News & Notes September 2002

PACD to Conduct Fall Region Meetings

The Pennsylvania Association of Conservation Districts, Inc., will host its fall region meetings during the next three weeks. Meetings will be held between Sept. 11, 2002 and Oct. 1, 2002, (the Southcentral Region Meeting was held on Aug. 26, 2002). Please plan to attend to keep your county conservation district up to date with Association business.

The meetings will feature a presentation from the Leadership Development Committee - Building for Tomorrow, on the sample Operational Policies Catalog, which will be distributed to each county conservation district. Department of Environmental Protection Field Representatives will provide a presentation on the catalog, which provides examples of policies and procedures of conservation districts and other nonprofit and government entities.

A representative of the Natural Resources Conservation Service will be in attendance to provide an update on the implementation of the Farm Bill, and reports will also be provided by the PACD and State Conservation Commission.

Each meeting will contain several topic items specific to each region. Check the agenda for your region meeting. Agendas will be posted, along with driving directions, on the PACD website: www.pacd.org, as they become available.

September 11 - Northwest PACD Region Meeting
Location: Erie County Conservation District Office -
Headwaters Conservation Park, Erie, PA
Contact: Gerald Rafeew, 814-332-6410

September 12 - Southwest PACD Region Meeting
Location: Westmoreland County Conservation District Office -
Donohoe Center, Greensburg, PA
Contact: Charles Kubasik, 724-942-7253

September 13 - Central PACD Region Meeting
Location: Arena Restaurant, Bedford, PA
Contact: Bill Zett, 814-946-7307

September 24 - Northeast PACD Region Meeting
Location: DEP Northeast Regional Office, Wilkes-Barre
Contact: Karl Dymond, 570-826-2597

September 25 - Northcentral PACD Region Meeting
Location: Clinton County Conservation District Office, Mill Hall, PA
Contact: Robert Hollenbach, 570-327-3782
William Kahler, 570-327-3571

October 1 - Southeast PACD Region Meeting
Location: Family Heritage Restaurant, Franconia, PA
Contact: John Schueller, 610-916-0100

Executive Council Approves Bylaws/Policy Amendments,
Elects Officers

The Pennsylvania Association of Conservation Districts, Inc. (PACD) and the State Conservation Commission (SCC) hosted their 55th Joint Annual Conference, July 21 - 24, 2002, at the Harrisburg Hilton.

The conference included many break-out sessions and special events such as a Conservation Expo, the PACD Awards Luncheon, and a keynote address from Paul Swartz, Executive Director of the Susquehanna River Basin Commission, where Swartz addressed water quantity and water quality issues within the Susquehanna River Basin.
In addition, on Tuesday, July 23, the PACD Executive Council conducted its annual business meeting. Action items included the election of officers for 2002 - 2003, and the adoption of proposed amendments to the PACD Bylaws and PACD Policy.

The new additions to the Bylaws address the PACD regional structure, in particular, the election of region directors, the duties of region directors, and region meetings.

Approved additions to the PACD Policy Positions include: Funding Conservation Programs - which supports the concept of tipping fees for certain conservation district activities, support of the PEACCE Program, and support of the Forest Legacy Program. The PACD Bylaws and Policies, including the newly adopted amendments, can be accessed through the PACD website: www.pacd.org.

The Executive Council also approved the Association's balanced budget for fiscal year 2002 - 2003, totaling $3,379,241, and draft funding proposals to the Department of Environmental Protection and Department of Agriculture for fiscal year 2003 - 2004, as presented by PACD Executive Director Susan Fox.

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