On March 26, at Deer Country Farm and Lawn in Manheim, PA, stakeholders gathered for the announcement of $5.5 million to improve soil and water quality in the Susquehanna River Basin. Included in the announcement were grants for Lancaster County Conservation District and Lebanon County Conservation District.

PACD Director of Communications and Education Shannon Wehinger attended the event.

The Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture awarded $392,119 in Sustainable Agriculture Grants to 16 farms, and$5.1 million in Public Private Partnership Grants to six conservation organizations.

Grants are funded through the Pennsylvania Most Effective Basins program, a partnership among federal and state government and the private sector to support Pennsylvania in achieving its water quality goals for the agricultural sector under the Chesapeake Bay Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) and Pennsylvania’s Phase III Watershed Implementation Plan (WIP).

Click here for the event recap, including photos and the full press release. 

PACD is now accepting nominations for the PACD Conservation Awards.  The award nominations have been simplified and streamlined with an online nomination form. Nominations must be received by April 30, 2026.

The awards are:

• Ann Rudd Saxman Conservation District Director or Associate Director Excellence Award
• Conservation District Employee Excellence Award
• Maurice K. Goddard Award for Excellence in Environmental Recreation

Contact Shannon Wehinger at swehinger@pacd.org with any questions.

Highlighting PA conservation district employees who go above and beyond. Conservation district directors, associate directors, and staff may highlight outstanding district employees in our weekly e-newsletter by using this form. 

PACD will randomly spotlight one social media post from a conservation district each week. Don’t forget to share or tag other districts to share good news or something others could learn about.

This week’s feature is the Northampton County Conservation District’s Facebook post on soil health. Follow the district at https://www.facebook.com/NorthamptonCD/.

 

Join Watersheds of South Pittsburgh and the Headwaters to the Ohio Water Network to learn how to support healthy waterways and thriving communities through smart stormwater management. 

The event will begin at The Whitehall House, 4201 Brownsville Road, Pittsburgh, PA, on June 2, 2026, at 8:30 a.m. An engaging morning workshop will be followed by lunch and an afternoon tour of real-world stormwater projects. The event will end at 2:30 p.m.

Please register to join! A suggested donation of $25 will help cover the cost of food, space, and tour buses.

Your government colleagues and stormwater professionals from the Ohio River Basin are excited to explore how teamwork and collaboration can improve stormwater solutions in our communities. These approaches can create benefits beyond regulatory compliance, improving our parks, business districts, and residential neighborhoods.

Come have fun, be inspired by your peers, and learn from professionals about innovations and best practices for healthy waterways and communities. Get in touch with your inner water nerd as we tour recently completed stormwater project sites. Don’t miss out on this chance to collaborate and learn in a friendly setting!

 

Eighty-four students attended the annual Lebanon County Envirothon Soils Training on March 18, 2026. Middle and high school students from five public school districts, as well as homeschool and private school institutions, participated.

The half-day training was hosted by the Lebanon County Conservation District at the Lebanon Expo Center and was led by Soil Scientists Mike Callahan (Soil Hub) and John Chibirka (Natural Resource Conservation Service). Charlie Hanner, Assistant State Conservationist (NRCS), and Jared Boger, Civil Engineering Technician (NRCS), also assisted.

Mike began the morning by presenting on soil forming factors, soil properties, and more. He also demonstrated how to use the Web Soil Survey and discussed the importance of proper soil management.

After the presentation, students rotated through two hands-on stations. At one station, students used the soil textural triangle to classify four different soil samples. Mike and John assisted the students as they practiced making ribbons with soil and estimating the amounts of sand, silt, and clay in each sample. Students also learned how to use Munsell Soil Color Books to determine the color of each soil sample. At the second station, Jared introduced topographic mapping and Charlie led students in a soil survey activity.

Submitted by: Olivia Hubler, Environmental Education and Watershed Specialist, Columbia County Conservation District

The Columbia County Conservation District (CCCD) held its 11th Annual Women in Agriculture and Conservation Conference on Wednesday, March 18, 2026, in Bloomsburg, PA. A record number of 80 registrants attended the conference, which consisted of refreshments, speakers, lunch, and was accompanied by a hands-on activity.

Presentations included Waterfowl Research by Molly Giles from the PA Game Commission; a Farm Highlight on Hemsarth Dairy by Cheryl and Greg Hemsarth; Funding Availability and Potential Project Types by Gary Rinehimer, Phil Hemsarth, and Olivia Hubler of the CCCD; Cottage Product Rules & Regs by Shane Hartman and Rachel Glosek from the PA Department of Agriculture; and Early Success in Agribusiness by Brynn Karnes, Elyse Karnes, and Kira Hack from Fishing Creek Floral Company.

Throughout the presentations and activities, the participants were given extra time to network with speakers, staff, sponsors, and friends from the ag and conservation community. The lunchtime activity included sampling locally made “cottage” products including, bread, pickles, cheese, jams, jellies, spreads, salsa, and more! This tasty activity encouraged attendees to shop local and support small businesses. The event was a great success and will be held again next year!

 

On March 10, 2026, PACD and the PA Society of Professional Engineers, in conjunction with the PA Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), hosted an Engineers Workshop: Permitting and Compliance Lessons Learned and Best Practices for Chapter 102.

The presentations are now available on the Clean Water Academy for conservation district access, including:

• Chapter 102 Compliance and Enforcement 
  Krista Brown, DEP Bureau of Clean Water, and Linda Mackey, DEP
• E&S Sequence of Construction – Best practices and lessons learned 
  Luke Graver, DEP Bureau of Clean Water, and Bill Himes, PE DEP Bureau of Clean Water
• ABACT vs. Standard E&S Controls 
  Matt Gordon, Allegheny County Conservation District

Note: The Managed Release Concept (MRC) presentation was not posted, as additional lessons for the MRC Course are already in development and will be released shortly. Please check the MRC Course for updates.

Hosted by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), the PA Clean Water Academy is a comprehensive online training platform designed to support education and outreach on a wide range of water quality topics. The Academy provides free access to courses and recorded presentations covering areas such as stormwater management, watershed protection, permitting, and best management practices.

Click here to view the presentations. 

 

Highlighting PA conservation district employees who go above and beyond. Conservation district directors, associate directors, and staff may highlight outstanding district employees in our weekly e-newsletter by using this form. 

 

Mark your calendars for Chapter 102 Basic Technical Training June 1-5, 2026, at the Penn Harris Hotel and Convention Center in Camp Hill, PA. This training is open to conservation district and DEP staff who work with Chapter 102. The curriculum is designed for new or newer conservation district technicians and incorporates both classroom learning and a field component. Registration will open in April. Questions? Contact Molly Burns with PACD at mburns@pacd.org.

This training was 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.