Granville High School Team wins the 2009 Ohio Envirothon!

Granville High School Students Win 2009 Ohio Envirothon
Beavercreek High School team finishes second, Chardon High School places third

COLUMBUS, OH - A team of Granville High School students placed first in the 2009 Ohio Envirothon, held at Kenyon College in Knox County on June 7-9, according to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR). This year marked Ohio's 21st annual Envirothon competition.

Twenty teams from 18 Ohio high schools participated in this year's outdoor competition, which tested students' knowledge of soils and land use, forestry, wildlife, aquatic ecology and current environmental issues.

First prize was a check for $300 and registration as Ohio's representative to the North American Canon Envirothon, set for August 2-8 at the University of North Carolina in Asheville. There, students will compete for more than $107,000 in academic scholarships and prizes. Students from 53 states and provinces are expected to participate.

The Beavercreek High School team from Greene County finished second in the competition, taking home a check for $200. A team from Chardon High School in Geauga County placed third and received a check for $100. Each of the teams also received a plaque to display at their school.

ODNR's Division of Soil & Water Conservation and the Ohio Federation of Soil & Water Conservation Districts sponsor the annual event.

Each participating team earned the opportunity to compete at the state level by placing among the top four teams in five regional Envirothons that were held in April and May. In all, over 300 teams competed for a chance to attend the state event.

Competition questions were prepared by professionals from ODNR, USDA's Natural Resources Conservation Service, Kenyon College, Muskingum Valley Park District, Helser Woodland Management and the Columbus Zoo.

High scores in the individual contest components were:

Soils/Land Use - Granville High School
Aquatic Ecology - Chardon Team Red; Fort Jennings Team 1 (tie)
Wildlife - Mid-East Career Center
Current Environmental Issue - Beavercreek High School
Forestry - Granville High School; Chardon Team Red (tie)
Oral Presentation - Athens High School
United High School from Columbiana County was honored for scoring highest of all the participating "rookie" teams.

The Ohio Envirothon is funded by donations from individuals, soil and water conservation districts, local businesses, agencies and organizations. Donors for the 2009 Ohio Envirothon included American Electric Power, the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency's Environmental Education Fund, the ODNR Divisions of Wildlife and Forestry, Pheasants Forever, the Ohio Federation of Soil & Water Conservation Districts and Canon Envirothon.

OFSWCD sponsors awards at the 61st Annual Science Day

The 61st annual State Science Day was held on May 9, 2009 at the Ohio State University in Columbus. Over 1,000 7th - 12th grade science, technology, engineering, and mathematics students representing nearly 300 schools across Ohio exhibited their science research projects at the event which honors students with nearly 100 scholarships and awards valued at more than $2.5 million.

Among the many awards distributed at State Science Day was the Soil and Water Conservation Award sponsored by the Ohio Federation of Soil and Water Conservation Districts.

1st Place Award Winner - 10-12 grade level - "How Does Environmental Pollution Affect Daphnia's Heart Rate?" -Traven W. Towns

2nd Place Award Winner - 10-12 grade level - "Drought Effects on Macroinvertebrate Populations in Massie Run Creek" - Rowan L. Baird

1st Place Award Winner - 7-9 grade level - "Do Green Roofs Reduce Water Runoff and What Affect Do Green Roofs Have on Rooftop Temperature?" - Mary L. Murray

2nd Place Award Winner - 7-9 grade level - "The Effect of Water Run-off, Containing Insecticide, on Daphnia Populations" - Trevor C. Chopko

64th Annual Summer Supervisor School Registration is open!

Come aboard the SS SWCD as it helps you navigate through the current turbulent waters by "Harvesting the Winds of Change." We are excited to share with you some of the most special places in the "Firelands" of Ohio, an area rich in both natural and historic resources. Workshops are aimed to inspire, inform and delight, as well as help you cope with the realities that many SWCDs are facing.

