July 2003 Meeting Minutes

PACD Executive Council Annual Meeting
Ramada Inn, Altoona, PA
July 22, 2003

Welcome (Rohall)
PACD President Ron Rohall greeted attendees and thanked the PACD Central Region districts for their efforts in putting together the annual meeting.

Roll Call (Hildenbrandt)
PACD Secretary George Hildenbrandt called the roll. There were 25 counties present, which constituted a quorum.

Minutes of March 12, 2003 (Hildenbrandt)

It was moved by Hildenbrandt (Centre) and seconded by Dumm (Cambria) to accept the minutes from the last meeting as circulated. Motion carried.

President's Report (Rohall)
PACD President Ron Rohall spoke on the cooperative quality of the conservation partners and noted how welcoming and helpful they were when he first began as President. He then presented the following report of his and the PACD staff's activities since the last meeting:

• Ron, Susan Marquart, George Hildenbrandt and Pat Sueck went to Washington DC to participate in the Farm Bill Conference, which dealt with wildlife and other issues. Ron, Susan and Pat stayed on to attend the NACD Legislative Conference. There they visited with a number of legislators and legislative aids, including aids for Senators Santorum and Specter.
• Ron also represented PACD at the state Envirothon, which was an excellent event. PACD has entered into a new partnership agreement with the Envirothon, so that partnership continues to flourish.
• PACD and conservation district representatives were invited to meet with the new DEP Secretary Kathleen McGinty and senior DEP staff to discuss what the districts do, as well as funding needs for the districts. Secretary McGinty was very welcoming and perceptive and a good dialogue seems to be developing. The meeting was very productive and PACD introduced her to what the districts can do to help her in her mission with DEP.
• Dan Griffith (Westmoreland) and Rohall have been representing PACD and working with the Western PA Conservancy to obtain an Ohio Basin CREP program for the western part of the state. A proposal has been completed and forwarded to the Governor. Hopefully we should be hearing a response on that soon. Ron thanked Dan Griffith for his hard work in making that proposal possible.
• Ron noted that the PACD staff is working together well and makes an excellent team. Executive Director Susan Marquart is doing some very valuable work with the legislative processes on the hill. The move into the new building in downtown Harrisburg puts the organization right in the heart of things. Kathleen Banski, Director of Administration and Education, does great work in administrating the office and has worked very hard on the new building project. Ron commented that PACD presents a friendly welcoming face to callers and visitors. The PACD TAG employees are also doing a great job. PACD is fiscally sound. The building purchase is complete and renovations are moving along well; the association should be moving in mid-August.
• Ron pointed out that financial management for the organization is excellent. PACD does depend heavily on grant funding and as such is vulnerable to changes in administration and grant funding. The organization needs to think about the relationship between what the districts pay in dues and what PACD provides in terms of services. In addition, the organization needs to think about other funding, i.e. dues or other fees for service, particularly for costs we cannot use grant funds to cover.
• PACD has been moving forward on the education project that was proposed at the last Executive Council Meeting. As it turns out, PACD is not able to use our educational grant funds for this project. The Canaan Valley Institute has funding for this sort of project and PACD has received a grant from the Institute for $4,500.00 to cover the strategic planning process for district education programs. The strategic planning session for district education is planned to take place on Friday October 31, 2003 at the PACD Fall Meeting. We strongly encourage the districts to send at least one director and one staff person from each district. We are looking to create a planning document for district education. A questionnaire will be on it's way to districts. Please complete the questionnaire even if you cannot attend the planning session so we can have your input. This information and subsequent planning will help the districts with funding in the future
• Ron thanked the Leadership Development group for their valuable work. The recent Managers Summit produced excellent results. Results from the Summit were provided to Susan Marquart and Ron Rohall at the last District Manager's Meeting on Sunday (July 20, 2003). The results from the Summit communicate what managers expect from PACD. As it turns out, there is a great deal of overlap between these results and the thoughts of PACD and the PACD Executive Board. This leads us into the upcoming strategic planning process. PACD is planning to use the PACD Region Meetings to include as many directors as possible in the process. We sent out an Individual Input Form to get things started. Ron noted that it was actually the last strategic planning process that brought us the regionally sponsored Joint Annual Conferences, which have received excellent feedback. This same process produced a set of guidelines for the PACD Executive Director. These guidelines have been a valuable resource for the current Executive Director, Susan Fox Marquart, who has referred to them often to guide her priorities. The strategic planning process is a valuable resource and we hope to get as much participation as possible.
• In closing, Ron thanked the Westmoreland County Conservation District for supporting him as PACD president and thanked his wife, Theresa Rohall, for her patience with and support of his duties.

