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Front Page: Your Weekly News & Updates
Clean water farm award, a correction, poster contest, CPESC course, spotted lanternfly, soil health meetings, Dive Deeper summit, internship survey, NACD webinar, and soil survey data available.
Statewide Clean Water Farm Award Nominations Due April 30

The Clean Water Farm Award Program recognizes Pennsylvania farmers whose exemplary farm management practices result in improved local and downstream water quality. Pennsylvania's conservation districts may submit a nomination for a farm in their county. One award will be given in each of PACD's six regions.
 
Each district that submits a complete nomination will be entered into a drawing to win a $100 pizza party for their office! Deadline: April 30, 2018.
 
Award recipients receive a large Clean Water Farm Award sign to hang at their farm, a signed certificate, and an invitation to the PACD/SCC Awards Luncheon in July.

Financial support for this award is provided by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection through the Chesapeake Bay Regulatory and Accountability Program and the Pennsylvania Chesapeake Bay Education Office (administered by the Pennsylvania Association of Conservation Districts, Inc.).
 
Click here to read more. 
Correction to February 5, 2018 Article

In the Front Page article, "Manure Management Facilitator Training Concludes" from February 5, 2018, PACD neglected to include the participation of PA Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) staff.
Doug Goodlander, DEP Operations Division Chief, and Jill Whitcomb, DEP Environmental Group Manager, both presented and provided input at the manure management train-the-trainer workshops in January. 
 
Their input, participation, and perspective were a valuable addition to these workshops and PACD regrets the error.
 
Financial support for this project is provided by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection through the Chesapeake Bay Implementation Grant, the Clean Water Fund and the Chesapeake Bay Regulatory and Accountability Program (CBRAP).

Pennsylvania Posters Place Third in National Contest

PACD is pleased to announce that two Pennsylvania entries won third place in the National Association of Conservation Districts 2017 "Healthy Soils are Full of Life!" poster contest. Both posters were submitted by Delaware County Conservation District.
 
They are:
  • Kindergarten-First Grade: Elijah Ritter
    Click here to see the poster.
  • Second-Third Grade: Shreaya Ilayanambi
    Pictured here.
Congratulations to these two young artists!
 
Photo caption: Third place poster contest winner Shreaya Ilayanambi in the 2-3 grade category.
Crawford County Hosting CPESC Review Course

Crawford County Conservation District will be hosting a Certified Professional in Erosion and Sediment Control (CPESC) Review Course February 27 beginning at 8:30 am. The course will be held at the Penn State Extension office in Crawford County, 1099 Morgan Village Road, Suite A, Meadville, Pennsylvania 16335.
 
Conservation district staff can attend the course for $100 using a discount code. Email Crawford County Conservation District for the discount code at tracey@crawfordconservation.com.
 
If you intend to take the exam, you should apply to sit for the exam now. Visit EnviroCert's online portal to create an account and apply.
 
The deadline to register is February 17, 2018. Click here for more information.
Spotted Lanternfly Informational Session Planned

Submitted by Craig Bingman, Manager, Snyder County Conservation District 

Currently a quarantine is in place for 13 southeastern Pennsylvania counties to try to stop the movement of the Spotted Lanternfly (SLF). This pest is a native of China, and could work its way into the Snyder County area. The destructive insect feeds on a variety of plants including grapes, apples, peaches, ailanthus, willow, hops, and certain ornamental plants.
 
To those interested in learning more about the life cycle and possible invasion of the Spotted Lanternfly, the Snyder County Conservation District will be holding a mini-workshop on February 23 at the Shade Mt. Winery. Speakers from Penn State Extension and the PA Department of Agriculture will each present a program and will be available to answer any questions. Pesticide Applicator, ISA Certified Arborist, and SAF CFE Credits are being offered. The workshop will start at 9AM and is scheduled to end between 11:30 and noon.
 
Scheduled speakers are:
  • Anna Busch, Field and Forage Crops Educator - Penn State Extension
  • Sven-Erik Spichiger, Entomology Program Manager, Bureau of Plant Industry, PDA
Topics covered will be identification, biology, lifecycle, damage, economically important hosts in PA, what to do if you find a SLF, prevention, and management.
 
The two-hour session is free but please call or email to reserve seating since space may be limited. Call 570-837-3000 Ext 114 for more information or email cbingman@ptd.net .
 
Photo by Holly Raguza, Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture.
Northcentral PA Soil Health Meetings

Registration is open for the 4th Annual Northcentral PA soil health meetings. The two keynote speakers featured at each meeting are Ray Archuleta and Steve Groff. 
 
The meetings are being held:
Please click the links above for cost and registration information. Contact Lisa Blazure at LBlazure@ClintonCountyPA.com with questions.
 
Photo caption: Ray Archuleta is one of the speakers slated for the soil health meetings.
Dive Deeper - Youth Water Educators Summit Seeking Presenters 

Proposals are now being accepted for potential presenters and exhibitors at Penn State Extension's award winning Dive Deeper Summit to be held September 20, 2018 in Harrisburg, PA. Dive Deeper is a biennial event for anyone who teaches about water, whether in the classroom, on the lake shore, in the woods, or at the city playground.
 
Proposals for presentations can be made here.  All proposals are due by Wednesday, February 28, 2018. Questions? Contact Jennifer Fetter at jrf21@psu.edu.
Conservation Districts Invited to Participate in Penn State Internship Survey

The Penn State Agriculture and Environment Center is inviting all Pennsylvania agricultural conservation providers that offer student internships to fill out a survey about those opportunities. The survey will help provide information about internships to Penn State students enrolled in the College of Agricultural Sciences' new Agriculture Stewardship and Conservation Certificate Program.
 
The survey should only take five minutes to complete. Surveys should be completed by February 28, 2018, so information can be provided to students this spring semester. For more information about the Agriculture Stewardship and Conservation Certificate Program contact Dr. Robert Shannon, ERM Program Director by email at rds13@psu.edu.
NACD Urban & Community Webinar

The next NACD Urban and Community Conservation webinar is scheduled for Noon-1:00pm on February 15, 2018. The topic is The George Barley Water Prize.
 
Scotts Miracle-Gro will share its commitment to solving the problem of harmful algal blooms (HABs) that are driven by excess nutrients and affect fresh waterbodies in all 50 U.S. states. The webinar will focus on Scotts' sustainability commitments, partnerships with local groups around the country, and its sponsorship of the $10M George Barley Water Prize competition, a global race for a lasting solution to excess phosphorus in freshwater.
 
To register, email Debra Bogar at deb-bogar@nacdnet.org.
2018 Soil Survey Data Available for Download

2018 Soil Survey data are available for download via the Geospatial Data Gateway, a web-based digital map ordering and delivery system. The Direct Download page provides a link to the most frequently downloaded datasets without the need to place an order. The Direct Download page can also be accessed from the Geospatial Data Gateway home page.
 
Photo caption: Photo provided by USDA NRCS.
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Conservation Districts in the News 
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Upcoming Events

PACD South West Region Meeting
March 8, 2018
Westmoreland Conservation District, Greensburg, PA

March 12, 2018 (Snow Date: March 15, 2018)
Elaine Langone Center, 2nd Floor, Bucknell University, Lewisburg, PA  

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