Welcome to the

Bedford County Conservation District website.

 

 

Bedford County Conservation District

702 West Pitt Street, Suites 3 and 4

Bedford, PA 15522

telephone: 814-623-8099

fax: 814-623-0481

 

 

 

 

 

Additions and changes to our website are happening all the time. Recent changes will be listed below under Website News.

Website News

August 11 - added notice of waterways cleanup on September 18. See Other News below.

August 5 - added latest newsletter CLICK HERE

Conservation District News

NEW! - The Conservation District will sponsort a special collection for Household Hazardous Waste on September 18, 2010 from 8 AM to 12 Noon at the Bedford Fairgrounds. Click here for more information.

The Everett Wildfire team captured first place in the 2010 Bedford County Senior High Envirothon competition. The junior high event was won by the Roadkills team from the Bedford Middle School, while the Everett Eagles take first at the elementary competition that was swept by Everett teams. Click here for more.

Conservation District Board meetings are held at 7 PM on the first Wednesday of the month, at the Conservation District office.

Next Bedford County Conservation District Board meeting will be September 1, 2010.

The Pennsylvania Association of Conservation District Leadership Development Council website houses resources for director and staff training.

Other News

NEW! - REI, PA CleanWays of Bedford County, the Bobs Creek Stream Guardians and other participating groups are sponsoring a waterways cleanup on September 18. Areas to be targeted include the Raystown Branch, within Bedford Borough and portions of Bedford and Snake Spring Townships, and in the public lands, headwaters portion of Bobs Creek. Contact Jill at jlatuch@rei.com or 814-624-4427 for more information. CLICK HERE FOR FLYER

The Department of Agriculture began accepting applications for the first-come, first-served Resource Enhancement and Protection (REAP) Farm Conservation Tax Credits on August 2.
$4.5 million was appropriated for credits in the FY 2010-11 budget, down from $10 million in FY 2008-09.
Eligible applicants may receive between 50 percent and 75 percent of project costs as state tax credits for up to $150,000 per agricultural operation. The amount of tax credit available to a recipient is dependent on the type of BMP implemented.
Tax credits for 75 percent of eligible costs include the following: Nutrient Management Plan, Ag. E&S Plan and/or Conservation Plan development. BMPs for ACAs and barnyard runoff, stream bank fencing with 50 foot forested riparian buffers, and 50 foot forested riparian buffers.
Tax credits for 50 percent of eligible costs include: Any Commission approved BMP or equipment necessary to reduce existing sediment and nutrient concerns, such as: manure storage systems, alternative manure treatment practices, filter strips, grassed waterways, management intensive grazing systems and no till planting equipment. Stream bank fencing with 35 foot riparian buffers (grassed or forested).
For more information, visit the REAP webpage or contact Mary Bender at 717-787-8821 or send email to: mabender@state.pa.us.

May 18, 2010 - Emerald Ash Borer Found in Bedford County; Quarantine Expanded
Campers Again Urged Not to Haul Firewood from Place to Place - Click HERE for PA Department of Agriculture News Release

Bobs Creek is one of ten "Waters to Watch" across the US for 2010. Read about the brook trout habitat project by clicking HERE.

Drinking Water Testing and tests for other water uses can be obtained from private labs listed below or from Penn State Agriculture Analytical Services Drinking Water Testing Program (CLICK HERE) .

Fairview Laboratories P.O. Box 1925 2019 Ninth Avenue Altoona, PA 16603

Phone: (814) 946-4306 Fax: (814) 946-8791

Mountain Research, LLC Corporate Office and Laboratory 825 25th Street Altoona, PA 16601 

Phone: (814) 949-2034 Fax: (814) 949-9591