Executive Director's Report (Fox Marquart)
PACD Executive Director, Susan Fox Marquart, thanked the community for the many good wishes and congratulations on her recent marriage. She then presented the following report on her accomplishments, as well as those of the PACD staff, since her last report:

• Work on State Legislation and Funding Initiatives continues. This has included providing input on the registration process for water resources planning.
• Susan also worked with PACD President Ron Rohall and the State Conservation Commission to organize a group of conservation district representatives to meet with Secretary McGinty with DEP. This was a very worthwhile meeting and produced some good dialogue.
• As President of the State Council of Farm Organizations, Susan also had the opportunity to meet with Governor Rendell regarding his plan for a new PA, which includes the use of tax increases and revenues from slot machines to fund education in the state.
• As part of her work on funding initiatives, Susan also developed a draft policy paper on funding and administrative changes needed for Conservation Districts and revised the funding requests for both DEP and the PA Department of Agriculture for the upcoming year.
• Susan represented PACD at a number of meetings and events, including the NACD Legislative Conference in Washington DC in March, where she met with Pennsylvania members of Congress, and the Farm Bill Conference, also in Washington DC.
• Work continues on establishing a corporation for the PEACCE program. The committee would like to add some other environmental organizations. This takes additional time, as each organization that is added needs to be updated on what is going on. She will be updating the board on a regular basis to keep them up to speed on this process.
• PACD staff exhibited at the recent PSATS meeting. As always this was a good opportunity to meet with township supervisors to discuss services districts can provide.
• In addition, PACD staff participated in several Chesapeake Bay Program workgroups, and Susan met regularly with other members of the conservation partnership leadership.
• Meeting planning continues as part of PACD's grant work, as well as planning for regular PACD meetings. Molly Burns, PACD Administrative Assistant, has taken over most of the meeting planning from Susan, freeing her up for her many other responsibilities.
• PACD staff finalized the program and meeting arrangements for the 2003 PACD/SCC Joint Annual Conference, and have begun work with the Southwest PACD Region and the SCC to coordinate the 2004 Joint Annual Conference.
• PACD worked with the SCC and NRCS to plan and coordinate the 2003 Agricultural Conservation Training (Boot Camp) and Summer Agronomy Training sessions.
• Staff also worked with DEP to plan and coordinate the spring Water Reuse and Recycle Symposium and provided staff support to help coordinate and plan the CAFO Roundtable.
• As part of PACD's education activities, the office completed the administration of the Pennsylvania Nonpoint Source Pollution Prevention Educational Mini-Grants and the Pennsylvania Chesapeake Bay Program Educational Mini-Grants and announced the next round of projects. These programs provide funds to many districts and watershed associations and enable funding for many small projects for districts. We were able to move additional funds to that program this year and this will continue to be a focus for our educational activities.
• In other educational activities, we obtained a grant for PACD from the Canaan Valley Institute to conduct strategic planning to assist conservation district education programs, reviewed applications for Chesapeake Bay Program education grants, updated the PACD Water Resources Directory, and began developing an electronic archive for other educational resources.
