News Release

Senator Noah Wenger receives
PACD Legislator Recognition Award

The Pennsylvania Association of Conservation Districts (PACD) is pleased to announce Senator Noah W. Wenger as the recipient of the 2006 PACD Legislator Recognition Award. The PACD presents this award to a legislator whose outstanding efforts have helped further the activities and accomplishments of the PACD or Pennsylvania's 66 county conservation districts.

A longtime champion of farmers and land stewardship, Senator Wenger was the prime sponsor of the 2006 Act 110, the legislation that created the Conservation District Fund. This legislation allows state departments and other government agencies to deposit allocations to conservation districts into a special non-lapsing fund administered by the state Conservation Commission for distribution to our 66 conservation districts. He also served as Chairman of the Chesapeake Bay Commission, a tri-state legislative commission dedicated to advising the General Assemblies of Maryland, Virginia, and Pennsylvania on matters of Bay-wide concern.

Senator Wenger was instrumental in nearly all of Pennsylvania's important farming legislation in recent years, including the state's farmland preservation program and its successful crop insurance program. Among his many accomplishments, Senator Wenger spearheaded the state's farmland preservation program, launched in 1989. Pennsylvania now leads the country in the total number of acres permanently protected, and last month achieved the significant milestone of 3,000 farms preserved.

After 30 years of public service, Senator Wenger - a respected voice for agriculture, champion of farmland preservation and Chesapeake Bay Commissioner - retired from the Pennsylvania General Assembly in November 2006. He is currently as a Senior Consultant for Wolff Strategies, a Harrisburg agricultural and environmental government relations firm, a member of the Pennsylvania Farm Bureau and the Northern Lancaster County Sportsmen's Association. He is also focusing on family pursuits, including a 107-acre farm in Stevens, Lancaster County.

Victor Cappucci, PACD President stated, "I am honored to present Senator Wenger with the PACD Legislator Recognition Award. His numerous contributions to agriculture and the environment over the years have benefited all Pennsylvania citizens."

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