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Front Page: Your Weekly News & Updates
CPESC Review course, JAC sponsor, news from Columbia, Franklin, Lehigh, and Snyder Conservation Districts, and news from USDA NRCS. 

Time is Running Out for Joint Annual Conference Early-birds
  
 
The early-bird discount for the PACD/SCC Joint Annual Conference expires this Friday, June 16. That's only five more days to take advantage of the $10 early-bird discount! The conference will take place July 12-13 at the Red Lion Hotel in Harrisburg, PA. Click here to register and find out more.

CPESC Review Course - Harrisburg, PA 
 
The Pennsylvania Association of Conservation Districts (PACD) is sponsoring a Certified Professional in Erosion and Sediment Control (CPESC) Review Course on September 26, 2017 at the Red Lion Hotel Harrisburg Hershey, Harrisburg, PA.
 
The CPESC certification is a professional designation for erosion and sedimentation technicians, engineers, and other specialists involved in design, construction, inspection or other aspects of erosion and sedimentation control. If you have not yet started the CPESC certification process, we recommend you go to the Envirocert International, Inc. website and review the requirements and process now.
 
The review course is designed to ensure CPESC applicants understand what concepts will be covered by the exam and acts as a review for most of those concepts. See the flier for more information on the review course and a link to information on the complete certification and exam process. Note that there is special pricing for PA conservation district staff. Before registering, contact Terry Fisher at tfisher@pacd.org for a district staff discount code or with any questions. 

Meet Joint Annual Conference Sponsor BEG Group LLC
 
BEG Group LLC has been working on its patent-pending registered-trade-named Big Switch™ Erosion/Filtration Medium since April 2015 with great results. To date, Big Switch™ has acquired USDA 100% Biobased Certification and statewide approval from the PA Department of Environmental Protection and the PA Department of Transportation, with involvement from many other government and private sectors.

BEG Group has developed a product that has great sustainability to the environment. Big Switch™ is an erosion and sediment control sock that improves the runoff water that filters through it. This product is the best erosion and sediment product for sustaining our world for years to come.

Two advantages Big Switch™ has over traditional sediment control tools:
* installation doesn't require trenching or disturbing the surface
* doesn't contribute additional tannic acids, heavy metals or volatile organic compounds, including arsenic

Susan May of Infrastructure Solutions Group - Environmental Protection says, "We give congratulations on BEG Group's Big Switch™ Bio Preferred Erosion/Filtration Medium for winning a 2017 Environmental Protection New Product of the Year award."

The Environmental Protection New Product of the Year Award honors the outstanding achievements of industry manufacturers whose products are considered particularly noteworthy for making environmental professionals' jobs a little easier.

Please contact BEG Group at 760.680.0343 today! Or visit them on the web at: www.thefacilitators.net.
Columbia County Conservation District Says Don't Flush Meds

Columbia County Conservation District led an outreach campaign to promote local take-back centers for unused medications. The campaign reached, the specific target audience of those over 50, who are more likely to be in possession of unused medications in the home, as well as the general public. The campaign included making two large signs at local parks (pictured), informational fliers, posters for pharmacies, and radio public service announcements.
 
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Financial and other support for this project is provided by the Pennsylvania Association of Conservation Districts, Inc. through a grant from the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection under Section 319 of the Clean Water Act, administered by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
 
Franklin County Conservation District Turns First Grade Field Trip 
Into a Full-Day Event

The fourth annual Franklin County Conservation District's First Grade Field Trip saw a big change this year-it went from a half-day event for the students to an all-day event! The conservation district worked with the Chambersburg Area School District to make this field trip a full-day event in response to feedback from teachers. Once again, the event was held at Caledonia State Park over the course of four days, with approximately 700 first graders (from 31 classes across 13 different elementary schools) and 100 adults (teachers and parent chaperones) in attendance.
 
Photo caption: Over 700 students attended the first grade field trip. Photo provided by Franklin County Conservation District.
 