• PACD also provided support for a number of other workshops, such as fluvial morphology training and construction of natural stream design.
• In the area of outreach and public relations, PACD completed and distributed two new publications entitled Programs and Services for Local Government and the 2003-2004 Legislative Directory, which were sent out to county legislative contacts, as well as some districts. We are selling additional copies via the PACD website.
• PACD continues to revise and update the website as an important way to disseminate information for grant activities and provide easy registration for meetings and other activities.
• We also continue to maintain Pennsylvania NACD e-mail accounts and the listserves for District Directors and Watershed Specialists. We are planning to create a new listserve for district managers.
• PACD staff completed the PACD Annual Awards program and the Chesapeake Bay Clean Water Farm Awards for the Joint Annual Conference.
• Staff also coordinated and held the Susquehanna River Celebration on City Island in Harrisburg June 7th, coordinated a Chesapeake Bay radio trivia contest, published News & Notes newsletter monthly for conservation district directors, associate directors, PACD members and others.
• In the category of administration and management, PACD has been working with contractors on the PACD building renovation project, obtained donations and discounts on supplies for the renovations and printed new PACD note cards as a fundraising project for the building fund. The note cards feature original watercolor artwork of the new building, which was painted and donated by Sara Fox.
• Susan thanked Kathleen Banski, PACD's Director of Administration and Education for the wonderful job she has done in obtaining donations and discounts for the building renovation project. If anyone has a chance to stop by and see the building after renovations are complete, the building will be lovely.
• PACD continues to administer the Growing Greener grants. We have not yet heard about funds for the new CREP. Second round sign-up begins the first part of September. Hopefully we will be hearing about the funds before sign-up begins.
• Work on the TAG program continues, as well. One engineer did recently resign, so we are looking for a new engineer.
• Monthly conference calls with the board also continue.
• PACD sent out Individual Input Forms in the July issue of News & Notes to begin the strategic planning process. Susan urged the districts to take a look at these and bring them to the PACD Region Meetings. There, we will be going over them in groups and from these group discussions, we will develop Group Input Forms. Then a small committee will come to Harrisburg to take a look at these individual and group input forms to create the strategic plan. We want this to be a grassroots effort, with input from as many directors and staff as possible. Susan invited the districts to come to the meetings with the forms to help PACD develop it's new plan. This is a chance for the districts to tell PACD what they want us to be doing, and to share their goals for the organization.
• The office will be moving to the new building in August. We will have a new number: (717) 238-PACD (7223). Our mail will be forwarded for some time, but we will be sending our new address and contact information to the districts.
• Susan thanked the PACD staff for all of their hard work and thanked outgoing PACD President Ron Rohall for his dedication and willingness to be available during his term as PACD President. She noted that his support has been invaluable.

