Thanks to funding and support from the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service and the Pennsylvania State Conservation Commission, PACD now has six conservation planners on staff. These new staff members will work toward conservation planning certification to assist in conservation efforts across the Commonwealth.

PACD conservation planners work out of USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) field offices to provide services as cost-effectively as possible.

• Bucks County – Grace Rhodes, 215-453-9527
• Dauphin County – Arek Moczulski, 717-559-4020 x3
• Erie County – Joshua Ferraro, 814-796-5031
• Franklin County – Daniel Hausman, 717-446-8566
• Indiana County – Nathan Edwards, 724-427-3333
• Susquehanna County – Kelsey Quinones, 570-278-1197

Click here to read more about the program.

Financial and other support for the Certified Conservation Planner Program is provided by the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service and the Pennsylvania State Conservation Commission.

Close to 4,000 township officials and guests from all over Pennsylvania will attend the annual Pennsylvania State Association of Township Supervisors (PSATS) Conference and Trade Show on April 14-16, 2024. Once again, there will be a conservation district booth at the show from Sunday, April 14, to Tuesday, April 16.

PACD is seeking volunteers for the following shifts:

• Sunday, April 14, 1:00 p.m.–5:00 p.m. (1st shift) (2 volunteers needed)
• Sunday, April 14, 6:30 p.m.–8:00 p.m. (2nd shift) (1 volunteer needed)
• Monday, April 15, 7:30 a.m.–Noon (1st shift) (1 volunteer needed)
• Tuesday, April 16, 7:30 a.m.–1:30 p.m. (2 volunteers needed)

Please consider volunteering for a morning or afternoon shift at the conservation district booth. This is a valuable opportunity to promote the districts and explain the type of work they do, as well as reinforce existing relationships with local township officials.

To volunteer, please get in touch with Roxanne Dohner at rdohner@pacd.org.

Article by Isabela Weiss, WVIA News, Report for America (reprinted with permission)

Farmers shared experiences at Tioga County’s Women in Agriculture event.

Hosted by the Tioga County Conservation District, women traveled to network with other farmers across the state. Dairy farmer Julie Hess was a speaker at Tuesday’s event. She has attended every Women in Agriculture event since it started ten years ago.

“I’ve been coming to the Women in Ag meetings since they started holding it. And I’ve been bringing my daughter with me, even when she was in like fifth or sixth grade, because I think it’s important for female agricultural producers to meet other female agricultural producers,” said Hess. “But they say that women in agriculture is like the largest growing sector of farmers.”

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) 2017 Census found that women comprise 36 percent of the country’s 3.4 million agricultural producers and that newer farmers are skewing younger. The 2022 Census will come out in Feb. 2024.

Click here to read the entire article. 

 

Allegheny County Conservation District (ACCD) hosted The Flow of Development in Allegheny County, a workshop for stakeholders and professionals on Allegheny County development patterns and mapping of existing stormwater infrastructure. This marks the first time ACCD has compiled datasets and mapped National Pollutant Discharge and Elimination System (NPDES) permit applications in Allegheny County. These valuable datasets, designed to enhance transparency and collaboration, will be publicly accessible on the ACCD and Western Pennsylvania Data Center websites starting January 30, 2024.

Conservation Districts can now watch a recording of the event here or click here to read the press release.  

On January 23, 2024, Cumberland County Conservation District hosted a cooperating agency meeting in Newville, PA. Forty-three people attended the meeting. The goal of the meeting was to network and hear about the agency’s accomplishments in 2023 and provide important information about 2024 activities. PACD Executive Director Brenda Shambaugh participated in the event.

Cooperating agencies that participated include Farmland Preservation, Cumberland County Planning Department, Capital RC&D, USDA Farm Service Agency, Vector Control, Penn State Extension, PA Department of Environmental Protection, USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, HRG, Kings Gap Environmental Center, Chesapeake Bay Foundation, PA Game Commission, and PACD.

