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Conservation Districts in the News
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| Upcoming Events |
Basic/Refresher Erosion & Sediment Control Technical Training
March 24-27, 2014
Keystone Conference Center, Fort Indiantown Gap, Annville PA
Agricultural Conservation Technical Training - Basic Level
March 31-April 4, 2014
Ft. Indiantown Gap, Annville, PA (Lebanon County)
Advanced/Topic-Based Erosion & Sediment Control Technical Training
April 1-3, 2014
Farm & Home Center, Lancaster PA
PACD North Central Region Meeting
April 2, 2014
Clinton County Conservation District, Mill Hall, PA
PACD South East Region Meeting
April 3, 2014
SpringHill Suites by Marriott, Quakertown, PA
PACD North East Region Meeting
April 4, 2014
DEP Northeast Regional Office, Wilkes-Barre, PA
PACD North West Region Meeting
April 10, 2014
Forest County Conservation District, Tionesta, PA
PACD South West Region Meeting
April 11, 2014
Westmoreland Conservation District, Greensburg, PA
Agricultural Conservation Technical Training - Level II
April 28-May 2, 2014
Ft. Indiantown Gap, Annville, PA (Lebanon County)
Certified Professional in Erosion and Sediment Control (CPESC) Course and Exam
June 25-26, 2014
Civil and Environmental Consultants, Inc., Pittsburgh, PA
PACD/SCC Joint Annual Conference
July 9-10, 2014
Blair County Convention Center, Altoona, PA
Conservation District Watershed Specialist Meeting
October 9-10, 2014
Ramada Conference Center, State College, PA
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 | | (Left to right): Secretary of Environmental Protection Chris Abruzzo, DEP Deputy Secretary for Water Management Kelly Heffner, NRCS State Conservationist Denise Coleman, PACD Treasurer Dave Crowl and PACD Executive Director Robert Maiden pose for a photo during the Bay Meeting on March 10 at Bucknell University. |
One hundred forty-four individuals traveled to Bucknell University to participate in the 2014 Chesapeake Bay Program Conservation District and PA Agency Staff Meeting on March 10. Perhaps the most talked about session was Equine Outreach by Donna Foulk from Penn State Extension. Several district staff have expressed an interest in holding workshops specifically for equine owners using the information Foulk presented. Foulk's presentation and others from the meeting will be available on the PACD website later this week. Click here to view photos from the event.
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Fisher Travels to Districts, Speaking to PENNVEST Program
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 | | Terry Fisher, PENNVEST NPS Application Developer, speaks in Northumberland County at the 2014 Conservation District Forum on March 4. |
Over the past few months Terry Fisher, PENNVEST NPS Application Developer, has been getting the word out about recent changes to PENNVEST's Nonpoint Source (NPS) Program.
"I have been out visiting various areas to try and educate individuals about the program, highlighting the eligibility requirements and explaining the latest updates," said Fisher. "If someone thinks they can't apply or that there is a barrier to the application process, they likely won't look into a program further. My goal with these visits has been to stir the conversation, give a clear explanation of how the program works and engage even more individuals in the PENNVEST program."
Within the last couple of months, Fisher has interfaced with nearly 200 farmers, municipal workers and contractors at meetings in Cambria, Columbia and Northumberland Counties. He's also provided marketing support materials and resources as requests come in for various events.
The PENNVEST NPS Program provides low-interest loans and grants for NPS projects which reduce the amount of pollution entering Pennsylvania's waters. Funding through the program has resulted in a substantial number of agricultural best management practices, green urban stormwater and abandoned mine drainage projects being completed since it began in 2010.
Initially legislative restrictions limited applications to government entities and to counties that have an approved Act 167 stormwater plan. The result of these restrictions was that a number of good projects did not get funded or built. This changed in 2013 when legislation passed to allow changes that make the program a potential funding source for more projects in more counties. The most significant change is that in addition to government agencies; private-for-profit entities (i.e. farmers) and not-for-profit organizations are now eligible to apply for PENNVEST funding. The requirement that the county have an approved ACT 167 stormwater plan has also been eliminated.
For more information about the overall program or for materials, contact Terry Fisher terry-fisher@pacd.org, 717-238-7223 x11.
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NACD Congratulates 2013 Poster and Photo Contest Winners
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 Winning entries from the 2013 National Association of Conservation Districts (NACD) Poster Contest and the 2013 NACD/Auxilary Photo Contest are now available online.
