At its November meeting, the PACD Executive Board voted to hold PACD Winter Meeting activities virtually. The winter 2022 PACD Executive Council Meeting will take place as a video conference on January 27 at 10:00 a.m. Committees will meet virtually prior to the Executive Council session, so watch future editions of Front Page for committee dates. Need to update your district’s slate of voting delegates prior to January? Contact Molly with PACD at mburns@pacd.org.
Blair County Conservation District Educator J.T. Bandzuh visited Williamsburg Elementary School on October 25, 2021, to host an “Animals of Halloween” show-and-tell presentation. Pre-K and Kindergarten classes combined to listen to J.T. read The Leaf Thief and to discuss fall and the changes brought about during the season.
After story time, J.T. introduced students to bats, owls, and spiders – explaining to students their contributions to their local environments. The lessons were taught through hand puppets, skeletons and mounts of bats and owls, and the inspection of owl pellets.
Mark your calendar and join us for the PACD spring region meetings! All meetings will be in-person with a virtual option.
The region meeting dates and locations are as follows:
March 24, 2022 | 9:30-11:30a.m.
PACD South East Region Meeting
Location TBA (virtual option is also available)
March 25, 2022 | 10:00 am – Noon
PACD North East Region Meeting
Schuylkill Conservation District, Pottsville, PA (virtual option is also available)
March 31, 2022 | 10:00 am – Noon
PACD North Central Region Meeting
Clinton County Conservation District, Mill Hall, PA (virtual option is also available)
April 8, 2022 | 10:00 am – Noon
PACD South Central Region Meeting
Cumberland County Conservation District, Carlisle, PA (virtual option is also available)
April 21, 2022 | 10:00 am – Noon
PACD South West Region Meeting
Westmoreland Conservation District, Greensburg, PA (virtual option is also available)
April 27, 2021 | 10:00 am – Noon
PACD North West Region Meeting
Tionesta Church of God, Tionesta, PA (Forest County) (virtual option is also available)
PACD is offering complimentary space at our 2022 Farm Show booth to conservation districts who would like to set up a display for a day and educate folks from all over the state. It’s an opportunity to highlight your district, your county, and what’s going on in your neck of Penn’s Woods. If your district has an exhibit that travels easily and you would like to spend a few hours enjoying the Farm Show, then this opportunity is for you.
The show will be held January 8 through 15, 2022.
Let us know as soon as possible if your district would like to reserve a day. Please contact Diane Young at dyoung@pacd.org by November 30 with the type of display you have to offer.
Thanks to the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection’s continuing support of conservation district educational projects, PACD is ready to open a round of Stormwater Training Video Mini-grants!
Conservation district staff are a great resource. We are looking to share your expertise and offer five mini-grants up to $2,000 for districts to develop content. Conservation districts will use grant funds to develop instructional videos on the operation and maintenance needs of a specific best management practice (BMP) for MS4 permittees. BMP types prioritized for funding are: detention basins and extended detention basins, rain gardens/bioretention basins, infiltration basins, and vegetated swales.
Only one mini-grant will be awarded per BMP. Mini-grants will be awarded on a first-come, first-served basis. Conservation districts may apply for more than one mini-grant, but preference will be given to districts who have not been awarded a mini-grant.
To apply for funding, simply email Nick Yeagy your preferred BMP(s) along with alternates in case your first choice was already awarded. Applications will be accepted until November 17, 2021, or all five mini-grants are awarded, whichever comes first. Click here for more information.
Financial and other support for the Stormwater Training Video Mini-Grant Program is provided by the Pennsylvania Association of Conservation Districts, Inc. through a grant from the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection.
Directors and managers can still register for the Fall Leadership Webinar Series. Part 1 of Succession Planning Management is scheduled for this Wednesday, November 3, at Noon, with Part 2 on November 17. Environmental Justice & Conservation Leadership will be presented on November 10. Click here for more information and to register
Reminder for districts interested in strategic planning: Letters of Intent for the Strategic Planning Grants program must be received by November 19. For more information, visit Building for Tomorrow or contact Matt Miller, Leadership Development Coordinator, at mmiller@pacd.org
The 2nd Annual Conservation District Video Awards will be presented on Wednesday, February 16, at the 2022 Staff Conference. Stay tuned for an announcement and contest submission rules later this month.
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.
As the Conservation Technician for the Pennsylvania Association of Conservation Districts (PACD) in the North West and South West Region in Clarion, PA, the incumbent will provide technical assistance to the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS).
This position will: provide technical assistance to area NRCS partnership in the planning, design, and construction of engineering practices; prepare designs of agricultural conservation practices and water quality best management practices (BMPs), which are site-specific and require coordination among various groups and individuals; and provide engineering assistance in conducting preliminary investigations.
Click here for the full job description. In addition, candidates must submit a resume and cover letter to PACD at jobs@pacd.org. All application materials must be received by 4:30 p.m. on November 1, 2021.
Seventeen students (including eight conservation district staff) completed the Intro to Conservation Planning Course in Grantville, PA, from October 19-21, 2021. The training is an introductory course for employees interested in writing conservation plans and becoming a USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) Certified Conservation Planner. The event included classroom and field experience.
Participants attended the three-day training free of charge thanks to the generous sponsorship of NRCS and the State Conservation Commission. In addition, PACD provided administrative support for the course.
On October 21, 2021, PA Department of Conservation and Natural Resources Secretary Cindy Adams Dunn traveled to Adams County. A ceremonial tree was planted at Knouse Foods by the Secretary and a representative from Knouse.
PACD Executive Director Brenda Shambaugh also attended the event and presented the 2021 Maurice K. Goddard Award for Excellence in Environmental Recreation to Secretary Dunn.
Update to “Bradford and Schuylkill Conservation Districts Receive NFWF Grants” article in the October 18, 2021 newsletter.
Franklin County Conservation District also received a National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) Grant in addition to Bradford and Schuylkill Conservation Districts as reported in the last issue of Front Page. They are mistakenly listed under the Virginia projects.
The Franklin County Conservation District will use the $50,000 grant to develop a Watershed Action Plan for the county to determine sources of nutrients and sediment in seven sub-watersheds. The project will identify best management practices for implementation to assist with the pollution reduction targets and water quality improvement goals identified in Franklin’s Countywide Action Plan.
Click here to read about all the projects.