Questions: what is the Canaan Valley Institute? Answer: The Canaan Valley Institute is located in the Canaan Valley of West Virginia. It is a Nonprofit organization that works with education, specifically a great deal of watershed projects and organizations. They support economic development and environmental issues within the Allegheny highlands. There were no further questions on the report.

NACD Report (Sueck)

NACD Director Pat Sueck (York) presented the following report:

• NACD recently had to make some very difficult decisions. No money came in from the government; NACD had only dues money, which meant that the organization would be bankrupt by September 1, 2003. The NACD Executive Committee made the decision to cut back. Cutbacks have affected Leadership Development in Spokane, Washington, including the loss of Ray Ledgerwood, Bob Toole and some of their support staff. Cutbacks will also be affecting regional staff. NACD will be meeting August 4-5, 2003 in St. Louis to make decisions about how to move forward. It has been decided to close down the facility in League City, Texas, which is responsible for producing newsletters for NACD. It was actually decided years ago to close down this facility, but it was never done.
• Pat attended the NACD Legislative Conference and the Farm Bill Conference in Washington DC in March of 2003. She remarked that the NACD Legislative Conference is really a fabulous opportunity. At the Conference, the legislators come to the districts because they know how many people the districts have and they know the work that the districts do. Pat noted that the voice (of NACD) is there but the funding is not.
• Pat also represents the districts at the Penn State Ag Council and provided representation at the DEP Ag Advisory Committee Meeting in June.
• Pat was elected chair for the NACD Northeast Region. This position was made vacant by Larry Smith's death and Pat noted with regret that she was taking up the position under such sad circumstances. There is to be a memorial held in VA and a fund has been created in his memory by the NACD Legislative Committee, on which he was very active. Ron Rohall will now be providing Northeast representation on the NACD Legislative Committee.
• There will be an election for Northeast chairman at the upcoming NACD Northeastern Region Meeting in Shepardstown, West Virginia, August 10-13, 2003. It looks like they have an exciting program and it should be a good meeting.
• Pat urged everyone to check the NACD website (www.nacdnet.org) regularly. It is an excellent source of up-to-date information.
• PACD has contacted AAA in Harrisburg regarding package deals for the NACD meeting in Hawaii in February, 2003. The prices are as follows: Roundtrip airfare is currently $850.00; overnight stay for February 1-5, 2003 is $644.00 (combined roundtrip airfare and overnight stay is $1,494.00). We are offering pricing for an optional cruise before the meeting, January 25 - February 1, 2003. The rates for the cruise are: $936.00 for an inside cabin, $1,202.00 for an outside cabin, $1,407.00 for a balcony. Please visit the PACD website at www.pacd.org for additional information.
• Pat concluded that she will be attending the National Envirothon the weekend of July 26, 2003 and then the NACD Executive Board Meeting in St. Louis August 4-5, 2003.

Questions: Is NACD going to do away with catalogs and give-aways? Pat replied that, while she was unable to participate in the conference call that addressed this issue, she believes this is correct.

Treasurer's Report and Budget (Duvall)
PACD Treasurer Porter Duvall (Jefferson) presented the Treasurer's Report and Budget for review.

Questions: There is a great deal of deviation in this budget. Is this due to the CREP funds? PACD Executive Director Susan Marquart responded that PACD budgeted to anticipate an additional CREP grant. However, because the grant has not been announced yet and we do not yet have a contract, we did not allocate all of the funds. Susan said that another item to note is a change in reporting salary for grant purposes. Historically PACD has allocated salaries on a percentage basis, but there are new reporting requirements. We are now required to report salaries on an hourly basis. Due to this, PACD had to recalculate and revise the budget. Salary is now broken down into three categories to match the new reporting process. There are some changes to the operations costs, as well, due to the new building, but after figuring in the rent and other considerations, the overall bottom line is very similar.

It was moved by Duvall (Jefferson) and seconded by Robinson (Wyoming) to accept the report and budget as read. Motion carried.

PACD Treasurer Porter Duvall then presented the report on the Endowment Fund and PACD Building Fund for review. There were no questions on the report.

J. Roy Houston (Westmoreland) donated another $500.00 to the PACD Building Fund on behalf of the Westmoreland Conservation District, in honor of Ron Rohall's tenure and hard work as PACD President. He offered congratulations to PACD on all of the hard work in acquiring the new offices.

Presentation of Dues Certificates (Duvall)
PACD Treasurer Porter Duvall (Jefferson) presented Dues Certificates to those counties present who were paid in full, and who had not received their Dues Certificates in March.

Prior to a short break, PACD President Ron Rohall read off the highest bidders for the PACD Silent Auction.