Hannah Beyer, from Cambria County, received an honorable mention in the kindergarten through first grade poster contest category. Julia Shipman, from Delaware County, also received an honorable mention for the second through third grade poster contest category. To view the posters, click here. To view the winning photos, click here.
NACD thanks all participants, judges and supporters of the 2013 event. Details about the 2014 photo contest can be found here. Details about the 2014 poster contest can be found here. The theme for this year's poster contest is "Dig Deeper: Mysteries in the Soil."
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Grant Opportunities to Help Communities Meet Water Challenges Now Available
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The US Department of Agriculture's (USDA) National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) will be providing $6 million in grants during the 2014 Fiscal Year and up to $30 million over the next five years to help find solutions to agricultural water challenges.
The grants will be used to develop management practices, technologies and tolls for farmers, ranchers, forest owners and citizens to improve water quality and quantity. Projects that receive funding will most likely receive additional funding in the following four years - contingent on future congressional appropriations and program achievements.
NIFA has identified three critical topics that will be funded: 1) ensuring the water security of surface and ground water needed to produce agricultural goods and services; 2) improving nutrient management in agricultural landscapes focused on nitrogen and phosphorus; and 3) reducing impacts of chemicals and the presence and movement of environmental pathogens in the nation's water supply.
To read the press release, click here.
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New DamWatch Site to Launch this Summer
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 A new tool will soon be available to monitor the dams that were built through the efforts of conservation districts and NRCS. DamWatch will allow the operators and other key personnel of the PL-566- and RC&D-built dams to access the dam's design information, location data, and other critical documents from a web-based site.
Besides being a source of information about the dams, DamWatch will also serve a critical role by sending out emails or text messages when the dams may be experiencing a very high rate of rainfall or an earthquake event. These advance notices will allow dam owners and operators along with emergency personnel, to monitor the conditions at the dam and implement their Emergency Action Plan (EAP) as necessary.
To help spread the word about DamWatch, NRCS personnel have been traveling around Pennsylvania to meet with conservation district staff, emergency management officers, county commissioners, county engineers, township officials, DCNR Park Managers and others. These meetings were held with representatives from conservation districts and others from Berks, Bucks, Carbon, Columbia, Crawford, Fayette, Greene, Mercer, Monroe, Schuylkill, Snyder, Susquehanna, Tioga, Venango, Washington, Wayne and Westmoreland Counties.
In addition to talking about DamWatch, NRCS reviewed the reasons why the dams were built as part of a larger Watershed Protection Project. Highlighted was the key role conservation district leaders played in organizing the Watershed Projects and getting at least 50 percent of the landowners upstream of the dams to implement conservation on their land.
DEP's Division of Dam Safety also participated in the meetings. They gave an update on the importance of dam safety and reviewed the condition of the PL-566 and RC&D dams.
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| Financial Assistance Available to Increase Public Access to Susquehanna River | |
The National Park Service, Chesapeake Bay Office is accepting project proposals for financial assistance awards to increase public river access. Award amounts range from $10,000 to $125,000. The requested funds must be matched by an equal (1:1) or greater amount of non-federal support dedicated to the proposed project. The application deadline is April 11.
To learn more about this grant program please click here.
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Farmers Who Plant Cover Crops Needed for Survey
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 Do you have a cover crop growing on a field on your farm? Will you be planting one this year?
Abbe Hamilton, a Penn State student, is looking for farmers of all types interested in learning more about the quality of their cover crops (as measured by biomass, growth stage, C:N ratio and flowering density, if applicable) and willing to allow her to conduct a short, one-time study on one of their cover cropped fields. She especially interested in farmers growing a polyculture cover crop. Hamilton will be sampling this spring as well as late this fall and next spring, so there will be future opportunities for participation.
Participation would involve answering a couple questions about how your cover crop was managed, and she would take a small destructive sample (7.5 square feet, distributed throughout a field) two weeks prior to the termination of the crop.
She is scheduling farm visits for this spring now, so please contact her as soon as possible to answer a couple of preliminary questions. Contact: Abbe Hamilton, 413-657-6852.
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March 22, 2014 Is World Water Day
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 More than two decades ago, the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development recommended the establishment of an international day to focus on the importance of freshwater and the need for sustainable management of freshwater resources. From this conference, World Water Day was established. Each year, on March 22, World Water Day is observed as a reminder of the importance of freshwater conservation globally. This year's theme focuses on water and energy. For more information about World Water Day, including downloadable campaign materials, click here.
If your district is hosting any local events in conjunction with World Water Day, please send photos to brandi-davenport@pacd.org. Event photos and captions will be placed in an upcoming edition of Front Page.
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