News & Notes May 2001

PACD Announces 2001 Conservation Award Winners

The Pennsylvania Association of Conservation Districts, Inc. (PACD) is proud to announce its 2001 Annual Conservation Awards recipients.

They are:

• Ann Rudd Saxman Conservation Volunteer of the Year: W. Ray Ketner – Berks County;
• Conservation Educator of the Year: James A. Edwards – Bucks County;
• Conservation Farmer of the Year: Stan and Cindi Bucher – Lebanon County;
  
• Conservation Organization of the Year: Brokenstraw Fish and Gun Club – Warren County
  
• County Commissioner District Director of the Year: Randy Degenkolb – Indiana County;
• Erosion and Sedimentation Control: RNS Services – Cambria County;
• Legislator Recognition: Rep. Gary Haluska – Cambria County;
• Media Conservation Award: Grant Heilman Photography, Inc. – Lancaster County;
• Special Conservation Service Award: Harry Meyer – Allegheny County;
• Watershed Protection Award: Swatara Creek Watershed Association – Lebanon County;
• William Lange Urban Conservation Award: R. Jeanne Sonntag – Lancaster County.

Judging panels met and reviewed numerous candidates nominated for the eleven categories of awards, during the Association’s quarterly meeting, held in Grantville on the week of March 12. The award recipients will be recognized at a luncheon scheduled for Tuesday, July 17, at the Toftrees Resort in State College, PA.

The PACD annually presents awards to individuals and organizations for their exemplary conservation efforts in Pennsylvania.

For more information on the PACD Annual Conservation Awards Program visit the PACD website at www.pacd.org. Businesses and organizations interested in sponsoring an award should contact Susan Fox, PACD Executive Director, at (717) 238-PACD (7223).

The Pennsylvania Association of Conservation Districts, Inc., (PACD) will receive a Technical Assistance Grant (TAG), in the amount of $969,415 over a two-year period, to provide engineering technical assistance to help landowners and managers apply conservation best management practices to protect and conserve natural resources.

Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) Acting Secretary David Hess announced the grant on April 25, as part of $2.4 million issued statewide, through the “Growing Greener,” Program for technical-assistance providers.

The goal of PACD’s technical assistance project is to provide engineering and technical assistance to entities developing or implementing a watershed assessment, watershed restoration plan, or watershed protection plan. Four teams composed of a professional engineer and a conservation technician will be stationed regionally in the Natural Resources Conservation Service Technical Centers in Clarion, Somerset, Bloomsburg and Lebanon, but their work will cover the entire state.

“We are very pleased to receive this grant,” PACD Executive Director Susan Fox said. “This will enable the Pennsylvania Conservation Partnership to offer additional technical assistance to design and implement ‘Growing Greener’ projects and other conservation efforts.”

The specialists hired for these positions will be available to identify problems, develop solutions, identify engineering needs, estimate costs and realistic time frames for completion, and identify assistance needed to implement solutions as part of an interdisciplinary team.The teams will consist of up to 12 people with representatives from county conservation districts, DEP, and Resources and Conservation Development Councils (RC&Ds), in addition to the PACD Conservation Engineer, PACD Conservation Technician, NRCS Area Engineer and NRCS Program Manager.

The teams will follow professional engineering principles and ensure that projects are completed in accordance with PA Technical Guide Standards, following federal, state and local laws and regulations.

County conservation districts, watershed associations and RC&Ds, will be provided with engineering technical assistance services. In order to remain consistent with “Growing Greener” application standards, PACD will ask that watershed organizations contact their local conservation district to have their projects included in the prioritization process for their area.

The “Growing Greener” program, signed into law by Gov. Tom Ridge, will invest $650 million over a five-year span to the protect farm land and preserve open space, eliminate the maintenance backlog in Pennsylvania’s State Parks, clean up abandoned mines, restore watersheds, and provide new and updated sewer and water systems.

For more information on “Growing Greener,” visit DEP through the PA PowerPort at www.state.pa.us or directly at www.GrowingGreener.org.

Notices advertising the new positions will be posted on the PACD website, www.pacd.org. Check the site periodically for updates and announcements. PACD estimates that the positions will be filled and the teams will be in place by the end of the summer.

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