The Lodge at Sawmill Creek Resort is the perfect setting for this event. The superior accommodations (affordable priced!) and meeting spaces offer a relaxed atmosphere for everyone. Set on the shores of Lake Erie, this resort has a myriad of activities and aminities on the ground, and there are world class attractions close by. The room rate is $95/night.

For more information visit http://www.ofswcd.org/. You can register now by clicking on the link below!

online event registration by RegOnline

2009 I.D.E.A. Institute at Hiram College

We’re excited to announce that registration for this year’s Conservation Education Workshop has officially opened. In response to many requests for a more “in-depth” environmental education experience, the format of this year’s workshop is different from previous summer workshops, allowing for a variety of experts and researchers to provide whole group sessions in the morning, and field studies, field trips, and other hands-on experiences in the afternoon.

The IDEA Institute will be held at beautiful Hiram College in Portage County. Most registrants will be staying at East Hall, which features suite-style living arrangements. In East Hall, six or eight individuals share an apartment-style suite. Each suite has a central living area including a kitchenette. Most of the dorm rooms are double occupancy, and some singles are available at an extra cost on a first come, first served basis. The dorms and meeting rooms are air conditioned. Information about Hiram College and directions are available at http://www.hiram.edu/visitors/.

Once again we were able to negotiate a great package price way below the normal lodging and meal costs. We are excited about this year’s sessions and field trips and hope that you’ll be as enthusiastic in registering for the workshop as we’ve been in planning it. Please feel free to share this announcement with friends and colleagues that may be interested.

Two semester hours of graduate credit from Hiram College will be available for approximately $175 per credit hour to those who attend all sessions and complete the required assignment (see College Credit details).

Online registration will be available beginning Monday, April 13. Just go to the following Web site: http://ofswcd.org/ and click on “IDEA Institute" or click the link below. NOTE THAT THE REGISTRATION DEADLINE IS JUNE 10. Registration is limited.
Don’t be disappointed – register early!

Questions may be directed to Jen at jen.dennison@dnr.state.oh.us or Jeanne at jeanne.russell@dnr.state.oh.us

We look forward to seeing you at the 2009 IDEA Institute on July 20-24!

online event registration by RegOnline

NACD CEO SELECTED FOR USDA ASSISTANT SECRETARY POST

NACD President Steve Robinson, a producer from Marysville, Ohio, today issued the following statement following President Barack Obama’s announcement of NACD Chief Executive Officer Krysta Harden as the Administration’s pick for USDA Assistant Secretary for Congressional Relations.

WASHINGTON, D.C.—April 2, 2009—“Last night President Barack Obama announced his intent to nominate NACD Chief Executive Officer Krysta Harden as USDA’s Assistant Secretary for Congressional Relations. On behalf of the National Association of Conservation Districts, I congratulate Krysta on this new opportunity. We are excited for Krysta and, once confirmed by the U.S. Senate, we have confidence she will serve with distinction in her new post.
“Krysta’s passion for conservation and public policy has served districts well over the last five years. The Association has grown in many ways under her leadership. She has placed a high priority on maintaining a credible, consistent reputation for conservation districts on Capitol Hill. She emphasized the need to provide necessary valuable resources to our members and the public alike. In all decisions, she took into account the effect on the land, local communities and landowners. Krysta understands the importance of locally-led conservation and has always sought input from the ground level.
“Krysta will lead NACD in the coming weeks until the U.S. Senate holds a confirmation hearing. We have confidence that she will continue to be a champion for conservation and her passion for conservation and sincere love for the land will guide her in her new role.”

Redoutey Family Awarded National Outstanding Logger of the Year Honors

You may remember this name....the company was highlighted in last year's annual report! Congratulations to Ohio's First Ever Recipient!