Lehigh County Conservation District Holds Poster Contest

In mid-May, the Lehigh County Conservation District (LCCD) was pleasantly surprised to receive more than 150 poster submissions related to this year's Conservation District Poster theme: "Healthy Soils are Full of Life". These many works of art, some depicting curvy worms spelling out "SOIL" and magnified microbes extolling merits of healthy soil, are evidence that conservation and creativity is alive and well-understood among art and science students in the Lehigh Valley!
 
Photo caption: The Lehigh County Conservation District's "Healthy Soils Are Full of Life" Middle School Poster Contest First Place Winner was Kiran Kadewari of Springhouse Middle School.
 
Agroforestry Workshop 

Woodland value is not always measured by the quality of timber. There are untapped treasures in the forest that can bring forest landowners some additional income. On June 16, the PA Bureau of Forestry, Community Partnerships RC&D, and the Snyder County Conservation District will be hosting an Agroforestry Workshop from 9AM-3PM at the Shade Mountain Winery near Middleburg. A $5.00 fee will include lunch and handouts.
 
There will be information presented on marketing non-timber products, medicinal plants, edible plants and mushrooms, maple syrup, ginseng, multi-function buffer plantings, and charcoal making, among other topics. Please reserve by June 12. For more information, or to register, please contact the conservation district at 570.837.3000 Ext 110 or email sccd@ptd.net .
NRCS/District Staff Attend New Equine Train-the-Trainer Course

A new Equine Environmental Education Training course was recently held in Bloomsburg for USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (USDA NRCS) and conservation district staff. This first-time, two-day, train-the-trainer course was aimed at developing staff trainers who, in turn, can help Penn State Extension conduct outreach and training to both equine landowners and agency staff in the Eastern part of PA.
 
The course was a pilot effort designed through the Equine Environmental Stewardship Program, a joint initiative between Penn State Extension and USDA NRCS, with the support of several partners: Delaware Valley University, Pennsylvania Association of Conservation Districts, Pennsylvania Grazing Lands Coalition, and the State Conservation Commission. The ultimate goal of the Equine Environmental Stewardship Program is to deliver a consistent message on pasture management for horses and consistent technical assistance to equine operators through the state.
 
The program covers existing courses, such as the Penn State Equine Environmental Stewardship Short Course (EES), and builds new products, such as workshops, field days, and this Equine Environmental Education Training course. 
 
Following this training, the Equine Environmental Stewardship Program will review the pilot effort, evaluate all training modules, and then conduct a training session in the western part of PA.
NRCS Provides Emergency Watershed Protection (EWP) Program Assistance in Bradford County 

A large storm event on October 21, 2016, resulted in 6-8 inches of rain in less than four hours and caused severe flash flooding. The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania declared a Proclamation of Disaster Emergency for the region impacted by the storm, which included Bradford County, Pennsylvania. Bradford County is located within the Endless Mountain Region and the landscape is comprised of deeply entrenched streams and very steep mountains. With this type of landscape, a storm event with large amounts of rain during a short time causes severe bank erosion, often resulting in damage to homes and/or businesses or creating an imminent danger to those sites.
 
The October 2016 storm caused imminent danger to two adjoining properties in Bradford County, PA, in North Towanda Township along an unnamed tributary to the Susquehanna River. The two properties had severe stream bank erosion with up to 10 feet of stream bank lost from the storm. 
 
The USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) and representatives from the PA Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) and the Bradford County Conservation District (BCCD) partnered together in order to provide assistance to protect the properties against future storm events. Funding was awarded through the Emergency Watershed Protraction Program, which provided 75 percent cost share funds. The local sponsor, Bradford County Conservation District, was provided 25 percent of those funds through an agreement with DEP. 
 
The site required placement of R-8 rip rap (special stones) to stabilize 375 feet of streambank along with the removal of gravel deposition and several trees that had fallen down blocking the stream channel.
 
Photo caption: Before and after photos of the project. Photo provided by NRCS.
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Conservation Districts in the News 
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Upcoming Events

July 12-13, 2017
Red Lion Hotel Harrisburg Hershey, Harrisburg, PA

September 26, 2017
Red Lion Hotel Harrisburg Hershey, Harrisburg, PA
 

PA Association of Conservation Districts | 717.238.7223 | pacd@pacd.org | www.pacd.org
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