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Training Offers Hands-On Field Experience
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 | | Introduction to Conservation Planning instructor Mark Berkland teaches in the field at a local farm. |
For the last three days of February, PACD, in conjunction with the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), hosted a three-day Intro to Conservation Planning course in Grantville. The training was targeted at new professionals involved in conservation planning technical assistance. Eighteen conservation district staff members participated in this free training.
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Scranton E&S Manual Training Now Scheduled
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 The E&S Manual Review Training for Scranton has now been scheduled for May 15 and 16. The two-day session will take place at the Radisson Lackawanna Station Hotel, 700 Lackawanna Ave., Scranton.
The cost for this session is $300 and includes all materials and meals. A block of rooms has also been secured at a rate of $99 per night for May 14 and 15. Your rooms must be reserved by April 14, 2013 to the group discount. Visit www.radisson.com/scrantonpa and enter the "pacdtr" promotion code. You can also call 800-967-9033 and mention the "PACD room block."
To register for the Scranton training, click here.
There are seats also available for the May 29-30 session at Villanova. Click here for registration information.
Questions regarding either training can be sent to Brandi Hunter-Davenport at brandi-davenport@pacd.org.
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 On April 22, the world will celebrate the 43rd anniversary of Earth Day. This year will focus on "The Face of Climate Change." Climate change is not only affecting people, but animals, plants and overall environmental quality. Earth Day is used as a tool to inform the public and highlight the collective will of people to make the necessary environmental changes for the future.
According to the Earth Day Network, more than one billion people will take part in Earth Day activities this year.
For more information about the 2013 Earth Day, visit http://www.earthday.org/blog/2013/02/22/earth-day-2013-face-climate-change.
If you have not already, please let us know what earth day events you have taking place in your area. Send details of upcoming events to jessica-espenshade@pacd.org and
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Important Notice for Districts Using the USDA Phone System
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 Hackers recently tapped into the USDA phone system and the conservation district lines were hacked by someone who made international calls totally more than $1,000. It is requested that all district managers ensure that their voicemail extensions and the extensions of their employees are passcode protected. Also, the passcode should be something not easy to hack (example: do NOT use the extension number as the passcode, do NOT use 1234 or 0000, etc). The phone provider does not reverse any charges so please ensure that our phone lines are safe by protecting your extension.
Case in point: Jullee Chamberlain at Wyoming County Conservation District received a call from their internet/phone provider that their account had been "flagged" for excessive international calls. (The district does not make international calls.) The provider went on to explain that between December 23 and 31, 2012, that a little more than $1100 in calls to Cuba had been charged to the district's phone lines. Jullee had to request that an "international call block" be put on all of the lines. She contacted law enforcement and was told by the FBI that the same thing happened to them and they were unable to find the person(s) responsible.
The provider will not remove the charges from the district's account. Because the bill is paid on a credit card each month, Jullee contacted the credit card company and requested their assistance since fraud is involved. "At this time, the charge for the entire bill has been provisionally credited on our card - pending further investigation. I do not foresee this staying this way, as the credit card company explained this situation does not fall within the legal terms of credit card fraud," said Jullee.
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A Message from the National Association of Conservation Districts (NACD)
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 Greetings Soil and Water Conservation District employees:
Five organizations have partnered to create an online survey that asks about the important work you do with nutrient stewardship. The sponsoring organizations include the National Council of Farmer Cooperatives, the Agricultural Retailers Association, the National Association of Conservation Districts, the American Society of Agronomy (Certified Crop Advisors) and the Fertilizer Institute. The survey asks you to identify ways to improve cooperation between conservationists, agricultural producers and agricultural retailers. This information will be used by the sponsoring organizations to develop strategies that will help make efforts more effective in accelerating the adoption of nutrient stewardship practices.
The survey will take no more than 20 minutes and the deadline is April 19th. Although it's not necessary to respond to questions where you feel you have limited knowledge, please make an effort to respond to every question. Your responses will be confidential and the results will be aggregated and shared with you by one of the sponsoring organizations.
The link below will take you directly to the survey:
Thank you for taking the time to respond to this survey. Please remember to click Done at the end when you finish the questionnaire.
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NRCS Accepting Applications for Conservation Innovation Grants
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The USDA NRCS is now accepting applications for Conservation Innovation Grants (CIG). CIG is a voluntary program intended to stimulate the development and adoption of innovative conservation approaches and technologies while leveraging federal investment in environmental enhancement and protection, in conjunction with agricultural production.
Funds are awarded to non-federal government organizations, tribes or individuals. For fiscal year 2013, NRCS is offering two (2) CIG funding opportunities at the national and state levels. The national opportunity focuses in the following areas: Program Outreach; Nutrient Management; Energy Conservation; Soil Health; Wildlife; Economics; Co-Management for Food Safety; and CIG Projects Assessment.
The application period is open until March 22. For more information, click here.
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Alternative and Clean Energy Program Loans and Grants Available
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 Department of Community and Economic Development (DCED) recently announced the availability of the Alternative and Clean Energy Program (ACE). ACE provides loans, loan guarantees, and grants for alternative energy projects. For the first time they are including CNG & LNG fueling infrastructure. The program can provide grants for up to 30 percent of project costs for CNG fueling infrastructure (capped at $2 million). They can also issue loans for up to 50 percent.
There is no specific application window. The Commonwealth Finance Authority (CFA) reviews applications and makes funding decisions at their bi-monthly meetings. The 2013 meeting dates are: 3/20, 5/7, 7/10, 9/17 and 11/13. Applications have to be in 60 days before their next meeting date in order to be considered. Click here for more information.
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This Week is National Groundwater Awareness Week
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 The 15th annual Groundwater Awareness Week is taking place March 10-16 this year. This is a time to educate the public about the resource of groundwater and its importance to public health, quality of living and the environment. For households that rely on well water, this is a time for education about the proper care of well-water systems.
The National Ground Water Association (NGWA) invites conservation districts to become promotional partners. As a promotional partner, NGWA provides tools that can be used, and modified to adapt the message to meet whatever your specific groundwater priorities.
For more information visit ngwa.org.
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2013 Karl Mason Award Call For Nominations
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 The PA Association of Environmental Professionals is now accepting nominations for its annual Karl Mason Award which is presented to Pennsylvanians who made a unique and creative contribution to the field of environmental management in Pennsylvania with preference given to the fields of administration, law, regulation and community organization.
Email info@paep.org for a nomination form. Nominations are due March 22.
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