Redoutey Logging, a family logging business based in Scioto County, recently accepted the 2009 National Outstanding Logger of the Year award in recognition of excellence in environmentally-friendly harvesting practices, business operations, employee safety training and for their community contributions. The Redoutey's recognition is the first time an Ohio logger has ever been selected the National Outstanding Logger of the Year. The winner is selected from the nation's top loggers picked from several regions. The Redoutey family was named the Appalachian Regional Logger of the Year last fall, and before that, was named by the Ohio Forestry Association as Ohio's Outstanding Logger of the Year. The partners of Redoutey Logging include August, Ryan, and Reg Redoutey, and Aaron Daniel. "The Redoutey family are leaders in promoting safe working practices, innovative logging techniques and in assuring the highest environmental standards," said David Lytle, state forester and chief of the Ohio Division of Forestry. "We are proud to have worked with the Ohio Forestry Association in nominating Redoutey Logging for this award." John Dorka, executive director of the Ohio Forestry Association, commented, "Redoutey Logging is one of the most professional, up-to-date logging companies in the state. They have raised the bar for all of us over the years." In addition to the National Logger of the Year plaque the Redoutey Family received a $1,000 check from STIHL and one of the company's chain saws. August Redoutey started the company as a sole proprietorship in 1982 and won the "Game of Logging" national championship in 1993. August's two sons, Ryan and Reg, and cousin Aaron Daniel joined the business in the mid-1990s. Ryan became heavily involved in "Game of Logging" as well, serving on its national board of directors since 2003. Collectively, August and Ryan have taught chain saw safety techniques to hundreds of timber cutters in Ohio. Since the late 1990s, Redoutey Logging has specialized in "low impact logging," employing the correct piece of cut-to-length equipment with properly trained operators for the specific timber, terrain, and ground conditions. The Outstanding Logger program recognizes outstanding logging contractor performance; promotes competent, professional independent logging contractors in the forestry community; encourages other independent logging contractors to emulate the outstanding performance of the award winners; and improves forester-logger relations by publicly recognizing outstanding logging performance as an essential element of every planned timber harvest. The National Outstanding Logger of the Year is selected and awarded by the Forest Resources Association. The Forest Resources Association Inc. is a nonprofit trade association concerned with the safe, efficient, and sustainable harvest of forest products and their transport from woods to mill. FRA represents wood consumers, independent logging contractors, and wood dealers, as well as businesses providing products and services to the forest resource-based industries. The Ohio Department of Natural Resources ensures a balance between wise use and protection of our natural resources for the benefit of all. Visit the ODNR web site at www.ohiodnr.com.

Chad Pregracke Motivates NACD Luncheon and Ohio Attendees

If you didn't attend the NACD Annual Meeting, you missed an AWESOME speaker, Chad Pregracke, founder of Living Lands & Waters. His charasmatic personality won the crowd and gave us all motivation to increase local involvement in our conservation causes. I have attached his biography...hopefully, we will see him at one of our events? :-)

Chad Pregracke founded Living Lands & Waters 1998, a not-for-profit environmental organization based in East Moline, Illinois whose mission is to aid in the protection, preservation, and restoration of the natural environment of the nation’s major rivers and their watersheds. Tens of thousands of volunteers have worked on Living Lands and Waters’ fleet of barges, and workboats, performing Community-based River Cleanups, Riverbottom Restoration Projects, Adopt-a-River Mile Program, and Big River Educational Workshops.
Pregracke has received numerous awards for his work, including the Jefferson Award for Public Service presented to him in June of 2002 in the United States Supreme Court in Washington, DC. In August of 2002, Chad was invited by the Coca-Cola Company to attend the World Summit on Sustainable Environments in Johannesburg, South Africa, where he met and shared information about his river cleanup projects with people from all over the world.
Pregracke’s work has been filmed by many of the major networks such as CNN, Today Show, CBS Sunday Morning Show, NBC Nightly News, MTV, and PBS, as well as featured in many print publications including Time, People Magazine, Readers’ Digest, Life, Outside, Smithsonian and National Geographic.