PACD Funding Proposals (Fox Marquart)
PACD Executive Director Susan Fox Marquart presented the following explanation of the funding proposals:

• PACD prepared three documents to obtain funding for districts: Funding Request for Conservation District Programs to the PA Department of Environmental Protection, Funding Request for Conservation District Programs to the PA Department of Agriculture, and Conservation Districts' Role in a New Pennsylvania.
• In reviewing the funding requests for DEP and the Department of Agriculture, Susan explained that each year the Governor asks the department Secretaries to begin preparing their budget in August. In order to influence this process, PACD has to have this information to them by the first of August. So, we prepare these proposals in July and send them to the department Secretaries in August. Susan explained that she then visits with the departments in person to follow-up. This year we have new Secretaries in both DEP and the Department of Agriculture. PACD wrote a letter to the new Secretary of DEP to ask her how she wanted to receive the funding proposal information. We have not had a response as of yet; they may not have the details decided at this point. PACD has not gone through and entirely rewritten the documents, but we have updated all of the numbers so they are current and the needs of Conservation Districts are represented.
• Susan also noted that the department Secretaries do not always have a great deal of leeway as to what they can allocate in their budget. The Governor's office provides caps for funding increases. When we ask for what we need and the increase is over their restrictions, it is extremely difficult for them to allocate those funds for us. Because of this, PACD has decided to approach funding from another angle as well, by working with the legislature to get additional funds allocated for the districts. To this end, PACD has drafted a third document, Conservation Districts' Role in a New Pennsylvania, to request funding directly from the legislature.
• With these three documents, PACD has adopted a two-prong approach that will allow us to keep the Secretaries informed about district needs, while also approaching the legislature for funds. This paper is meant to be a paper for administration of funding. It is up to the districts to share their success stories with the legislators, in support of funding.
• Susan reviewed all three of the draft funding requests in detail.

It was moved by Lengel (Mercer) and seconded by Kulp (Chester) to accept the two funding requests and to approach the legislature using the paper developed by Susan Fox Marquart. Motion carried.

PACD President Ron Rohall took a moment to thank Westmoreland for their donation to the PACD Building Fund and announced the unofficial funds raised by the PACD Raffle and Silent Auction.

Changes to PACD Bylaws and Policies (Rohall)
PACD President Ron Rohall noted that there were no bylaw changes. PACD First Vice President and Chair of the District Operations Committee, Jarrett Miller reviewed the minutes from the District Operations Committee Meeting July 21, 2003. The following motions from that meeting were put to the vote:

• That PACD bring the following motion to the Northeast NACD Region Meeting in August:

Whereas the National Association of Conservation Districts is the voice for private landowners on conservation efforts, the Northeast Region urges all members to support NACD and discourages any state or region from withdrawing it's membership.

It was moved by Lengel (Mercer) and seconded by Sueck (York) that PACD bring this resolution to the Northeast NACD Region Meeting in August. Motion passed.

• That PACD pass the following resolution to support the NACD Ohio River Basin natural resources development program policy statement:

PACD supports the "Ohio River Basin Conservation and Natural Resources Development Program" NACD policy statement. We request that "Abandoned Mineland" be added to the explanation of need.

It was moved by Wagner (Lancaster) and seconded by Collura (Allegheny) that PACD adopt the resolution as read. Motion passed.

• That PACD undertake to study the idea of producing a book made up of advertisements and information. A committee will be created to determine printing costs, breakdown of revenues and other considerations, which will be brought back to the District Operations Committee at a later date. A final decision would be made by the Executive Council.

It was moved by Robinson (Wyoming) and seconded by Lengel ( Mercer) that PACD undertake the enterprise as described. Motion passed.

• That the following motion be sent to the HR15 Budget and Finance Committee hearings, relating to the possible merger of the PA Fish and Boat Commission and PA Game Commission:

PACD, being an organization comprised of 66 Conservation Districts across the state, dedicated to the protection and conservation of our natural resources, presents the following position statement for your review:

The work of both the PA Fish and Boat Commission and the PA Game Commission is important to Pennsylvania's Conservation Districts and the resources we protect. As such, any proposed measure to merge the two agencies should be intensely studied. PACD feels that whatever the outcome:

1. The present number of field staff are vital to the protection of these resources and should be sustained or increased to insure an adequate level of protection.

2. Licenses, fees, and natural and mineral resource extraction income should be earmarked for wildlife, fishery, and habitat protection and management and should be non-lapsing for that use.

