Save the Date: the Building for Tomorrow 2019 Staff Conference is scheduled for February 26 & 28 at the Genetti Hotel in Williamsport.  Stay tuned for more information. Contact Matt Miller at mmiller@pacd.org with questions.

Over 80 attendees, including 67 watershed specialists, participated in the 18^th Annual Conservation District Watershed Specialist Meeting at Toftrees Golf Resort in State College, PA, October 9-11, 2018.

The first day provided an orientation for newer staff, with the full group in attendance for the rest of the conference. The event offered hands-on workshops, including: computer modeling software to help improve water quality, macroinvertebrate identification with staff from Stroud Water Research Center, and PAOneStop. Presentation topics included invasive species, grant-writing and the bidding process, and partnering with the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources to implement best management practices. PACD coordinates this annual meeting through a grant from the PA Department of Environmental Protection.

Did you know there is a PACD listserve for every PACD member? They are free to join and use. Conservation district directors, associate directors, and staff can all take advantage of this service for members. Listserve members can communicate with counterparts across the state in a single e-mail, and receive announcements and information relevant to their job duties.

PACD currently offers listserves for the following individuals:

• agricultural technicians
• erosion and sedimentation technicians
• administrative support staff
• managers
• directors and associate directors
• watershed specialists
• dirt, gravel, and low volume road specialists
• environmental educators
• mosquito-borne disease control technicians

Interested? Contact Molly Burns at mburns@pacd.org to subscribe.

By Kelsey Kilhoffer, Resource Conservation Technician, Elk County Conservation District

On August 14, 2018, the Elk County Conservation District (ECCD) held a successful Agriculture Bus Tour. Twenty-six attendees toured Hoffman Appalachian Farm, Straub Brewery, and Chocolate Drop Farm, all located in St. Marys, PA.

At Hoffman Appalachian Farm, owner Joshua Brock gave a tour of his hop farm and explained the hop growing process. Brock plans to implement a solar powered irrigation system that utilizes the capture and reuse of rain water. The tour continued at Straub Brewery where George Hasselman gave a very informative overview of the facility’s history and brewing process. The tour wrapped up at Chocolate Drop Farm, owned by John and Sylvia Straub. They feed the spent grain from Straub’s brewing process to their 17 Hereford beef cattle. They also practice rotational grazing. This has greatly minimized any heavy use areas on their property, reducing nutrient runoff. It was fascinating to see the process from beginning to end. From the growing of the crops, to production, to use of the spent grains, each phase was uniquely interesting.

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.

Click here to read the entire article. 

PACD Executive Director Brenda Shambaugh traveled to Daytona Beach, Florida, on September 25, 2018, for the National Association of Conservation District’s (NACD) Executive Director Conference. The conference allows peers from across the country to compare notes and share their successes. In additional to networking and tours, the conference also addressed capacity building, board training, and a new training program for executive directors of state associations.

 

Formal and non-formal educators convened in Harrisburg on September 20, 2018, for The Dive Deeper Summit. The summit is a gathering of youth water educators in the Mid-Atlantic Region that pairs knowledge and resource sharing with networking opportunities.

Shannon Wehinger, PACD Director of Communications and Education, and several conservation district staff attended the summit. Sallie Gregory, Lancaster County Conservation District’s educator, co-presented at the “Kids Keeping Manure Out of Our Water” session. During this session, three activities were conducted based on the draft “Manure Management Planning for Youth Animal Projects” program, which is due to be finalized in June of 2019. The activity booklet is filled with activities to help youth understand PA Department of Environmental Protection regulations.

The summit provided ample opportunities to experience hands-on activities to enhance water education.

The Dauphin County Conservation District held a “Stormwater Management and Control for Your Home” workshop on August 4 at Londonderry Township. The workshop included a presentation on general nonpoint source pollution, stormwater basics, and low impact development strategies. This was followed by an demonstration on stormwater and how low impact development works to reduce stormwater runoff. Finally, participants were give rain barrels to take home for use on their properties.

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.

 

 

Just in time for Back-to-School! The National Association of Conservation Districts (NACD) has announced the 2019 Poster Contest theme: “Life in the Soil:  DIG DEEPER.” PACD will be accepting photos of your county’s winners until June 30, 2019.  We can’t wait to see all of the artistic entries for this year’s theme!

Click here for the Pennsylvania contest flyer and here to read more about the NACD contest. 

Information on the PACD fall region meetings is now available. Please click on the link for the agenda and more information. Topics will include a legislative update, a leadership development update, third party reviews, e-Permitting for Chapters 102 and 105, regional grant applications, a conservation district marketing toolkit, and the PACD budget.

Not sure which region you are in? Click here to find out: https://pacd.org/?page_id=14512

PACD South West Region Meeting
October 4, 2018
Westmoreland Conservation District Office, Greensburg, PA

PACD North Central Region Meeting
October 11, 2018
Clinton County Conservation District Office, Mill Hall, PA

PACD North East Region Meeting
October 12, 2018
DEP Northeast Regional Office, Wilkes Barre, PA

PACD South Central Region Meeting
October 23, 2018
Cumberland County Conservation District Office, Carlisle, PA

PACD North West Region Meeting
October 30, 2018
Jefferson County Conservation District, Brookville, PA

PACD South East Region Meeting
November 1, 2018
Franconia Heritage Banquet & Conference Center, Telford, PA

 

The 2018 Management Summit was held September 5 and 6 at the Ramada Conference Center in State College. 

Sixty-three district managers, assistant managers, and team leaders attended this free event, which included presentations on “Financial Oversight and Segregation of Duties” from Greg Hall of Smith Elliott Kearns, LLC, and “Workplace Sexual Harassment in the Era of #metoo” from Adam Long of McNees Wallace & Nurick, LLC.  Mary Kay Williams from Mindshift Consulting presented two sessions including “Time Management Strategies” and “Managing Respectful Workplaces.”

In addition to these speakers, representatives from the PA Department of Environmental Protection presented information on revenue account codes, ePermitting, and the Chesapeake Bay WIP process. The Conservation Partnership’s Leadership Development program discussed topics including strategic planning grants, web-based training and professional development resources, and topic requests for leadership development programming for 2019 and beyond.