PACD Front Page 06.03.13

Pennsylvania House Republicans gathered earlier today and released their version of the 2013-14 state budget. This version of the budget includes full funding of the line items for Pennsylvania's conservation districts at 2012-2013 levels.

"We are extremely appreciative of Chairman Adolph, Speaker Smith, and Majority Leader Turzai for their support and their leadership" said Robert Maiden, PACD Executive Director. "Districts work hard every day to conserve natural resources throughout this commonwealth. A win for the districts is a win for the environment and the economy. Thank you to the House Republican membership for believing in the work of the districts and investing in our future."

The House Republican budget, filed as House Bill (HB) 1437, includes $2,856,000 through the state Department of Environmental Protection and $1,019,000 through the Department of Agriculture for the conservation districts' efforts. These funding levels were part of the current year's state general fund budget.

PACD, along with the state's 66 conservation districts, has been advocating for months for full funding of these line items. The bill will now move on for consideration by the Appropriations Committee and the House. To view HB 1437, visit http://bit.ly/16pDg2v.

For more information about your local conservation district, visit www.pacd.org/CD. Click here to follow PACD on Facebook.

PENNVEST Farm Tour

Participants listen as Jeff Ainslie, Red Barn Inc., explains the process of manure composting.

The Berks County Conservation District hosted an educational tour and discussion at the Tim and Deborah Kurtz Farm in Caernarvon Township on May 23, 2013. The event, which was attended by over 60 people, showed local legislators, the farming community and others what can be accomplished when local, state and federal partners come together.

In 2012, the Berks County Conservation District (BCCD) was awarded $1.8 million from PENNVEST (Pennsylvania Infrastructure and Investment Authority). The funding allowed BCCD to implement Agricultural Best Management Practices on four farms to help prevent polluted runoff from reaching waterways.

The project on the Kurtz Farm included construction of a new dairy barn with a solids separator, compost drum, lagoon and other best management practices. Terry Fisher, from the PA Association of Conservation Districts said, "the work done at the Kurtz Farm not only increases production at the farm but also protects the water quality of streams in Berks County."

The project was made possible through a collaborative effort between the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), The Chesapeake Bay Foundation (CBF), PENNVEST and other partners.

Maiden Agrees to Kiss Pig; Help us get to 1,000 likes on our YouTube Video

In early May, PACD released the video "Conservation Districts Sustain Agriculture: A Farmer's Story" to help further the message about the great work districts across the commonwealth are doing. We want to increase our reach with this video and continue telling the story.

In order to help spread the word and boost the number of video viewers on our YouTube channel, PACD Executive Director Robert Maiden has agreed to kiss a pig if we can get to 1,000 viewers by this year's Joint Annual Conference (JAC)! The staff at PACD wants to make this happen. Won't you help us?

If you haven't already, please post this video to your organization's social media pages, forward to your contacts and consider placing on your website homepages. Encourage all of your friends and family to view this video! They'll be taking away a strong story about the good the districts do to help agriculture in Pennsylvania and helping the staff at PACD win this challenge!

JAC is just six weeks away! Let's go! To view the video, visit www.youtube.com/watch?v=oQl9fLSZ0mM. For information, including registration details, about the Joint Annual Conference, click here.

PACD Intern Publishes Senior Research Project

Jess Espenshade, PACD intern, received confirmation that her year-long senior research project was recently published in the Journal of Student Research (JOFSR). Entitled "Prevalence of Strongyloides robustus in Tree Squirrels (Sciuridae) in South-Central Pennsylvania and Potential Impacts for the Endangered Northern Flying Squirrel, Glaucomys sabrinus," the study evaluated patterns of parasitic infections and squirrel distribution to determine possible effects on dwindling populations of the northern flying squirrel.

"Infection with the parasite Strongyloides robustus presents with benign pathology in common squirrel species, but can result in high mortality in the northern flying squirrel (Glaucomys sabrinus)" Espenshade explains, "Past research has focused primarily on the transmission between northern and southern flying squirrels; however this project aimed to better assess the risk to northern flying squirrels by surveying the prevalence of S. robustus within other sympatric reservoirs."

To read the manuscript, visit www.jofsr.com/index.php/path/article/view/141. Feel free to contact Jess directly at jessica-espenshade@pacd.org with any questions.

NACD Urban and Community Conservation Webinar Scheduled for Mid-June

The next National Association of Conservation Districts (NACD) Urban and Community (U&C) webinar will take place June 20 at 11 a.m. eastern time. The session will focus green infrastructure at the local level.

Topics to be covered include: green infrastructure, air quality and wildlife habitat. These are one-hour webinars which take place on the third Thursday of each month.

Participation is free but is limited to the first 100 registrants. To sign up for the June 20 session, send an email with your name, title, district or business name and your email address to Debra Bogar at deb-bogar@nacdnet.org.

Wayne Conservation District Creates Invasive Species Demonstration Site

Before (left) and after photos show a piece of the district's work to create a demonstration site to educate residents on native plants and why they help improve water quality.

The Wayne Conservation District along with many valued partners has been working on a Japanese Knotweed Demonstration Site along the West Branch Lackawaxen River running through the town of Honesdale since 2008. This year, with funding from a PACD mini-grant, the district was able to plant more than 40 native trees and shrubs along a 450' stretch of the river. They were also able to lay new soil, seed and mulch areas that were in need. The goal of the site is to teach landowners about various methods available for treatment of this highly invasive species.

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.

World Environment Day
First celebrated in 1972, World Environment Day is set for June 5th every year to celebrate positive environmental action. The emphasis of this event is to promote individual responsibility and to empower individuals to make sustainable change. If your district is holding an event to celebrate world environment day, please email jessica-espenshade@pacd.org with details.