3. Protection of our natural resources should always be the priority of the agency(s), whether together or separate.

It was moved by Nowicki (Pike) and seconded by Crooks (Bucks) that the motion be sent to the HR15 Budget and Finance Committee hearings as read.

Discussion: Let us amend the motion to add that the agencies remain independent, not to be run as a government agency.

It was moved by Duvall (Jefferson) and seconded by Nowicki (Pike) that the original motion be amended to add:

4. This agency or it's jointure remain an independent commission.

Question: Are we stating by this amendment that we do not support the eventual merger of these agencies into DCNR? Duvall (Jefferson) replied that the answer is absolutely, yes.

Motion passed.

It was moved by Collura (Allegheny) and seconded by Duvall (Jefferson) that the original motion again be amended to include:

5. We oppose the inclusion of the PA Fish and Boat Commission and PA Game Commission and their personnel into DCNR.

Discussion: Is the motion redundant?

Motion passed.

The original motion, with the two amendments, was put to the vote. Motion passed.

Election of PACD Officers (Nominating Committee)
Pat Sueck, NACD Director and Chair of the Nominating Committee, thanked the Committee and presented the following slate of candidates:

President: C. Jarrett Miller (Erie)
1st Vice President: Victor Cappucci (Wyoming)
2nd Vice President: Larry Kehl (Berks)
Secretary: George Hildenbrandt (Centre)
Treasurer: Porter Duvall (Jefferson)

It was moved by Sick (Lycoming) and seconded by Kulp (Chester) to accept the slate of candidates as read. There were no other nominations. Motion carried.

It was moved by Miller (Erie) and seconded by Cappucci (Wyoming) that Pat Sueck (York) be nominated as NACD Director. Wagner (Lancaster) closed the nomination. Motion carried.

Report on Building for Tomorrow - Leadership and Professional Development Program for Pennsylvania's Conservation Districts (Nardone)
Joanne Nardone with DEP presented the following report on the Leadership and Professional Development Program - Building For Tomorrow.

• There were eight new District Team Visits this fiscal year, including Beaver, Chester, Cumberland, Delaware, Mifflin, Northampton, Wayne, and Westmoreland, for a total of thirty counties visited overall. These visits assist individual districts, individuals within districts, and the Leadership Development Committee. Common opportunities found include middle management, communication challenges, and changing roles for directors.
• Joanne noted that these visits guide the Committee's efforts in other areas. She also noted that the committee does not evaluate the districts during these visits. Three or four people attend the districts, visit and interview every staff person and Director, Associate Directors, and any other agency people that the district works with on a regular basis. They then submit a written report to the district, reflecting what they have heard. This report is a reflection, not an evaluation. It may provide incentive for districts to do some things they know they need to do, but the report belongs to the district alone. It goes to no-one else.
• Joanne thanked Bradford Conservation District for sponsoring the Team Visit project.
• The program also conducted seven regional sessions on roles and responsibilities. These sessions were conducted by outside consultants and were very well received. Of the 227 participants, 133 were Directors. During these sessions, the group talked about the importance of team members discussing what they need from one-another. They also talked about the importance of creating an environment in the district where people can identify their needs without feeling threatened. All of this helps districts to use time efficiently by identifying needs and responsibilities. Joanne thanked Dauphin Conservation District for sponsoring these sessions.
• The program also conducted special grants for strategic planning efforts. These grants are designed to cover up to $1,000.00 in approved expenses toward creating a strategic plan for your district. Nine plans were completed of the eleven originally requested and there are already requests for more of these grants next year. Joanne thanked Westmoreland Conservation District for administering and sponsoring these grants.
• The third District Management Summit was held June 11-13, 2003. This meeting is held exclusively for District Managers and Assistant Managers. Topics included improving relationships with the district board, enhancing the district's image in the community, updates of GASB34 audit requirements and revisions to the Right-To-Know Law. Joanne thanked Centre Conservation District for sponsoring the project.
• The Committee has been holding Staff Conferences since 1988, which provide professional development training for district staff. Issues addressed have included problem solving, time management, marketing and dealing with change. Joanne thanked Union Conservation District for sponsoring the most recent conference.
• At the 2002 Joint Annual Conference, the committee held a workshop about working with nominating organizations. Updated District Director Handbooks should be completed by the beginning of next year. This workshop also resulted in the expansion and promotion the Lending Library. The Lending Library is a loan program that consists of a number of publications that are available for use by directors; Joanne reminded directors to contact district staff for a listing of what publications are available for loan through this program.
• Joanne announced that upcoming projects for the next fiscal year will include: Team Visits, handbook revisions, a new welcoming publication for directors, Strategic Planning Grants, 2004 Management Summit in June, 2004 Staff Conference August 11-13 in State College, and a Strategic Planning Session for the Leadership Development Committee. The committee would also like to establish a new subcommittee for district operational development and support, a regional training exercise, and the creation of a web-based training initiative.
• Joanne closed her report by thanking the SCC, sponsoring districts, the conservation partners, and district staff and directors for their support and involvement in the Leadership Development Program.