Trumbull SWCD Recieves Two Awards for District Excellence at the NACD Annual Meeting in New Orleans

The National Association of Conservation Districts (NACD) has awarded the Trumbull SWCD with two awards for “District Excellence” as a result of the district’s efforts to address the diverse needs of their constituency and community, as well as conservation resources. The District received awards for “Communications” and “Member Services.” The district has been highly successful in sharing the conservation message through a number of different programs and partnerships.
Congratulations to the Trumbull SWCD Supervisors and Staff for an “excellent job!”
Keep the awards coming!
Pictured with Trumbull SWCD staff and supervisors is Sean Logan, Director of Ohio Department of Natural Resources.

Excellence in Conservation Equipment and Technology Use

Huron SWCD wins the NACD Excellence in Conservation Equipment and Technology Use Award at the NACD Annual Meeting in New Orleans!

Huron County SWCD assists their community in establishing good conservation practices by making the necessary equipment available for rent—equipment that may be difficult for average landowners to own themselves. While the initial investment is substantial, the district acquires the equipment without any local, state or federal tax dollars by utilizing the state’s purchasing program, which translates to a 25 percent discount. At modest rental prices, landowners are able to implement good conservation practices and the district makes an impact on the community. The goal of such rentals has been to reinvest any modest profit back into the equipment and into the community. Some equipment rentals do not make a profit but are made available as a special service to the community.

NACD Annual Meeting in New Orleans

The National Association of Conservation Districts installed a new slate of officers at the Appreciation Banquet of the 2009 NACD Annual Meeting in New Orleans, Louisiana. Leading the association over the next two years will be (l-r) President Steve Robinson from Marysville, Ohio; First Vice President Gene Schmidt from Hanna, Indiana; Second Vice President Earl Garber from Basile, Louisiana and Secretary/Treasurer Jack Majeres from Dell Rapids, South Dakota. Conservation district leaders from across the country joined together for four days of networking, learning and fun at the 2009 conference.

The OFSWCD Officers, Staff, and serveral districts attended the event. To see more pictures visit http://www.ofswcd.org/2009_nacd_annual_meeting_in_new.htm

66th OFSWCD Annual Meeting

The OFSWCD 66th Annual Meeting took place on January 20-21st at the Columbus Renaissance Hotel. Nearly 550 Board Supervisors and staff members representing Ohio’s 88 county Soil and Water Conservation Districts, conservation friends, partners, businesses and associations participated in the event which focused on the accomplishments and opportunities that today’s conservation programs and practices bring to Ohio’s economy, energy development, agricultural industry, education system, & both natural resources and environmental stewardship.

This year’s annual meeting offered added emphasis on the “Office of the President” by celebrating the Inauguration activities of President Barack Obama – including a “lunch with the President” that included the official swearing in of President Obama while we dined with our friends and colleagues, the passing of the gavel to the OFSWCD’s next President - Lawrence Burdell of Gallia SWCD, and the National Association of Conservation Districts’ upcoming February meeting where Ohio’s own Steve Robinson of Union SWCD will become NACD’s President.

Over this past year, change has been a key word in our vocabulary. So we joined the movement and made a number of changes from our traditional meeting. We moved away from our traditional legislative breakfast to focus on building relationships at the Statehouse with legislators and aides. We added a “Partnership Luncheon” to highlight the value of our many partnerships, included a multitude of new guests and event sponsors, and was privileged to have Executive Director Larry Long of the County Commissioners Association of Ohio as our guest speaker. And to top it off, we incorporated a legislative reception during the evening.

We enjoyed great success – fantastic workshops and guest speakers, the swearing in of our new members by Supreme Court Justice O’Connor, a number of districts had the privilege of an impromptu meeting with Governor Strickland in the Statehouse hallway, some exciting visits at the Statehouse with our legislators and aides, Statehouse tours, and an evening reception that included a good turnout of House and Senate members, staff, and a surprised visit from Attorney General Richard Cordray!

