PACD Fall Region Meetings

Photo of Old Forge Abandoned Mine Drainage (AMD) Borehole taken by Brandi Hunter-Davenport during an AMD tour in Lackawanna County on Aug. 22, 2012.

In Pennsylvania, there are more than 184,000 acres of abandoned mine lands, with some 4,000 miles of rivers and streams no longer biologically viable due to mine pollution.

 

This past July, the new federal Surface Transportation Bill was signed into law. When signed, the bill included a provision [to the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act (SMCRA)], which would reduce the federal Abandoned Mine Reclamation Funding to Pennsylvania as well as various other states. Several groups, including the Pennsylvania Association of Conservation Districts (PACD), have voiced their concerns with the SMCRA provision [in the new law] and how it will negatively impact abandoned mine reclamation work.

 

"The funding Pennsylvania receives now isn't enough to clean up the abandoned mine drainage problem," said PACD Executive Director Robert Maiden, who was advocating for an amendment to the newly enacted law while attending meetings in Washington D.C. last week. "PACD wants to ensure that each of the Conservation Districts is able to continue to do the work needed to maintain clean water and healthy streams. We just can't afford to lose any funding." 

 

PACD will continue to make an M-PACT for the Conservation Districts by advocating for an amendment that reverses the funding cuts to this critical revenue stream.

We would still like to include Managers' Message and Power of Partnerships articles in our weekly edition of Front Page. If you have a story you want to share, please send the information to Shannon Wehinger (Shannon-wehinger@pacd.org) and Brandi Hunter-Davenport (brandi-davenport@pacd.org). Thanks to everyone who has submitted previously.

Greetings from Crawford County!  Just like all of you, we have been busy this year.  In writing this article, I would like to encourage you to keep track of your accomplishments and add up their cumulative effects, as we recently did with our riparian planting program.  This spring, we completed six new riparian planting projects, bringing our total number of riparian plantings to 60 (on 50 sites) in the last 12 years. This program started with a Growing Greener I Grant, authored by teacher Jason Drake, to the Maplewood High School. The reasons for the plantings have varied, and have included riparian zone establishment and enhancement, reforestation, wildlife habitat enhancement, streambank stabilization, water quality protection and environmental education for both students and landowners.  Several projects established a natural snow fence, which was planted not along a stream but along a major highway as an accident preventative. Read More... 

For more information, send emails to: GrowingGreener@state.pa.us or contact the DEP Grants Center at 717-705-5400. 

The Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) in partnership with the Capital RC&D council, the Clinton County Conservation District and Schrack Farms Partnership is putting on a Soil Health Field Day, Wednesday October 3 in Sugar Valley, Clinton County.

 

Don't miss the opportunity to see, hear and learn from Ray Archuleta, NRCS Soil Health expert, about how farmers can increase their bottom line and improve the condition of soil, water, air and living natural resources.  This event features on-farm, hands-on demonstrations and a casual classroom setting with NRCS field staff, agronomists and soil scientists.

 

Invitations have been sent to farmers participating in EQIP and nearby NRCS and district employees. Seating and lunch is limited to the first 100 people who register by Sept 28.  To register, please contact the Capital RC&D Council office at 717-241-4361 or by emailing cburns@capitalrcd.org.