Berks, Armstrong, and Butler Conservation Districts among partners

USDA’s Natural Resources Service (NRCS) announced it is investing in 48 conservation projects across 29 states through its Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP). NRCS will award $206 million for these 48 RCPP projects while leveraging nearly $300 million in partner contributions.

Three projects were selected for funding in Pennsylvania:

• Kittatinny Ridge Conservation Landscape
  Lead partner: Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture
  Funding amount: $ 9,928,571
  The Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture will target the long-term protection of farmland and deciduous forests in the Kittatinny Ridge corridor of the Chesapeake Bay Watershed. Farm and forest land preservation investments in this region ensure food security for a growing population, support Pennsylvania’s robust agricultural economy, and protect wildlife habitat in a region home to threatened and endangered species.
  
  
• Ag BMP Implementation in the Chesapeake Bay
  Lead partner: Berks County Conservation District
  Funding amount: $2,232,14
  The Berks County Conservation District will implement Comprehensive Nutrient Management Plans (CNMP) and establish near stream conservation practices such as riparian buffers, filter strips, and animal exclusion fencing on operations in the Chesapeake Bay watershed. The partners intend to model the project’s water quality improvements and report on nutrient and sediment load reductions generated by conservation implementation by producers.
  
  
• Buffalo Creek Watershed Conservation Alliance
  Lead partner: Audubon Society of Western Pennsylvania
  Funding amount: $1,169,618
  The Audubon Society of Western Pennsylvania, supported by several local partners, plans to carry out conservation planning, implement conservation practices, and purchase easements to support the long-term goal of delisting Buffalo Creek, currently designated as an impaired water body. The watershed designated as an Important Bird Area and is home to several threatened wildlife species including Eastern hellbender and Indiana bat.
  Project Partner: The Armstrong Conservation District: “The Armstrong Conservation District is proud to partner with Audubon Society of Western Pennsylvania, the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy, The American Chestnut Foundation, and the Butler Conservation District to deliver high quality conservation programs and projects to our cooperators and landowners in the Buffalo Creek Watershed.” District Manager Dave Rupert states, “this partnership among our neighboring Butler Conservation District and two other highly respected non-governmental organizations is something that we have discussed for years and is now going to be a reality.”

Click here to view all the projects funded and here for the press release. 

Events conservation districts planned to celebrate the 50^th anniversary of Earth Day on April 22, 2020, were canceled or modified due to the COVID-19 crisis. So what can we do to mark this momentous occasion? PACD suggests encouraging folks in your county to have a neighborhood trash pick-up while maintaining social distancing guidelines.

Another way to honor Earth Day with kids is to distribute the “We All Live Downstream” otter coloring page and the “Good Neighbors Activity & Coloring Book” through social media.

Please share your Earth Day messages on Facebook and tag @PAConservation.

The National Association of Conservation District’s (NACD) 65th annual Stewardship Week is less than a week away! Stewardship Week will take place April 26-May 3, 2020, and will celebrate the theme “Where Would We BEE Without Pollinators?”

Due to COVID-19 (coronavirus) concerns, we encourage everyone to find virtual ways to celebrate the importance of pollinators, such as hosting a pollinator webinar or delivering a PowerPoint presentation for your conservation district’s poster contest. To help you start a Stewardship Week campaign in your community, visit NACD’s website, where you’ll find a toolkit, social media graphics, and flyer that you can distribute electronically. Click here to access these Stewardship Week resources.

PACD has compiled a list of resources and guidance for conservation districts from state agencies and partners during the COVID-19 crisis. The COVID-19 Resources page is available through a button on the PACD homepage at www.pacd.org and directly at https://pacd.org/?page_id=20452. The date of each document is included for your reference. PACD will add and update materials as they are available.

PACD region meetings are still happening via the Zoom webinar platform. Four of the six regions have already met virtually with great success.

Two more region meetings are upcoming:

April 22, 2020
PACD North West Region Meeting
Webinar: https://zoom.us/j/209266809

April 30, 2020
PACD South East Region Meeting
Webinar: https://zoom.us/j/252118639

Thanks to our members for adapting to the webinar format for our region meetings!

The Monroe County Conservation District’s Kettle Creek Environmental Education Center is engaging the community using short videos on their Facebook page (@KettleCreekEnvironmentalEducationCenter). The Center’s videos have included backyard birding, salamanders, and what is blooming in your backyard. Share the Center’s posts on your Facebook page or create your own! Monroe County’s posts are informative and encourage engagement, such as posting photos from the reader’s backyards.

Click here to view the page.

The Potter County Conservation District (@pottercounservationdistrict) is holding an online scavenger hunt for their Facebook followers. Their virtual nature scavenger hunt challenge even includes prizes including gift cards, outdoor and gardening supplies, and more!

The district encourages its followers to enjoy the little things. Participants take photos of as many of the items as they can and share them with the district. For example, the first week’s scavenger hunt items included vernal pools, snowdrops, and signs of beaver activity.

Click here to view the page.

Per the Governor’s orders, PACD staff are working from home. They can all be reached via email. Click here for the staff list and email addresses. 

Check PACD’s website for up-to-date information on event postponements and new dates. 

We are here for our member conservation districts! Please reach out if you need assistance.

While kids are home from school and parents are looking for activities, why not suggest the 2020 Poster Contest to your county residents via Facebook? The 2020 theme is, “Where would we BEE without Pollinators?”

Conservation districts that wish to participate can collect nominations via email, judge them, and forward the winners in each grade category to PACD. PACD will then select the statewide winners to move on to the national contest.

PACD will accept photos of your county’s winners until June 30, 2020. Entries can be emailed to jmcnamara@pacd.org. Click here for more information on the contest. 

Thanks to Celina Seftas, manager at Huntingdon County Conservation District, for the idea to promote this to families at home!

PACD Software Specialist Nick Yeagy is recording and uploading the PA Department of Conservation and Natural Resources’ (DCNR) Riparian Forest webinar series to the Clean Water Academy. To date, the webinars available are:

• Ecology of Streams and Riparian Forests: How Streams Work and the Role of Forests
• Do Hellbenders, Freshwater Mussels, and Native Brook Trout Matter?
• Selling Buffers WITHOUT Financial Incentives
• Reforesting Shallowbrook School
• Pre- and Post-planting Vegetation Management for Establishment

Click here for the Clean Water Academy.