POTTSVILLE -- The Schuylkill Conservation District, the county's guardian of natural resources, is celebrating its 70th anniversary this month.
Jenna St. Clair, district manager, announced the anniversary recently at the district's annual awards ceremony in the clubhouse at Sweet Arrow Lake Park.
"We've come a long way since the Schuylkill County Commissioners approved the petition creating the Schuylkill Conservation District on Sept. 15, 1955," she told 125 people in attendance.
As part of its celebration, the district unveiled a new logo featuring forests, streams and crops against a white background with the district's name.
The agency began as the Soil Conservation District after Dr. James S. Shadle presented a petition signed by farmers to the Schuylkill County Commissioners.
Shadle, Byron Breisch, Elmer Johnson and Samuel Dohner were its founding directors.
Conservation districts were a product of the federal government's response to the Dust Bowl crisis that hit western states in the 1930s.
In the west, wind caused soil erosion. In the east, water was its major cause.
With more than 1,200 miles of streams and rivers, the district had its work cut out for it in Schuylkill County.
In addition, iron oxide from abandoned mine drainage had polluted some streams.
The district staff worked hard to get grants to install treatment systems at abandoned mine drainage sites.
A system to treat acid mine drainage has been installed at the former Newkirk Tunnel near Tamaqua, where water drains into the Schuylkill River.
In December 2024, the district played a role in securing more than $400,000 for a mine reclamation project in Butler Twp.
In the 1960s, the district was instrumental in the development of the Hosensock Dam flood control project in Rush Twp.
With the Dr. James S. Shadle Conservation Farm of the Year Award, the district honors conservation projects in county farms.
Mar-K Farms in Washington Twp. was this year's recipient of the award.
The Eric Wolfe family has 200 milking cows and 200 heifers on the 790-acre farm, where hay, soybeans and other crops are raised using a no-till system.
"In the past seven years, the Wolfe family has implemented significant best management practices to reduce nutrients and sediment runoff," Patrick "Porcupine Pat" McKinney said in presenting the award. "Stream bank fencing, pasture improvements and cropland waterways have also been installed."
As its education coordinator, Porcupine Pat was the face of the conservation district for 34 years. Widely known for his environmental work with children, he advanced a credo of awareness, appreciation and action.
McKinney scaled back his hours to part-time last year.
Hannah "Hemlock Hannah" Kulbitsky has taken over the position full-time.
Other highlights in the district's history include the hiring of Martie Hetherington as coordinator of the Chesapeake Bay program and the development of the Dr. James S. Shadle Nature Area and Bear Creek Environmental Area at the Schuylkill County Fairgrounds.