News & Notes December 2001

PACD Applies for Grants, Proposes to Extend and Expand Statewide Technical Assistance

The Pennsylvania Association of Conservation Districts, Inc. (PACD) has recently submitted three Growing Greener Technical Assistance Grant applications in order to further enhance the Association’s ability to provide technical assistance to conservation districts and other grassroots organizations.

PACD Executive Director Susan Fox said, “These grants will enable PACD, in cooperation with Pennsylvania’s conservation districts, to expand services and better meet the needs of farmers and landowners, watershed associations and other local organizations.”

PACD applied for a Technical Assistance Grant to finance a Geographic Information System (GIS) assistance program. The Association has submitted a two-year Growing Greener proposal, which will provide GIS coordination, applications, computer system management, networking and data management technical assistance to Pennsylvania’s county conservation districts.

Conservation districts across the state have expressed a need for additional GIS and computer-related development. Most of Pennsylvania’s conservation districts have minimal experience with GIS, however the districts have indicated a need to utilize GIS in order to produce maps and plot work areas and BMP projects in their county.

A number of districts have also noted the need for GIS applications to further enhance watershed planning and coordination, E&S training, farmland preservation, permit sites, conservation planning, inventory and monitoring.

By hiring two full-time technical professionals – a GIS Specialist and a Computer Specialist, PACD will be in a position to provide districts with needed technical assistance. In turn, this will enhance the districts’ ability to implement Resource Management GIS systems, utilize existing data and resources, and conduct current district programs.

Similar to PACD’s engineering assistance program, the GIS and Computer Application Assistance program will be a cooperative effort of PACD, the USDA – NRCS, and the county conservation districts – that will help to establish work priorities for the technical staff.

PACD is also seeking a Technical Assistance Grant in order to expand technical services provided to landowners relative to the Chapter 105 Dam Safety and Waterway Management, Dam Safety and Encroachment Act.

Through increased involvement of conservation district staff, this project would help to provide landowners with assistance to complete permit applications and provide technical assistance in the field as applicants consider different options.

The grant would increase the technical capacity locally, and provide general support to the Dam Safety and Waterways Management Program, in turn, increasing the level of compliance with stream and encroachment activities.

The overall goal of the project is to improve compliance rates in the Chapter 105 program and reduce pollution in Pennsylvania’s streams and rivers. Conservation districts have demonstrated a proven ability to provide technical services to enhance compliance and environmental benefits. Due to the local impact of the Chapter 105 program, conservation districts will play an important role in helping to maximize the efficiency and positive environmental effects of the program.

Funding provided through the grant will be used to reimburse conservation districts, statewide, for their expenses to: provide assistance to landowners in completing Chapter 105 applications, provide on-site technical assessments of a landowners’ problems and needs, review options and make recommendations to address problems, provide information on needed permits and provide oversight during construction activities.

In addition to these two new grant proposals, PACD has also applied for an extension to its engineering assistance program, which was launched in September 2001 and is funded by a Growing Greener Technical Assistance Grant. Under the terms of the current grant, the program is funded until June 2003. The Association is proposing to extend the engineering assistance program through June 2004, to coincide with the current Growing Greener program.

Approval of this grant will enable PACD to continue to employ its current staff of eight engineers and conservation technicians in the four regional NRCS Technical Centers for an additional year.

The services provided through the engineering assistance staff, such as: soil investigations, surveys and project design, quality assurance oversight, training for conservation district staff, identification of data needs, inventory of problem areas and the identification of possible solutions and the feasibility of solutions, will be continued as funding permits.

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