News & Notes June 2001

PACD Undergoes Personnel Change

The Pennsylvania Association of Conservation Districts would like to welcome its newest staff member – Lisa Jo Suhr, the PACD Office Manager. Lisa joined the PACD staff on May 28. She will be taking over the duties of former PACD Office Manager Mike Rosen.

After working with PACD for the past four years, Mike has decided to leave his office duties behind in order to return to the restaurant business. He will be working as the manager of a Red Robin restaurant in the Harrisburg area.

Lisa comes to PACD after working as the office manager for a wholesale auto dealer in Dauphin County. She is married, and has a teenage son and daughter. A resident of West Hanover Township, Lisa is very active in her church, the Mt. Laurel Church of God.

She serves as the church’s financial secretary, teaches Sunday School and helps instruct the Junior Choir. In her spare time, Lisa enjoys reading and shopping with her daughter. Make sure to introduce yourself to Lisa, when you see her at the PACD/SCC Joint Annual Conference next month.

The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection is reorienting its management and planning to a watershed-focused priority-setting approach, as part of the Environmental Futures Planning Process (EFP2).

A team of DEP staff and PACD Executive Director Susan Fox developed this new approach that emphasizes “ground-up” planning. The group also outlined three statewide goals and indicators.

They are:
1. Sustain, conserve, protect, enhance and restore Pennsylvania’s Environment, natural resources and ecological diversity.
2. Reduce, toward the ultimate goal of eliminating, harmful effects from environmental contaminants and conditions.
3. Engage all Pennsylvanians as active and informed stewards of the environment.

EFP2 teams have been established to determine baseline conditions, set planning objectives and address the causes of environmental problems. Some teams have been established statewide, while others are set up according to region and/or watershed.

Each team will be led by a DEP staff person and will be charged with the task of identifying stakeholders within a particular watershed. The stakeholders and the general public will be invited to serve as a “sounding board” throughout the process.

PACD is encouraging all county conservation districts to actively participate in the EFP2 Process. This is an opportunity for districts to ensure that local natural resource needs are identified and included in the DEP Planning Process.

The Pennsylvania Association of Conservation Districts, Inc. would like to extend its best wishes to Janet Oertly, former Natural Resources Conservation Services State Conservationist.

After serving as the NRCS State Conservationist for the past six years, Oertly will be leaving Pennsylvania to become the State Conservationist of South Dakota.

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