We appreciate all our participants and supporters of this very successful event. Times are tough – but we have something great to offer. See more pictures online at www.ofswcd.org

Joe Glassmeyer elected Secretary/Treasurer of OFSWCD

The OFSWCD held its 66th Annual Meeting January 19-22, 2009. During the Delegate and Resolution Session, Joe Glassmeyer, Clermont SWCD Supervisor and Area Chairman, was elected as the new Secretary/Treasurer.

Joe Glassmeyer with a BS in Biology from Xavier University is the owner-operator of the Glassmeyer Family Farms. The original family dairy operation began in 1954 and Joe took over operation of the farm in 1974. The farm is a true family operation. Joe and his wife Rosalie (Peachie) have three adult children. Joe III is a financial investment advisor, Susan is a PhD in environmental chemistry and Sarah is a law librarian. They all contribute their expertise and offer advice.

The farm encompasses over 500 acres of corn, soybeans, hay and pastures for Polled Hereford cattle and Shetland ponies. Joe uses reduced and minimum tillage, responsible use of herbicides and pesticides and crop rotation on his farm. In addition to his responsibilities on the farm, Joe is in his 25th year as a school bus driver for Felicity Franklin School District and Grant Career Center.

Joe became a board member with the Clermont SWCD in 1986 and had held all positions on the district board. Clermont County, in Southwest Ohio, is nestled in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains and bordered by Cincinnati on the west, rural Brown County on the east, rapidly growing Warren County to the north and grounded by the Ohio River. The county’s diverse city/country communities present a challenge to the district. At the 2006 Annual Meeting, Joe was named recipient of the 2005 Conservation District Board Member of the year for the State Of Ohio and presented with an award for 20 years of dedicated service in the conservation field.
Joe was elected as a Director in 1999 and joined the Executive Board in 2003 as Area IV Chair. In his 22 years of experience with the OFSWCD, he has been a supervisor, an Area IV Director and is currently Area Chairman and Executive board member of the Ohio Federation of Conservation Districts and Chairman of the Federation’s Urban Committee. He has been with the current officer team at various meetings and understands the challenges facing the Federation. On eight separate occasions, he has served as an Ohio Federation delegate to Washington DC Legislative Conferences and worked with Congress for improved conservation programs and funding in both Ohio and across the US. Joe has attended 10 NACD North Central regional conferences over the years and last year’s NACD legislative conference. This year Joe traveled to 18 annual meetings and four Area meetings in Ohio to learn about the districts concerns and to celebrate their accomplishments. Locally Joe has served as Clermont’s representative to the Ohio, Kentucky, and Indiana Regional Council of Governments-Regional Conservation Council (OKI-RCC) for many years, serving as Chair and Treasurer of the organization.

Hocking SWCD

The Hocking SWCD just shared some exciting news with us..... On December 12, 2008, the Bishop Educational Gardens was officially turned over to the Hocking Soil & Water Conservation District providing anew land lab to be used for educational purposes. The donation of this property to the District is courtesy of Bobbi Bishop and her latehusband Bruce Bishop. As retired school teachers it was their dreamthat their property would serve as an educational tool for the community. Bishop Educational Gardens is the home of Lilyfest which isheld every year the second weekend in July. The gardens are cultivated and maintained by local residents and provide a beautiful botanical backdrop to the newly acquired education center. How will thisbenefit Hocking County residents? Hocking SWCD will be able to use the property to plan programs for adults and youth alike. Also, Teachers can afford to plan field trips that take less gas, less money, and still provide quality state standard experiences that are hands on and fun.

To schedule a field trip to Bishop Educational Gardens, contact Rebecca Miller, Hocking SWCD Education Specialist @ 740-358-3016

Rebecca Miller, Hocking SWCDEducation Specialist