The Pennsylvania Association of Conservation Districts (PACD) is disappointed that the Governor’s proposed state budget does not include an increase for conservation districts.  This additional conservation district funding is needed to continue our operations and ever-growing responsibilities. We urge legislators to include a $500,000 increase for the Conservation District Fund in both the Department of Agriculture and the Department of Environmental Protection. 

“The conservation districts play an important role in protecting the Commonwealth’s resources. By including an increase in the state budget for conservation districts, the legislators would be investing in continuing the conservation district mission of clean water and healthy soil for all Pennsylvanians,” said PACD Executive Director Brenda Shambaugh.

Conservation districts continue to review permits, provide assistance to farmers, assist municipalities in preparing to fix low volume roads and dirt and gravel roads throughout the state, and help control mosquito-borne diseases such as West Nile Virus and Zika Virus.  

For more information about the work of the state’s 66 conservation districts, visit www.pacd.org. You can also follow PACD on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/PAConservation.

Conservation district and DEP staff working with Chapters 102 and 105 are invited to register for 102/105 Virtual Topic-based Technical Training. The event will take place via Zoom March 29-31, 2022. There is no cost to participate. Click here for registration and the draft agenda. (Clean Water Academy login is required for access.)

This training is funded through a grant from the PA Department of Environmental Protection and made possible through the cooperation of the PA Association of Conservation Districts and Pennsylvania’s conservation districts.

PACD is accepting applications for a new round of CREP mini-grants until February 25, 2022.

Grants up to $3,000 will be awarded to implement educational and outreach activities that support and extend the work of the Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP). Projects should focus on CREP enrollment, re-enrollment, and/or CREP maintenance.

Click here for the application and guidelines.

Please reach out to Holly Miller at hmiller@pacd.org with questions.

Financial and other support for the CREP Outreach Program Office Mini-grant Program is 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.

Directors, associate directors, and managers – there’s still time to register for the 2022 Director Training workshop on staff retention, the employee lifecycle, and post-COVID policies. This year’s program builds on themes presented in last year’s Management Summit and Fall Leadership webinar series. In addition, it will examine staff retention challenges in the contexts of generational and other workforce changes, focusing on district staffing and employee policies in the wake of COVID-19.

The program is free of charge, and lunch is included for in-person attendees. Visit Building for Tomorrow for more information and to register

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.

The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) has announced projects in Southcentral Pennsylvania.

Approved conservation district projects include: 

• Berks County Conservation District: Little Cacoosing Creek Restoration, $374,128
• Franklin County Conservation District: West Branch Conococheague Tributary Floodplain Restoration—Design and Permitting, $117,500 
• York County Conservation District: West Branch Codorus Creek Stream Restoration Phase 2, $563,365

Three other agencies also received funds to distribute for appropriate projects: the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture to administer farmland preservation projects, the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources for state park renovations and improvements, and the Pennsylvania Infrastructure Investment Authority for water and sewer system upgrades.

For more information on Growing Greener go to DEP’s website.

 

The PACD Executive Council Video Conference was held on January 27, 2022. In addition to PACD’s business meeting, several partners provided reports.

“While we were disappointed that we could not meet in person, we were happy to connect with each other over Zoom,” said PACD President Kelly Stagen. “We are grateful to PA Department of Environmental Protection Secretary Patrick McDonnell and PA Department of Conservation and Natural Resources Secretary Cindy Adams Dunn for joining us and for their continued support of conservation districts.”

Other key partners providing reports were PA Department of Agriculture Deputy Secretary for Animal Health and Food Safety Greg Hostetter, State Conservation Commission Executive Secretary Karl Brown, and USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service Assistant State Conservationist for Partnerships and RCPP Coordinator Susan Marquart.

The next PACD event will be the regional meetings in March and April. Click here for more information.

The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) recently announced projects to clean up waters in the state’s northwest and southeast regions through DEP’s Growing Greener Plus program.

Statewide, more than $18 million was awarded to fund over 60 projects to clean up waters. Grantees have up to three years from the award date to implement their projects.

Nineteen of the 65 projects funded in the 2021 Growing Greener Grant round were awarded to conservation districts. This is 29.2% of the total number of projects funded. Of the $18,222,967 in Growing Greener funds awarded, $4,586,041 went to conservation districts. This is 25.2% of the total amount awarded.

Projects announced so far include:

• Armstrong Conservation District, Mahoning-Redbank Creek Ag BMP Grant, $294,061
• Columbia County Conservation District, Town of Bloomsburg Kinney Run Watershed Project, $245,000
• Erie County Conservation District, PA VinES Program (Vested in Environmental Sustainability) in the Lake Erie Watershed, $249,500
• Jefferson County Conservation District, Rattlesnake Creek Stream Improvement Project, $276,150
• McKean County Conservation District, Upper Allegheny Ag. BMP Project, $382,492
• Pennsylvania Association of Conservation Districts (PACD)
  • PACD Agriculture Plan Reimbursement Program, to help farmers statewide develop agricultural plans for their operations, $500,000
  • PACD Engineering Technical Assistance Program, to provide statewide engineering and soils technical assistance to entities developing or implementing a watershed assessment, watershed restoration plan, or watershed protection plan. Program staff are based out of four regional offices and cover all river basins throughout the state, $2,047,769

Conservation district projects funded through Growing Greener will continue to be highlighted as they are announced.

There’s still time to register to attend the 2022 Hybrid Staff Conference on February 16-17, 2022. Day 1 sessions take a close look at how we handle external and internal stress and highlight the talent and hard work that went into conservation district video production from across the state in 2021. Day 2 sessions focus on outreach, working with landowners, and grant management. Individual staff can register to attend in person, and managers can register their districts for virtual access – the deadline for registration is February 7.

Two Days of Learning and Networking, Two Ways to Participate: visit Building for Tomorrow for more information and to register.

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.

District directors, associate directors, and managers are invited to participate in this year’s Director Workshop Series: Staff Retention, the Employee Life Cycle, and Post-Covid Policies, presented by Mary Kay Williams of State College-based MindShift Consulting and Matt Miller with PACD. The workshops will give an overview of the current district staffing situation, background, and concepts that underlie successful retention strategies for conservation districts. These sessions are intended to allow district leaders from across the state to share and discuss their own problems and solutions. Workshops are scheduled for February 24 at Westmoreland Conservation District, March 3 at Clinton County Conservation District, and March 9 in Harrisburg (and streaming online via Zoom). They are free of charge and include lunch for in-person attendees. Visit Building for Tomorrow for more information and to register.

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.

Representatives from PACD testified before the House Environmental Resources and Energy Committee on January 24, 2022. The testimony favored House Bill 1901, which would help ensure clean water for all Pennsylvanians.

PACD endorses HB 1901 because it would start several programs. First, this would put much-needed Best Management Practices (BMPs) on the ground. These BMPs would reduce the amount of pollution getting into Pennsylvania’s ground and surface water.

Brenda Shambaugh, Executive Director of the PA Association of Conservation Districts, testified in favor of the legislation. PACD represents the state’s 66 conservation districts. Also, John Dryzal, Cambria County Conservation District Manager, and Christopher Thompson, Lancaster County Conservation District Managing Director, spoke in favor of HB 1901.

“Clean water is vital to all Pennsylvanians. HB 1901 provides a way to use federal dollars in various programs. We hope that this bill passes. In addition, we ask legislators to consider future funding to continue controlling pollution,” said Shambaugh.

HB 1901 would provide additional resources to conservation districts. With this support, conservation districts will better address clean water issues. This includes helping farmers to reduce pollution. 

The entirety of the testimony is available here: https://tinyurl.com/HB1901.