News & Notes April 2001

Watershed Specialist Training, Legislative Conference Bring
PA Conservation Leaders Together

The Pennsylvania Association of Conservation Districts, Inc. hosted its annual Legislative Conference and Capitol Day activities in Grantville, March 12-14. In addition, the PACD Executive Council conducted a business meeting and PACD committee sessions were held.

The Legislative Conference, moderated by PACD Legislative Director Murray Laite, began with a presentation from PACD Executive Director Susan Fox, outlining the Association’s position on conservation funding for fiscal year 2001-2002.

Also discussed during the conference was the change to the United States Department of Agriculture’s Nutrient Management Standard 590, which switches the standard for nutrient management plans from nitrogen based to phosphorous based, effective on Oct. 1, 2001.

Joel Myers and Gary Smith of the USDA – NRCS provided details about the change in policy and fielded questions from the audience. Doug Goodlander of the State Conservation Commission explained that the regulations regarding Pennsylvania’s Act 6 nutrient management plans have not changed. Act 6 plans will still be nitrogen based.

Smith explained that the change has been made nationally, however, Pennsylvania has requested an 18-month extension on implementing the new policy, which may or may not be granted. The policy change will impact the process by which NRCS develops nutrient management plans. The impacts on conservation districts are not fully known at this time because details are still being developed. NRCS plans to host meetings and training for district staff in the near future.

David Hess, Department of Environmental Protection Executive Secretary for Policy and Communication, provided a presentation on “New Initiatives for Watershed Legislation in Pennsylvania.” Hess said 2000 had been a “watershed year for Pennsylvania’s environment.” He explained that within a year’s time the number of watershed groups in the state has nearly doubled, attributing the success of the watershed concept largely to Growing Greener.

Hess also addressed the issues of water quality and water quantity, which he said, will be profoundly impacted by development in the next five years. “It’s been a productive year for us. We’ve had a lot of success,” Hess said. “But there are serious challenges to meet in the years ahead.”

Coinciding with the activities of the PACD Legislative Conference, were two full-day training sessions held for conservation district watershed specialists.

The opening day of the watershed specialists meeting, attended exclusively by district specialists, featured an Idea Swap on topics such as, Using the Enviroscape Model, Stream*A*Syst, and Working with Municipalities.

The second day of the workshop featured a training program addressing stormwater management in watersheds, presented by the Center for Watershed Protection and DEP – Bureau of Watershed Management. Conservation district watershed specialists, as well as DEP watershed coordinators were provided with an overview of various stormwater management tools for watershed protection and restoration. Topics covered included: the impacts of urbanization, the eight tools of watershed protection, crafting a local stormwater ordinance, state and federal permitting, financial assistance and Pennsylvania requirements.

Meanwhile, a number of conservation district representatives conveyed the state Capitol on March 13, to address their legislators, pointing out the needs for conservation funding in the upcoming fiscal year. District staff and directors returning from their meetings reported that they were well received by their legislators and stressed the importance of meeting in person with legislators on a regular basis.

Following adjournment of the PACD Executive Council, a regular meeting of the State Conservation Commission was held, concluding conference activities.

Conservation Cadets Attend Second Installment of Boot Camp

Conservation technicians from across the state convened on Fort Indiantown Gap to attend “Boot Camp.” Many of these technicians are new recruits, getting their feet wet during Basic Agricultural Conservation Training. Others are veterans of the first Boot Camp training program (held in the spring of 2000), who are now returning to go through advanced technical training. Boot Camp provides these technicians with valuable classroom and field learning experiences, under the supervision of experienced technical specialists from Conservation Partnership agencies such as the State Conservation Commission and United States Department of Agriculture – Natural Resources Conservation Service.

During the week of March 26-30, 23 newly hired conservation technicians went through Basic Agricultural Conservation Technical (ACT) Training. Instructors covered topics such as riparian areas, basic hydrology, surveying, agronomy and conservation planning. Activities were split between outdoor field exercises and indoor classroom training. The instructors stressed the importance of teamwork in the professional environment.

On the week of April 16 – 20, approximately 30 conservation technicians will return to Indiantown Gap for Level II ACT Training. Many of the technicians attending this training session have previously attended the first Conservation Boot Camp, held in April 2000. This weeklong training program goes into more advanced detail, further expanding on the concepts covered in the Basic Boot Camp program. For two days of the training, technicians have the option to choose between one of two full-day programs, such as: the agronomy corps, hydrology, construction materials and agronomy; pasture and grazing. The program will allow technicians to hone their skills in their particular areas of interest.

Both the Basic and Level II training sessions have been designed with the common goal of allowing conservation district and NRCS staff to provide increased and improved technical assistance to farmers and landowners across the Commonwealth.

The Boot Camp programs were offered free of charge to participants. Funding was provided by the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture, through the State Conservation Commission in cooperation with the Natural Resources Conservation Service, the Pennsylvania Association of Conservation Districts, Inc., and the Dauphin County Conservation District.

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