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Conservation Districts in the News
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| Upcoming Events |
July 9-10, 2014
Blair County Convention Center, Altoona, PA
Certified Professional in Erosion and Sediment Control (CPESC) Course and Exam
August 27-28, 2014
Holiday Inn, Williamsport, PA
PACD South East Region Meeting
October 2, 2014
Franconia Heritage, Telford, PA
Conservation District Watershed Specialist Meeting
October 9-10, 2014
Ramada Conference Center, State College, PA
PACD North East Region Meeting
October 17, 2014
DEP Northeast Regional Office, Wilkes-Barre, PA
PACD North Central Region Meeting
October 21, 2014
Clinton County Conservation District, Mill Hall, PA
PACD North West Region Meeting
October 22, 2014
Location: TBA (Erie County)
PACD South West Region Meeting
October 23, 2014
Beaver County Conservation District, Aliquippa, PA
PACD South Central Region Meeting
October 27, 2014
Cumberland County Conservation District, Carlisle, PA
Annual 102-105 Meeting
October 28-30, 2014
Ramada Conference Center, State College, PA
PACD/SCC Winter Meeting
February 9-10, 2015
Ramada Conference Center, State College, PA
Chesapeake Bay Program Conservation District and PA Agency Staff Meeting
March 10, 2015 (snow date March 12)
Elaine Langone Center, 2nd Floor, Bucknell University, Lewisburg, PA
Agricultural Conservation Technical Training - Basic Level
March 30-April 3, 2015
Ft. Indiantown Gap, Annville, PA (Lebanon County)
Agricultural Conservation Technical Training - Level II
April 20-24, 2015
Ft. Indiantown Gap, Annville, PA (Lebanon County)
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Front Page to Return July 14
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Happy Independence Day!
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E-Book Available for Download!
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The Communications, Public Relations & Marketing Tips Series
In honor of the two communication sessions that will take place during the PACD/SCC Joint Annual Conference, PACD is releasing an E-Book of previous Communications, Public Relations and Marketing Tips Series articles.
Over the course of the last two years, we've been integrating media, communications and outreach tips throughout Front Page, the state's premier conservation news resource, to assist each of you with marketing your district's initiatives. We have now taken each of those articles and placed them in this convenient e-book for you to refer to when needed. We hope you have found these suggestions useful and are beginning to see an increase in your participant numbers and readership with more public relations outreach.
Click here to download the E-Book.
We hope this book serves as a one-stop shop for your communications tips. Remember: we're always here to lend a hand when you need us!
Brandi and Shannon
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Afternoon Sessions Will Provide Resources to Help Districts with Their Bottom Lines
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The workshops being offered as a part of this year's Joint Annual Conference (JAC) are getting better and better. First we brought you information about the sustainable partnerships workshop, then we told you to check out our communications 101 sessions. Here's what's rounding out this year's JAC workshops on July 10:
Recording and Reporting-How your Bookkeeping Methods Can Make Grant and Program Reporting Easier
 Have you recorded what you need to satisfy reporting requirements? Proper recording of expenses is vital to the preparation and submission of accurate and timely reports, resulting in quick processing of reimbursements. Fred Fiscus and Karen Books, with the PA Department of Environmental Protection's Conservation District Support Section, will explain various reporting requirements for conservation districts, offering insight on what items to track and how to allocate expenses to specific programs and grants. Time will be set aside for an open discussion covering bookkeeping and grant reporting methods. Come prepared to share what you've tried and what is working (or not working) for your district during this one-hour workshop.
Everything Right-to-Know Law Could Mean for You
This hour-long session will provide an overview of the state's Right-To-Know Law, including proper record-retention procedures and the role of the Open Records Officer for your district. The session will be presented by George Spiess, who serves as the Director of Operations for the Pennsylvania Office of Open Records (OOR). In this role, George oversees outreach and functions as the Right-to-Know Officer. He has over 30 years of experience in state government operations, primarily in Human Resources. In addition to processing almost 2,500 appeals, the OOR responded to more than 700 Right-to-Know requests in 2013. For more information about the state Office of Open Records, click here.
Want to learn more about this year's conference? Go to http://tinyurl.com/2014JAC. Pre-registration is now closed, but on-site registrations will be accepted on a space-available basis.
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Meet JAC Silver Sponsor: LandStudies, Inc.!
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 LandStudies, Inc., a certified Woman Owned Business, offers:
- Watershed Planning - A grassroots approach to the Lititz Run watershed is still bearing fruit 15 years later. In 2009, the stream classification was elevated from warm-water fishery to cold-water fishery.
- Regional Water Quality Facility - In 1998, LandStudies designed and constructed Pennsylvania's first regional wetland system to improve water quality by trapping and removing sediment from the stream.
- Floodplain Restoration - LandStudies developed and implemented a comprehensive approach to restoring streams and floodplains based on historical impacts to the system. To date, they have designed, permitted and/or constructed more than 20 unique restoration projects for communities, landowners and golf courses.
