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News & Notes November 2004
Bruce Knight Treats PACD Members with Keynote Address
The PACD held its Fall Meeting October 27-29 in State College, PA.
While meeting attendees may have missed out on trick-or treating back
home, USDA-NRCS Chief Executive Officer Bruce Knight offered a treat
of his own - a keynote address during the Conservation Expo and a $600,000
check for PACD's Engineering Technical Assistance program (see NRCS
Presents PACD with $600,000 Check insert).
NRCS Chief Bruce Knight (left) presents PACD President Jarrett Miller
and PACD Executive Director Susan Fox Marquart with a check for $600,000
during the Conservation Expo.
In addition to hearing Mr. Knight speak, attendees networked
with other members and partners during the two Conservation Expos, learned
about current issues in conservation and participated in committee meetings
and the PACD Executive Council Meeting.
The Wednesday afternoon Conservation Expo featured Conservation District
information sharing and exhibits. Nineteen different district projects
funded through the Mini-grant program were included. Project managers
were on hand to talk to other attendees about their projects and how
similar work could be done in other counties. Forestry Workshops (Armstrong
County), Promoting Groundwater Conservation by Using Rain Barrels (Cumberland
County) and Stormwater and Watershed Management Educational Brochures
(Lancaster County) are just a few of the successful projects that were
featured during the Expo.
A second Conservation Expo was held Thursday morning to showcase twenty
of PACD's partners. Program representatives brought exhibits and information
on their organizations and were available for one on one discussions
with PACD members.
Several members expressed appreciation in seeing Mini-grant projects
at the first expo and talking to a variety of program staff at the Expo
the following day. Both Conservation Expos held during the fall meeting
offered excellent opportunities for networking among conservation district
staff and their partners.
During the Conservation Issues Forum, Russell Redding and Michael Pechart
of the PA Department of Agriculture discussed the Governor's ACRE Initiative.
Adam Long from McNees Wallace & Nurick LLC presented "The New
Overtime Regulations: What Employers Need to Know." District directors
and staff learned more about these issues and were able to ask questions
during and after the Issues Forum.
PACD Committee meetings were held throughout the conference. During
the PACD Executive Council meeting:
- Tammy Specht of Specht & Co. presented the PACD audit for
fiscal year 2003-04;
- It was decided that the NACD's Northeast meeting will be held
in State College, July 23-27, 2006 to coincide with the PACD/SCC
Joint Annual Conference;
- A reduction in the number of statewide meetings from three per
year to two per year starting in 2006 was approved. Meetings will
be held in January and July starting in 2006. Region meetings will
take place in the fall and spring and a one day Capital Day event
will be held in the spring;
- PACD comments on Act 6 and CAFO's revised regulations were approved;
- The Executive Council voted to support the ACRE Initiative;
- The Memorandum of Understanding with the Department of Education
will be reviewed;
- The present system of dues assessment by county classification
will continue. The Dues Workgroup will continue to work on exploring
a smaller annual dues increase and the feasibility of establishing
district dues two years in advance;
- PACD presented a report on Health Insurance Options for Conservation
Districts. This report is available at www.pacd.org and will be
printed in the next issue of News and Notes;
- PACD endorsed the Hazleton Soil Series as the official state soil;
and
- The proposed amendments to the Strategic Plan were approved.
Concurrently with the PACD meeting, the Conservation District Watershed
Specialists meeting was held. Sixty Watershed Specialists attended.
Topics included Watershed Restoration Planning, Low Impact Development,
Watershed Partnerships and Alliances and much more. The fall meeting
offered plenty of opportunity for interaction and networking among PACD
staff, DEP personnel, district directors, managers, watershed specialists
and other district staff members.
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