Conservation Profiles

Richard VanNoy

When Richard VanNoy left his Bradford County dairy farm to serve as Secretary of the Pennsylvania State Grange, in 1964, he expected he'd give life in Harrisburg a try for a while, then return to the farm. Fortunately for Pennsylvanians, VanNoy didn't go back. Instead, he took a job as a field representative with the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture, thus launching a distinguished 30-year career in conservation service.

Since joining the Department of Agriculture in 1966, VanNoy has been on the frontlines of natural resources issues in Pennsylvania, working closely with the state's conservation districts.

"I saw it as a challenge, a real opportunity, and I found out that I belonged here," VanNoy said. "I always assumed that I would be on the farm. But after awhile here, (working as a field representative) I understood that this was what I should be doing."

Throughout his career, VanNoy has served a variety of functions supporting the State Conservation Commission. For the majority of this time he served as the DEP Chief of the Division of Conservation Districts.

He also has served as an advisor to the Pennsylvania Association of Conservation Districts, Inc. and helped to organize the Agricultural Advisory Board to the Department of Environmental Protection.

His mission statement, however, has remained a constant. As he explains it, "My job title and responsibilities have changed throughout my career, but the overriding goal of my job has always been the same: To create better, stronger conservation districts."

Early in his career, VanNoy said, "I had no concept of what the conservation districts could be. Our job was to get more farmers involved with conservation. When I look at it what we have now, I'm tremendously pleased with what the districts have become."

Harry Meyer, a retired DEP field representative/program specialist said, "Dick was one of the pioneers of the conservation district movement. Through the years he helped the districts to develop an identity. To get their own office, their own phone and eventually, to develop a staff," Meyer said. "It took a while, but we grew."

Paul Swartz, the first full-time manager of the Dauphin County Conservation Distrct, agrees that VanNoy played a major role in shaping Pennsylvania's conservation districts.

"I was one the first full-time managers in the state," Swartz said. "In the 70s when the districts began to develop an identity, it was because they were able to develop a capable staff. None of the growth we experienced would have happened without Dick VanNoy's advocacy for the districts.

"When I started we were stuck in a corner of the Soil and Water Conservation office. We had no office and no staff," Swartz added. "But the districts grew, funding grew, and we were able to develop staff. That's what formed the identity of the districts, their staff capabilities, and this was largely enabled by Dick VanNoy."

VanNoy's initial involvement with conservation districts came in 1956, when he was appointed to serve as one of the original directors of the newly formed Bradford County Conservation District. At the time, the conservation district had no staff and a budget of next to nothing.

Since then, the Bradford County Conservation District, along with all of Pennsylvania's Conservation Districts, has come a long way. Having been directly involved with them since day one, VanNoy has had a substantial impact on the growth and evolution of Pennsylvania's conservation districts.

One of the most important contributions VanNoy has made to the conservation district program was the development and management of the Conservation District Fund Allocation Program, which is used to cost share the employment of district managers and technicians and to fund administrative assistance to the districts.

First initiated in 1967, the program began with an allocation of $15,000 to help cost-share the employment of a few district executive officials.

While being managed by VanNoy, the program grew to $2.75 million. "When it started, we had no district managers and very little district staff," VanNoy said. "Now there's more than 400 people working in the conservation districts."

The conservation districts have gotten bigger and better, their locally led programs and services have expanded, and they have become firmly established in Pennsylvania. Most importantly though, VanNoy believes, "They're not just one more organization. They work well with people, and they get things done."

Those who have worked with VanNoy, like Bruce Holbrook of DEP, have found that VanNoy has shown the utmost dedication to the conservation districts throughout his career. "Having served as a district director in Bradford County, Dick brought a thorough understanding of the conservation district program with him," Holbrook said. "I think it was his background that gave him such strong dedication to the program."

Holbrook explained that in working with VanNoy for 28 years, "He has always been reliable and good to his word. He has earned a very high level of credibility throughout the state and has a sparkling reputation as a friend of the conservation districts."

In 1996, VanNoy, officially retired from the Department of Environmental Protection, however, he continues to work closely with the Pennsylvania Association of Conservation Districts, Inc., serving as a volunteer and as a Special Projects Coordinator for the association.

"I've spent 30 years trying to strengthen the districts. I firmly believe in the conservation district movement, and that's why I still like being here and being involved," VanNoy said.