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News & Notes April 2007
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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PACD Creates Training Matrix And Reports
Seven Training Findings
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Did you know that there are more than ten major sources
of program training for conservation district staff? Do you know which
of these trainings are mandatory for program implementation and which
are voluntary? Do you know the frequency of these trainings or who is
in charge of the content? Look it up in the new Conservation District
Staff Training Matrix created by PACD.
There are a number of programs that conservation district staff implement
and/or administer on behalf of the state of Pennsylvania that are delegated
or contracted through the PA Department of Environmental Protection
(DEP), the PA Department of Agriculture (PDA), and the State Conservation
Commission (SCC). The state provides training for conservation district
staff for many of these programs through its departments and agencies.
Some of these programs have specific training requirements or certification
requirements for staff implementing the programs that are outlined in
the enabling legislation or regulations, such as the Nutrient Management
Specialist Certification Program. Other programs establish their own
training programs and agendas.
In July 2006, the PACD District Employees Committee asked the PACD to
facilitate the establishment of a Committee to help coordinate training
opportunities targeted to conservation district staff. The District
Employees Committee wanted an examination of a number of issues related
to improved coordination and information for conservation district staff
training such as: timing (how often and when training occurs); content
of the training; whether the training is required or mandatory for the
program; audience (which staff is the target for the training); difficulty
level and/or experience level of the training; funding of training;
possible consolidation of duplicative topics; and whether certification
or other formal training mechanisms are required or needed.
In the fall of 2006, the PACD established a Conservation District Staff
Training Coordination Steering Committee to answer the questions from
the District Employees Committee. The Steering Committee met three times
to review information about the training programs. This process provided
a much better understanding of the available training to conservation
district staff and noted that this was the first attempt to bring all
the training information together in one place.
As a result of its efforts, the Conservation District
Staff Training Coordination Steering Committee presents the following
findings:
1. The partnership approach has proven to be an effective
means of coordinating and delivering training.
The Steering Committee felt that the Agricultural
Conservation Technician (ACT) Training was an excellent example
of the partnership coming together to provide comprehensive technical
training where there was an identified need.
2. Adequate funding is necessary for quality training.
There was a correlation between how well funded the
training is and how well organized and effective the training has
been. Departments and agencies that consistently budget to provide
quality training for their programs have better training results
and more consistent program implementation.
3. Training needs to be a priority for the department or agency
responsible for the program and for conservation district staff.
Training will always be needed due to changing program
needs and requirements and because of conservation district staff
turnover.
4. Where there are clear and consistent expectations of what
knowledge, information and skills are required in a program, conservation
district personnel are better able to identify what training is
needed to acquire these skills.
Training programs with more formal curricula or certification
requirements such as the Dirt and Gravel Roads ESM training and
the Nutrient Management Specialist Certification Program are well
organized and training requirements and participation are well documented.
5. Individual Development Plans (IDP) can be used to target
individual training needs.
The Steering Committee felt that the IDP was an excellent
tool to identify and document conservation district staff training
needs and to target specific training for individuals.
6. No entity is currently summarizing and documenting unmet
conservation district staff training needs.
There have not been comprehensive surveys or studies
completed to identify unmet conservation district staff training
needs. A survey such as this would require funding or a commitment
of staff resources to implement.
7. Training in transferable skills such as computer programs,
accounting, writing, etc., are generally not by provided by state
program-related training.
Although some transferable skills, management, and
leadership training are provided annually at the Conservation District
Staff Conference and the District Management Summit, the training
programs offered vary from year-to-year. This is also the only training
opportunity currently offered for conservation district clerical
or administrative staff. |
To view the entire report and the Conservation District
Staff Training Matrix, please visit the PACD website at www.pacd.org.
The Steering Committee has agreed to meet again in April to develop
a list of recommendations for conservation district staff training.
The Steering Committee is interested in obtaining comments and suggestions
from conservation districts and others to review and discuss at its
next meeting. Please provide any comments, suggestions and/or recommendations
about this interim report, the matrix, or other conservation district
staff training related issues to Susan Marquart at PACD (717-238-PACD
or susan-marquart@pacd.org)
by April 20, 2007.
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