PACD wrapped up its Winter Meeting with the PACD Executive Council Meeting via Zoom on January 25, 2024. Eighty-seven people attended. In addition to regular business, the meeting attendees heard from partners, including Jill Whitcomb, PA Department of Environmental Protection, Doug Wolfgang, State Conservation Commission, and Denise Coleman, USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service.  

Photo caption: Screenshots from the PACD Winter Meeting.

The submission deadline for the 2024 National Association of Conservation Districts (NACD) Poster Contest is June 30, 2024. The theme is “May the Forest Be with You Always.”

New for this year are four categories.

• Hand Drawn Poster – NACD welcomes students from kindergarten to 12th grade to unleash their artistic talents. You can create posters using traditional hand-drawn methods to illustrate the NACD contest theme beautifully. What’s important is that your artwork is entirely your creation – no team efforts! Size requirements: While we prefer posters to be 11 x 17 inches as they work well for future advertisements, we’ll happily accept posters of all sizes!
• Braille Poster – New to 2024! Introducing the NACD Braille Poster Contest. This inclusive competition invites blind and low-vision students in grades K-12 to participate, using braille to create posters championing natural resource conservation.
• Additional Assist Poster – Introducing the NACD Inclusive Poster Contest, which is open to all students who may benefit from extra assistance completing their posters. This contest promotes accessibility and embraces diversity by providing a platform for students of varying abilities to express their creativity and advocate for natural resource conservation. Participants are encouraged to create posters that celebrate inclusivity and the beauty of our environment.
• Digital Poster – NACD’s Digital Poster Contest for 7th-12th grades welcomes digital artistry. Use graphic arts programs to create posters featuring the NACD contest theme, but remember, no copyrighted content outside of the NACD logo.

NACD just announced the new categories, and PACD decided to include them in the 2024 contest, so districts are aware of the change and can plan accordingly for next year if they’d like to participate.

Please note that there is no longer a size requirement because the posters are submitted electronically.

Click here for the poster contest flyer and here for the entry forms. Contact Roxanne at rdohner@pacd.org with questions.

There’s still time to register for the Understanding Time Management Webinar Series. Starting January 31, this three-part webinar series will examine the key principles of time management, tools and systems for managing time, and the psychology of procrastination. 

The 4th Annual Conservation District Video Awards will be presented on Thursday, February 15, from Noon–1:00 p.m. All district personnel and partners are invited to join us at as we celebrate the hard work of staff from across the state and recognize excellence by awarding the coveted CONDIVA trophy. Click here to register. 

Emotional Intelligence: Apps for Wellbeing Workshops are scheduled for all district staff from February 20 through March 27. This interactive workshop includes a presentation and group discussion focusing on techniques and practices to develop and support emotional intelligence in and out of the workplace. The workshop is facilitated by Sarah Colantonio, president and founding partner at Lancaster-based Work Wisdom LLC, and previous facilitator for Building for Tomorrow’s Management Summit and Emerging Leaders Pre-Con workshops. Visit Building for Tomorrow for workshop registration – deadlines are two weeks before the workshop date.

Directors, associate directors, and managers should register for the 2024 Strategic Board Development Workshops, scheduled regionally from February 21 through March 26. Workshop attendees will discuss factors in assessing board readiness for future challenges, understand SCC procedures for the director nomination process and for the approval of Nominating Organizations, and identify opportunities to help build and sustain strategic relationships with nominating and other organizations working to make positive impacts in their communities. There is no fee to attend, but registration is required. Visit Building for Tomorrow for workshop registration links.

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.

Thanks to the conservation districts for submitting their 2023 highlights pages. The pages were sent to all PA General Assembly members.

Click here to see what other districts have accomplished this year! 

Nominations are now being accepted for the PACD Conservation Awards. New for 2024, the award nominations have been simplified and streamlined with an online nomination form. Nominations must be received by April 30, 2024.

The awards are:

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

Contact Roxanne Dohner at rdohner@pacd.org or 717-794-6108 with any questions.