Brad Cummings, Conservation Technician, BCCD
A pond can be an excellent addition to your property, offering many hours of fun and enjoyment for your family, friends and future generations, but it would be wise to do a little homework before committing the often-significant financial investment for construction.  An essential part of this “homework assignment” should be to contact one of our friendly District staff and request a site inspection to assess what level of permitting your project may or may not require.  We hope the following brief guide to new and existing pond permitting will be helpful.

Kevin Brown, Ag Team Leader, BCCD
​Canton High School of Bradford County places 4th at the 2024 Pennsylvania State Envirothon. The Pennsylvania Envirothon state competition was held as a “hybrid” competition. The Oral Component was held May 15-17. Teams submitted their presentations electronically and then answered questions from a panel of judges through a Zoom Meeting. The Station testing was held in-person at Camp Mount Luther on May 23rd, 2024. High school students from 63 Pennsylvania counties participated in this year’s event. At the Envirothon, five-member teams participated in a series of field station tests that focused on five topic areas – soils and land use, aquatic ecology, forestry, wildlife, and environmental issues. The 2024 current environmental issue focused on “Renewable Energy for a Sustainable Future”.

Kevin Brown, Ag Team Lead, BCCD
​Last week’s article was on noise pollution.  Even though it typically may not be thought of as “pollution”, it certainly can be.  We have become so accustomed to noise, that it just seems “normal” now.  However, take a stroll through a state or national park, or go find anywhere where you can get away from this, and you can really find a lot of inner peace just by sitting there and listening to nothing (or at least nothing except Mother Nature’s sounds).  There are actually people making money by taking you out into the wilderness, setting you on a rock, and telling you they will be back in 2 hours.  Sit there.  Soak it all in.  Stare at the ground.  Listen to the world around you.  (I admit, I published that article because I was pressed for time and didn’t have any real good subjects in mind, so I found that one and sent it on its way.  However, I did get a comment or two back so it resonated with some.)  

Ryan Reed- A Reprint from DCNR’s Forest Fridays

​“Of all the varieties of modern pollution, noise is the most insidious.” – Robert Lacey
 
There’s a saying that goes, “If it’s too loud, then you’re too old.”  You can count me in the “old” crowd, then, because I get much more satisfaction from moments of peace and quiet versus noisy events.  This observation leads me to ponder whether I’m the variable that has changed, or has society become louder?
 
One must not search long on the web to find a litany of subjects that not only bear evidence of a growing societal din, but myriad negative effects on humans and wildlife.  On any given day, it’s become difficult to ignore the seemingly ever-increasing, solitude-shattering noise, and much of it is intentional. 

Kevin Brown, Agricultural Resource Specialist, BCCD
What is one of the worst things you can do to your garden?  Till it.  Yes, that’s right, till it.  Tilling is just like throwing a nuclear bomb in there every year.  It is like a tornado coming through every year and destroying everything in its path.  Think about it.  You are grinding and pulverizing everything in the soil, including its inhabitants.  There are so many beneficial microorganisms in your soil doing so many wonderful things to your soil and your plants, and you come through with a rototiller and grind it all to dust.  They need homes and food and shelter and air space just like we do, and you just destroyed it.  After tilling, they start to rebuild their lives again and get back to doing productive things, and along comes your rototiller again, taking out all forms of life once again. 

Kevin Brown, Ag Resource Specialist, BCCD
Yes, I am one in the large masses of people who hate spiders.  I saw a movie as a youngster, called Tarantulas (I believe), and ever since then I have hated them with a passion.  They are ugly, creepy, and are always looking to bite you, right?  Wrong.  Well, they may be ugly (in the eye of the beholder), but they aren’t out just willy-nilly looking to lay one into you.  Like most animals, they don’t want to be any closer to you than you want to be to them.  Actually, if you do a bit of reading, spiders are very beneficial creatures.  In leading up to this article, I did some quick research and with the exception of the black widow, brown recluse and the yellow sac spider (phys.org article on “Spiders Are the Most Effective Predators”), all the rest are quite harmless.

Kevin Brown. Ag Resource Specialist, BCCD
I have probably written about this before, but I just see too much of it going on right now to not write about it again.  As I drive around the county and try to pay attention to what is going on out there on the landscape, I notice that there are a TON of people that have cattle that have them out there grazing their lands already.  Most, from what I can tell, have almost their entire pasture opened up to them.  If you don’t really understand pasture and hay growth, this may make sense to you.  It is growing slowly at this point, and there is so little of it, that you need to give them as much room to roam as you can for them to find enough to eat.  While that may seem to be common sense, it is exactly the opposite of what you should be doing.

Miranda Neville, Ag. Resource Specialist, BCCD
Breanna Ameigh, West Nile Virus Coordinator, BCCD
Last week, on April 4th, we hosted our second Women in Agriculture event at Alparon Park in Troy, PA. We had 60 fellow women in agriculture, along with some sweet, little future Women in Ag. We wanted to provide an opportunity for women in surrounding counties to come together, hear insightful speakers, network with other related businesses, and enjoy a day filled with knowledge, laughter and camaraderie. 

Cathy Yeakel, BCCD, District manager
​Spring is Right Around the Corner
Earth Day was first celebrated on April 22, 1970, as an environmental awareness day to educate people about pollution and its effects on the environment. Founded by a U.S. Senator from Wisconsin, Gaylord Nelson, Earth Day became a global movement to protect our environment. Since 1970, celebrations have changed from awareness lectures to outdoor events offering education on our natural resource issues and demonstrations.