Conservation District

The 34th Greene County Envirothon competition was held at Hunting Hills on Wednesday, April 27th.  Seventy high school students from Greene County’s five school districts competed in this year’s event.

At the Envirothon, five-member teams participate in a series of field station tests that focus on five topic areas – soils and land use, forestry, wildlife, aquatic ecology, and environmental issues.  The theme for the 2022 event was “Waste to Resources.”

Carmichaels Team # 1 won this year’s competition with a score of 448 points out of a possible 520.  Team members Brooke Watters, Spencer Conard, Faith Willis, Sophia Zalar, and Alex Lawrence, with team advisor Kevin Willis will represent Greene County at the PA Envirothon.  The 2022 PA Envirothon will be held at Camp Mt. Luther, Mifflinburg, PA on May 25th.   

Second Place was Carmichaels Team # 2 who earned 351 points and consisted of Ava Smith, Gavin Husentis, Levi Krampy, Robbie Wilson-Jones and Ali Jacobs and advisor Kevin Willis.

The third-place team was Mapletown High School Team # 2 who earned 290 points, which included Grant Murin, Hannah Knutsen, Zack Rockwell, Emma Nine, Elizabeth Ryan, and advisor Amber Burkett.  

The Greene County Envirothon is organized each year by the Greene County Conservation District and is funded through donations and grants from various businesses, agencies, and individuals.  Thank you to the following that improved our competition – EQT Corporation, Black Diamond Equipment Rental, Sheetz, Inc., Greene Team Pellet Fuel Company, LLC, Hunting Hills, Bankson Engineers, First Federal of Greene County and Pennsylvania Envirothon. 

Each student on the first-place team secured a $500 college scholarship funded by donations from donors and the Greene County Conservation District.

In addition to the continued financial support of sponsors, other partners that made the event successful include Greene County Commissioners Mike Belding, Betsy McClure, and Blair Zimmerman; Phil Evans and Kimberly Moninger, U.S.D.A. NRCS; Russell Gibbs and Michael Doucette, PA Department of Conservation and Natural Resources Bureau of Forestry; Brian Guenin, PA Fish and Boat Commission, Brandon Bonin and Tanner Hazlett, PA Game Commission and volunteers from Sheetz, Inc.  The Conservation District would sincerely like to thank Roy, Sally and Raz Sisler for the use of their facility at Hunting Hills for the day.  

For more information on the Greene County Envirothon, call the Greene County Conservation District at 724-852-5278.


Kevin Willis, Advisor; Alex Lawrence; Spencer Conard, Sophia Zalar, Faith Willis, Brooks Watters James A. Cowell, GCCD; Charity Fleenor, EQT Corporation; Klorissa Williams and Derek Kurdilla; Sheetz, Inc. 


Kevin Willis, Advisor; Ava Smith, Levi Krampy, Gavin Husentis, Levi Krampy, Robbie Wilson-Jones and Ali Jacobs, James A. Cowell, GCCD; Charity Fleenor, EQT Corporation; Klorissa Williams and Derek Kurdilla; Sheetz, Inc.


Amber Burkett, Advisor; Grant Murin, Hannah Knutsen, Zack Rockwell, Emma Nine, James A. Cowell, GCCD; Elizabeth Ryan, Charity Fleenor, EQT Corporation; Klorissa Williams and Derek Kurdilla; Sheetz, Inc. 

You are invited to a Blessing of the Balers on Sunday, May 1st, 2022 at 2:00PM. Similar to a Blessing of the Bikes, the non-denominational event will invoke blessings over your hay season and your entire farm. The Blessing of the Balers will take place at Camp Cornerstone located at 381 Willis Road, Jefferson, PA 15344. Text or call 724-998-4946 for more information.

Instead of bringing your baler, you are invited to bring your hitch pin to represent your equipment.
 

The Greene County Farmland Preservation Board is now accepting applications until June 1, 2022 from qualifying landowners for the agricultural conservation easement program.

• Are you wanting to improve your farm?
• Are you looking to ensure your property is farmed for future generations?
• Have you have thought about enrolling in Farmland Preservation and selling an easement for help with projects on your farm as well as ensuring future farming?

The agricultural conservation easement can permanently protect a family’s farmland from being lost to future non-agricultural development. It may be used as an estate planning tool to help landowners successfully pass farms on to the next generation. Or landowners may receive cash for some of the equity tied up in their land for expansion or improving farm operation, debt repayment or retirement while retaining ownership of their land.

The easement is an interest in land, which represents the right to prevent development or improvement of a parcel for any purpose other than agricultural production. The easement may be granted by a farmland owner to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, a county agricultural land preservation program, a local government unit or a local land trust. Easements may be sold or donated with the restrictions recorded in the recorder of deeds office in the county where the easement is located.

Check out the Farmland Preservation Section below for more information.
Click here for an application

Our Agricultural Programs are a very important part of the Greene County Conservation District and our farmland communities. We offer various programs to assist farmers, landowners, and others interested in agricultural programs throughout Greene County. Descriptions of the programs that we offer are listed below.

The Easement purchase program was developed in 1988 to help slow the loss of prime farmland to non-agricultural uses. The program enables state, county, and local governments to purchase conservation easements, sometimes called development rights, from owners of quality farmland.

The Erosion & Sediment Control Program is delegated to the Conservation District by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP). The Program helps landowners conducting earth disturbance and/or stream encroachment activities remain in compliance with Pennsylvania Clean Stream Laws by developing, implementing, and maintaining Best Management Practices (BMP) that minimize the potential for accelerated erosion and sedimentation during construction as well as managing post construction storm water.

Conservation District Permit Fee Schedule and Policy
Conservation District Project Review Application
 

Dirt and gravel roads are important links in Pennsylvania's overall transportation network. Covering more than 27,000 miles throughout the commonwealth, dirt and gravel roads provide vital access for Pennsylvania's major industries — agriculture, mining, forestry, and tourism - while weaving the fabric of rural community life for over 3.6 million residents. Local municipalities and state agencies — with jurisdiction over more than 90% of the state's dirt and gravel roads — can ill afford to pave dirt roads and then adequately maintain them. Dirt and gravel roads programs assist with road repairs and pollution problems in environmentally safe ways.

Penn State Center for Dirt and Gravel Road Studies
Greene County's dirt, gravel and Low-volume roads program

The Watershed Management & Education Program exists to help landowners make wise decisions that protect and improve water quality in Greene County. This is accomplished through activities that increase awareness of water quality issues, promote practices that protect these resources and through technical and/or financial assistance in implementing such practices.

The Greene County Conservation District was formed and declared a District by the Greene County Board of Commissioners on July 18, 1956, in accordance with the "Soil Conservation Law" of 1945, Act 217, of the Pennsylvania General Assembly, and began operations on Sept. 16, 1956. The district was organized at the request of county citizens to provide for the conservation of soil and water, flood protection, preservation of woodland and wildlife, protection of public lands, preservation of the tax base and the protection and promotion of the health, safety and general welfare of the people.