen, nitrates, nitrites, and turbidity.

Increments of monitoring will be every 15 minutes. This is a significant departure from monitoring samples that occurred during high flow or on an established date once per month. Other factors are estimated using a surrogate regression model. For instance, suspended sediment is determined via turbidity measurements while total nitrogen is calculated from nitrate and nitrite levels, and total phosphorus is predicted from temperature, specific conductance, and turbidity. This information is useful in determining water quality and provides an indication of the results of conservation efforts higher in the watershed.

The map above shows current National Water Quality Initiative watersheds in the state as well as the location of the USGS Super Gauge sites that NRCS has allocated funds to install. It is anticipated that NRCS will continue to support these super gauge stations for the next ten years.

The 5th Annual Conservation District Video Awards presentation was held on Thursday, February 13, 2025. Clips from nine 2024 district video entries were screened, and awards were presented to the top-scoring videos, including:

• Special Recognition Award: Watermarks, submitted by Indiana County Conservation District
• 1st Place: Streambank Stabilization Resources for Homeowners – Part 1, submitted by Westmoreland Conservation District
• 1st Runner-up: No-Till Drill Instructional Video, submitted by Montgomery County Conservation District
• 2nd Runner-up: Flushing Friday, submitted by Schuylkill Conservation District

Links to all 2024 Video Awards entries and the awards presentation are posted at Building for Tomorrow: https://www.paleadership.org/cdva2024.

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.

All district personnel are encouraged to attend the Inspiring Action with Public Speaking workshop on Wednesday, March 12, 2025, at the Ramada Conference Center State College. The workshop, presented by Cindi Johnson and Stacey Piper of Piper Strategies, will provide an overview of audience-driven approaches to messaging and delivery that will supercharge your presentations and speaking engagements. Attendees will also have the opportunity to practice and get feedback on their own presentations.

Registration is required. The cost is $30 per attendee and includes lunch, refreshments, and workshop materials. Space is limited for this valuable training opportunity; registration closes when the workshop is filled.

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.

We are excited to announce that Pennsylvania Envirothon is seeking individuals to volunteer at this year’s PA Envirothon events. Please join us for the Oral Component and State Envirothon Station Testing Day.

Event Details:

• Oral Component: May 14-16
• May 14–Indiana County; May 15–Snyder County; May 16–Monroe County
• State Envirothon Station Testing Day*: May 21 at Windber Park
• Deadline for Volunteers to Register: March 21

*Please note that all volunteers for the Station Testing Day must submit clearances.

Ready to sign up? Click here to register! 

We appreciate your consideration and hope to see you there!

For any questions or additional information, please feel free to contact Courtney Raker at (570) 837-3000 or via email at execdirector@envirothonpa.org.

Submitted by Hannah Hartman, District Manager, Lebanon County Conservation District

Lebanon County Conservation District contributes county funds to a streamgage called a Super Gage operated by the United States Geological Survey (USGS). This project has also received over half a million dollars from PA-NRCS. This gage continuously monitors multiple measures of water quality, including nitrate, which others in the area do not, and posts the data on this website.

USGS recently created a story map that tells the story of the USGS/NRCS Streamgage.

The National Association of Conservation Districts (NACD) announced the 2025 recipients of the Friends of NACD District Grants Program during NACD’s Annual Meeting in Salt Lake City, UT.  

The Friends of NACD District Grants Program supports voluntary, locally led conservation education, youth development, and food security projects proposed by conservation districts across the NACD network.

Congratulations to McKean County Conservation District who received a grant for their “Building Environmental Stewards Initiative–Northwinds 4-H Camp” project. Through a partnership with Penn State Extension, the McKean County Conservation District will provide a hands-on climate-resilience-focused educational program encompassing natural resource topics to youth within a five-county area. 

Click here to read the press release. 

The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) announced the recipients of the Growing Greener Plus grant program. These projects work to protect waterways and watersheds, reclaim abandoned mine sites, and work to reclaim and plug abandoned oil and gas wells. This year’s awards exceed $15 million statewide.

Thirty-two conservation district projects were funded:

• Allegheny County Conservation District – $58,000 for the Mamone BMP Implementation Project
• Allegheny County Conservation District – $50,000 for Plum Stormwater Project: Phase 1 Design/Permit
• Beaver County Conservation District – $439,679 for Brush Creek Ag BMP #2
• Beaver County Conservation District – $33,882 for Dilworth Run-North Fork Little Beaver Creek Streambank Stabilization Design and Construction
• Butler County Conservation District – $256,500 for Tomjack Creek Watershed Rehabilitation II
• Butler County Conservation District – $349,167 for the Altman Heavy Use Area
• Butler County Conservation District – $358,320 for Bauldoff Farm
• Cambria County Conservation District – $222,938 for Bay Watershed Projects Phase II
• Cambria County Conservation District – $260,932 for Ohio River Watershed Projects Phase II
• Carbon County Conservation District – $142,000 for the Hunter Creek Restoration Project
• Chester County Conservation District – $218,400 for the Mushroom Farm Resource Conservationist
• Clearfield County Conservation District – $200,000 for Clearfield County Agricultural and Stream Restoration BMP Implementation
• Clinton County Conservation District – $117,000 for Long Spring Run Stream Restoration and Stream Stabilization
• Columbia County Conservation District – $395,000 for the Multi-County Soil Health Project
• Elk County Conservation District – $87,002 for the Stream Improvement and Rain Garden Project–Upper Clarion River Watershed
• Huntingdon County Conservation District – $124.000 for bridging a funding gap for Agricultural BMPs
• Indiana County Conservation District – $114,600 for the Indiana County Agricultural BMP Design Project
• Indiana County Conservation District – $175,336 for Little Mahoning Streambank Stabilization Phase I
• Juniata County Conservation District – $288,427 for Juniata County Agricultural BMP Implementation
• Juniata County Conservation District – $182,223 for East Licking Creek Stream Restoration Projects
• Lehigh County Conservation District – $127,250 for Lehigh County Stream Restoration Projects
• McKean County Conservation District – $263,259 for the McKean County Stream Crossing Restoration Initiative
• Mercer County Conservation District – $143,140 for the Neshannock Creek Fish Habitat Project
• Montour County Conservation District – $258,080 for the Mahoning Creek Manure Storage Project
• Potter County Conservation District – $36,835 for Streambank Stabilization Projects
• Schuylkill Conservation District – $74,151 for the Little Mahanoy Creek Headwaters Restoration Project
• Schuylkill Conservation District – $236,375 for Upper Mahantango Creek Agricultural BMP Projects
• Somerset County Conservation District – $266,986 for the Laurel Hill Creek Fish Habitat Enhancement Project
• Tioga County Conservation District – $130,000 for Lycoming Creek Erosion Mitigation Project Phase I
• Union County Conservation District – $317,832 for Winfield Creek Stream Improvements
• Venango Conservation District – $18,096 for the East Branch Sugar Creek Protection Project
• Washington County Conservation District – $121,705 for the 2024 Route 519 Stream Restoration Project

For more information on the Growing Greener Plus grant program, application guidance, and to sign up for notifications when grant programs reopen, visit DEP’s webpage, Growing Greener Plus Grants Program. 

 

April 20-26, 2025, will be “Conservation District Week” in Pennsylvania. During this week, district offices will hold conference calls and meetings with legislators. Resources such as letters, a press release, and social media images will be available from PACD to promote Conservation District Week. Stay tuned for more information.