Conservation District Celebrates 75 Years – Our Celebration Concludes…

By Christopher Miller

Farmland Preservation

Since 1998, Clinton County farmers have preserved over 2,800 acres of farmland. Starting in the county then, the purpose of the program is to protect viable agricultural lands by acquiring agricultural conservation easements which prevent the development or improvement of the land for any purpose other than agricultural production.
Pennsylvania leads the nation in Farmland Preservation. This state-wide program gives farmers an extra opportunity to be able to have their farms continue in farming in perpetuity. While the program not only preserves farmland, it is designed to offer the farmer financial incentives and security of land use.

“If someone wants to sign up for the program, we take applications every odd year,” explained retired District Manager Mary Ann Bower. “The farm is then ranked, and there is a number of different criteria to meet…but if you move up the ranked list of farms then you go through more of the process where the farm could end up being appraised, and an offer is made.”

Then, according to the Conservation District website, “through the voluntary selling of conservation easements, farmers are paid the difference between the agricultural value and the non-agricultural value of their land. This technique helps farmers who are feeling the pressures of development to sell what can be called, “development rights” and still continue to farm. If that is done, then the owner of the easement, the county and/or state, has the right and responsibility to say no to development.”

“This easement then stays with the farmland on the deed in perpetuity,” Bower further explained. “At the last count 29 farms and over 2,800 acres have been forever preserved in Clinton County.”

“A special kudos is in order to the State and County for continuing the program in Clinton County,” exclaimed Bower.

As there are no restrictions on what can or cannot be planted on the land after preserved, there must be some sort of agriculture production in process.

What cannot take place on the property after being declared preserved are any other businesses not related to agricultural production. For example, a barn can be built for animals or agricultural production, but not for rental use as an event space or wedding venue.

Educational Programs

The number and quality of educational programs available at the Conservation District is simply astounding.
“We are wrapping up the tree sale and distributing trees this week,” said Deputy District Manager Susie Peters. “The proceeds of this goes straight to the education programs here at the Conservation District.”

As far as educational programming goes, “in a normal year, we have a Conservation Summer Day Camp which is a week-long day camp for children in 4th, 5th, and 6th grades, 6th grade Conservation Field Days at the Clinton County Fairgrounds, and a Poster Contest for all children in all grades K-12 from the school district,” Peters explained.

The Envirothon is a big program that normally takes place yearly locally, and then at the state-level. It gives high school students the knowledge they will need as adults to make informed decisions about their environment and conservation of natural resources.

As well, the Conservation District administers Project WILD for the Association of Fish and WIldlife Agencies. This program is offered to Lock Haven University students studying to be educators, and helps to empower them to be able to teach environmental and ecological subjects in the classroom.

Lastly, another big program the Conservation District puts on is for school-aged children at the Clinton County Fairgrounds. “The Farm-City Festival is a 1-day event geared towards kids, where we bring urban families and the farming community together; a sort of farm-to-table event where they learn where their food comes from,” Peters explained.

As we wrap up the 75th anniversary celebration of the Clinton County Conservation District in The Record, congratulatory words were received Tuesday morning from State Representative Stephanie Borowicz’s office. Representative Borowicz’s remarks are below:

“Congratulations and best wishes to the Clinton County Conservation District for 75 years of effective community leadership and successful stewardship of our region’s abundance of natural resources,” said Rep. Stephanie Borowicz, who will be presenting the conservation district’s administrative team with an official PA House citation of recognition on Monday, May 10, at 1:00 p.m., at her Lock Haven district office.