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 2^nd 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. 

Mark your calendars for the 2022 Conservation District Staff Conference, scheduled for February 16-17 at the Wyndham Garden State College in Boalsburg. The conference will be a hybrid in-person/virtual meeting featuring interactive sessions on conflict management, resilience, and burnout prevention, and the 2nd Annual Conservation District Video Awards. Stay tuned for more details coming soon!

The Fall Leadership Webinar series begins on November 3, 2021, with Succession Planning Management Part 1, presented by Dennis Gilbert. The series continues on November 10 with Environmental Justice & Conservation Leadership, presented by Justin Dula, Regional Coordinator for the DEP Office of Environmental Justice. The series wraps up with succession Planning Management Part 2 on November 17. All district directors, associate directors, and managers are encouraged to participate. Click here 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.

During the Buckets of Benefits Field Day held on August 18, 2021, at Greenbar Farms, LLC, USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service District Conservationist Melissa Erdman instructed local farmers in using the contents of two soil health buckets presented by Juniata County Conservation District.

Soil health buckets contain nutrient test and soil health analysis kits, soil thermometers, penetrometers, soil probes, materials to conduct infiltration tests, and more. Buckets are available for agricultural testing with technical support at no cost to the farmer.

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.

October is Riparian Buffer month! To celebrate, Juniata County Conservation District installed a riparian buffer educational sign at the Christian Retreat Center in East Waterford to explain the benefits of planting trees for water quality protection.

The signage was created from templates produced by PACD through a PA Department of Environmental Protection Environmental Education Grant. The templates are available here. 

The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) awarded over $4.1 million to 13 projects statewide that will help communities restore impaired local watersheds.

The Section 319 Nonpoint Source Management Grants program supports projects that carry out best management practices (BMPs) specified in Watershed Implementation Plans for 36 watersheds around the state, with special consideration for projects in Pennsylvania’s share of the Chesapeake Bay Watershed.

The following conservation district projects received Section 319 Grants:

• Pennsylvania Association of Conservation Districts: $362,565 to support nonpoint source pollution education by county conservation district offices.
• Clearfield County Conservation District: $722,661 for design, permitting, and construction of a passive treatment system to remediate Korb 4 AMD discharge in Little Anderson Creek in Bloom Township.
• Lancaster County Conservation District: $121,000 to identify and implement projects to install streambank buffers, streambank fencing, and livestock crossings on various tributaries in Mill Creek Watershed.
• Schuylkill Conservation District: $240,000 to design a streambank restoration project for the Swatara Creek floodplain in Ravine, Tremont Township.
• York County Conservation District: $508,581 to design, permit and construct a stream restoration project, including streambed and bank stabilization, on Willis Run, a tributary to Codorus Creek, and in the west branch of Codorus Creek, in the City of York.
• York County Conservation District: $280,898 for Codorus Creek Watershed stream restorations.

Click here to read the entire press release. 

Grant funding is provided by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and authorized through Section 319(h) of the federal Water Pollution Control Act.