- Stormwater Management - LandStudies has been designing and constructing stormwater best management practices for over 22 years, and most recently championed the first recognized regional approach to stormwater management.
- Groundwater Recharge - LandStudies is responsible for Pennsylvania's first restoration of an identified Critical Aquifer Recharge Area (CARA).
LandStudies reviews the land, and then designs, manages, constructs, plants, maintains, and monitors the results.
On September 17, they are hosting the Healthy Watershed Tour. Registration details can be accessed here. For more information about LandStudies, Inc., visit www.landstudies.com.
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Meet JAC Silver Sponsor: PENNVEST!
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The Pennsylvania Infrastructure Investment Authority (PENNVEST) has been funding wastewater, drinking water and traditional stormwater projects since 1988 with the goal of improved water quality in the commonwealth. Funding for Nonpoint Source (NPS) projects was limited until 2010 when the NPS Program was expanded. Agricultural best management practices, urban stormwater (green infrastructure), abandoned mine drainage and brownfield stormwater projects are eligible for funding under the NPS Program. The increased focus on nonpoint source pollution was spurred by the need to reduce the nutrient loads to the Chesapeake Bay and also by an increased focus on "green" or innovative approaches to pollution prevention and stormwater management. The expectation is that NPS projects can improve water quality at a lower cost than traditional brick and mortar projects.
PENNVEST uses an online application and electronic submission process that is a convenient way to request funding. Representatives at PENNVEST can be contacted at 877-787-8137 or 717-783-6798 to discuss potential projects. PENNVEST has successfully partnered with conservation districts and individual landowners to implement NPS projects and is positioned to expand on that success. Additional information regarding PENNVEST and its funding programs can be accessed at www.pennvest.state.pa.us.
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| Clinton County Conservation District Creates Demonstration Plots | |
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Demonstration plots were planted near the CCCD office. Photos from CCCD's website.
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In 2013, Clinton County Conservation District (CCCD) established agricultural demonstration plots in a fallow field adjacent to the office. The total size of the plot is about one acre and there are currently five demonstration strips established in this area. The goals of this project are to:
1. Experiment with different seed mixtures and cover crop establishment dates.
2. Showcase seed mixtures and track success rates and soil health changes.
3. Educate the general public on agricultural crops and the purpose of cover crops.
4. Host farmer meetings and field days to share knowledge gained through these demonstrations.
CCCD used space near a drop off recycling point. This higher traffic area will allow more people to see the test plots. Click here to read more.
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.
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NACD Urban and Community Webinars - Call for Presentations!
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 The NACD Urban and Community Resource Policy Group (RPG) looks forward to continuing the monthly U&C webinars, held on the third Thursday of each month. These popular webinars have covered a variety of urban and community conservation topics where speakers share projects, programs, information, and resources. You can view a full list of the past webinars on the NACD website. The site also provides links to PDFs of all presentations and recordings of the FY2014 webinars.
The RPG is now seeking your input for the series beginning in October 2014. Help us design webinars that help you! Please take a moment to:
- Offer to give a presentation; send in a brief paragraph describing the program/project that you would like to showcase, and/or
- Tell us the urban and community conservation topics/issues and/or speakers you would like to have covered.
Send your ideas and proposals to Deb Bogar at deb-bogar@nacdnet.org by August 1.
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NRCS to Hold Concrete Fundamentals Training
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 NRCS is offering an engineering training opportunity to conservation districts. A Concrete Fundamentals Training will be in Harrisburg from September 29-October 3. Click here for more information.
Interested applicants should email their name and contact information (work email, agency address and phone number) to Michael Boyer at Michael.Boyer@pa.usda.gov by July 11.
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NRCS Provides $1 M to Help PA Ag Producers Improve Water Quality
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USDA's Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) will provide $1 million in assistance to Pennsylvania's farmers in three priority watersheds who make improvements to their land to improve water quality. Agriculture Deputy Undersecretary Ann Mills recently announced this year's funding for the National Water Quality Initiative (NWQI). Now in its third year, the initiative continues to build on efforts to target high-impact conservation in areas such as the Chesapeake Bay and Great Lakes.
NWQI helps farmers and forest landowners reduce the runoff of nutrients, sediment and pathogens from agricultural land that can flow into waterways by implementing conservation and management practices. Click here to read more.
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The Future of Penn's Woods Conference to be Held for Private Forest Landowers
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Mark your calendars for the 2nd Private Forest Landowners Conference: The Future of Penn's Woods, March 20-21, 2015 at the Blair County Convention Center in Altoona, PA. The biennial conference, hosted by the Center for Private Forests at Penn State and its partners, focuses on helping private woodland owners understand how to steward their lands for a mix of values and needs.
If you are a woodlot owner in Pennsylvania or beyond and want to learn more about your woods, visit
http://ecosystems.psu.edu/private-forest-conference or call 800-235-9473 (ask for Allyson) to learn more.
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