Ron Rohall and Joanne Nardone took a moment to pull the winning raffle tickets.

SCC Report (Karl Brown)
SCC Executive Secretary Karl Brown presented the following report:

• Karl thanked Directors for participating in the meeting and thanked PACD, the PACD staff, and the host counties for putting the meeting together.
• Karl pointed out that the Leadership Development Program has some good tools and encouraged districts to take advantage of these and to participate in team visits.
• The Dirt & Gravel Roads program is starting a quality assurance initiative. This is a basic program evaluation. Districts that have gone through it so far have found it to be very valuable. There will be a meeting with the Senate Transportation Committee at the end of July to request more money.
• Karl encouraged the districts to meet with their partners related to Ag programs, to work together and create a dialogue.

NRCS Report (Stacy Mitchell)

Stacy Mitchell with NRCS thanked the host districts and PACD staff for their efforts related to the meeting and presented the following report:

• There is a great deal of Farm Bill work going on. Please contact Stacy with any questions.
• There is word that AMA money may be available.
• NRCS did receive money for the Grassland Reserve Program. Specific rules are being worked out by the states and will be presented to the State Technical Committee on July 25, 2003 at NRCS in Harrisburg.
• Rules are about to be released for the Conservation Security Program. Stacy noted that there is no money allocated for the program in 2004 budget appropriations for either the Senate or the House.
• Expansion for the CREP Program will occur for the northern 24 counties of the Susquehanna River Basin. Sign-ups begin September 1, 2003.
• Technical Service Provider Program specifics are still being negotiated. NRCS appreciates the patience of the conservation partners.
• NRCS office closings are being discussed on a national level. Over 800 offices meet at least one criteria for closing. Pennsylvania had 11 offices on that list. Pennsylvania expects to receive an update within the first couple weeks of August; they are expecting that 3-4 offices will have to close.
• Local workgroups did a great job during the last fiscal year developing criteria and ranking procedures. Stacy encouraged people to get together and discuss the last fiscal year, to think about how they might want to prioritize projects. She noted that it's time to think about regional projects.
• NRCS expects the same level of funding during the 2004 fiscal year.
• The competitive sourcing process continues as part of the President's initiative. NRCS has put out requests for proposals on several of the positions, including Soil Conservation Technician positions.
• Stacy asked that anyone feel free to contact her with any questions.

Malcolm Crooks (Bucks) offered a special resolution of appreciation for the PACD officers for their work this year, particularly Ron Rohall and Pat Sueck.

Report from PACD Auxiliary (Sarah Long)
No report was given.

Announcements and Adjournment

Ron Rohall (Westmoreland) handed the gavel over to new PACD President Jarrett Miller (Erie).

Jarrett Miller announced that he would hold his remarks for a later date due to the meeting time and adjourned the meeting.