Penn Soil RC&D Council

What is Penn Soil RC&D? Penn Soil Resource Conservation & Development (RC&D) Council is a registered 501(C)(3) Not-for-profit organization serving the residents of eight northwestern Pennsylvania counties. The mission of this organization is to provide the local leadership necessary to develop and implement a plan that will improve the economy, environmental and social well-being of the people through accelerated planning and development of the natural resources in the project area consisting of Clarion, Crawford, Erie, Forest, Lawrence, Mercer, Venango and Warren Counties. More About Us.. Penn Soil RC&D has completed the process of updating and revising our 5 year Strategic Area Plan. We are very much interested in soliciting public input to identify issues and opportunities for improvement within our region. To view a copy of our Area Plan, click here. (opens a 157 KB PDF document in a new window). If you wish to provide comments on our Area Plan Update, click the Contact us link at the top of this page for an email link to the RC&D Officers and staff.

Aerial image of Kinzua Dam and Allegheny Reservoir

Future Site of Big Bend Viewing Area

And Nature Trail

(See Link Below for More Details)

Current Penn Soil RC&D Council Projects:

	Hatch Run Conservation Education Center, Warren County (adopted 5/02)
	Headwaters Conservation Park, Erie County (adopted 1996)
	West Park Environmental Center, Lawrence County (adopted 1996)
	State Wide Dry Hydrant Program (adopted 2003)
	Northwest Grazing Initiative-Project Grass (adopted 5/01)
	Northwest Project Grass Pasture Improvement IIII (adopted 5/06)
	CREP-Weed Control/Wildlife Habitat Project (adopted 11/06)
	River Rd. Critical Area Treatment (adopted 8/05)
	Warren County Trout in the Classroom Pilot Project (adopted 5/07)
	Northwest Project Grass Solar Energy Pump Initiative (adopted 11/07)
	Big Bend Bird Viewing Area & Nature Trail (adopted 11/06)
	TVSC Trail Equipment Proposal (adopted 8/05)
	Allegheny GeoTrail (adopted 2/06)
	Dry Hydrant Program, Multi-county (adopted 1992 – yearly program)
	Clarion River Basin, Clarion County (adopted 1991)
	Penn Central Right-of-Way, Multi-county (adopted 1991)
	The Hunting and Fishing Museum of Pennsylvania, Forest County Architectural & Eng. Design (adopted 1995)
	State Wide Dry Hydrant Program (adopted 2003)
	Tionesta Visitors Center Phase III (Forest County Action Plan)
	Trail Engineering - 4 Mile Bike Trail Connection (adopted 8/05)
	Tri-State Conservation Tillage Conference, Multi-county (adopted 1997–yearly program)
	Value added Dairy Processing (adopted 5/03)
	BioDiesel Demonstration Project (adopted 5/04)
	Jackson Run Storm Water Project (adopted 5/05)
	Tionesta Flood Control Research Project (adopted 5/05)
	Allegheny Wild & Scenic River Complex (Phase II)
	I-80 & Rt. 19 Sewage Treatment Plan (adopted 5/06)
	Canadohta Lake Dam Repair (adopted 8/06)
	Youngsville Bike/Hike Trail (adopted 5/07)
	Ernst Biomass Project (adopted 5/07)
	NW PA Local Foods Transportation Co-op (adopted 5/07)
	Alternative Energy Solutions for Clarion-Limestone Schools (adopted 5/07)
	Trout in the Classroom (adopted 5/07)
	Beaver River Boat Access (adopted 11/07)
	Alaron Site Naturalization & Reclamation (adopted 11/07)
	Chapman State Park Winterfest (adopted 4/2008)
	Geo-Woodstock VIII (adopted 8/08)
	Neilltown Church Building Rehabilitation (adopted 11/08)
	Wildcatters & Oil Barons Book (adopted 11/08)
	Barkeyville Community Park (adopted 2000)
	Lower French Creek Greenway Feasibility Study (adopted 11/01)
	Oil Heritage Bike Trail (adopted 8/01)
	Beaver Creek, Clarion County (adopted 1980)
	Cooperative Inmate Program, Multi-county
	French Creek, Multi-county (adopted 1995)
	Munnell Run Farm Creamery & Commercial Kitchen Incubator (adopted 5/05)

Penn Soil RC&D Events

May 18, 2009 Penn Soil RC&D Quarterly Council Meeting to be held at 10:00 AM at the newly renovated Tionesta Visitors Center at the Intersection of State Rt. 36 and U.S. Route 62 in Tionesta, PA

Penn Soil RC&D to Hold Farmstead Cheese Making Course September 7-9, 2009 in Mercer, PA -

Penn Soil RC&D announced that it is in the process of completing arrangements and will soon begin accepting paid registrations for the first scheduled three day cheese making classes this year in Mercer, PA. The September course is designed for beginning and intermediate cheese makers and will be held September 7-9 in Mercer, PA. Melanie Dietrich Cochran, a well known Cheese maker from southeastern PA, will teach participants about the milk quality, ingredients used in cheese making, processes for making a variety of cheeses, techniques and requirements for aging cheese, and how to establish a business as a farmstead or artisan cheese maker. This is a “hands-on” class, which will provide participants an opportunity to make several kinds of cheese. The second day of the course will be held at Pasture Maid Creamery where participants will turn 1400 pounds of fresh milk into cheese to gain the experience of working in an actual farmstead creamery. In addition to making several different small batches of a variety of cheeses, Melanie will also present short lectures to provide an understanding of basic milk and cheese chemistry, the art of aging cheese (affinage), and how to design and operate a cheese making business. Class space is limited to 15 people. Call 814-226-8160 ext. 192 for more information. To register for this course click on registration form here or call 814-226-8160, ext 192. Click here to download registration form.

In prior years students from six states and Canada have completed the Penn Soil Cheese making courses. Participants make several different kinds of cheese from start to finish and get to enjoy the results of their efforts. The course is very successful and usually sells out quickly.

"Make $omething More from Your Milk" Educational Video Series
An educational video series designed to help those interested in learning more about value-added dairy processing. Series is available for purchase in VHS and DVD formats from Penn Soil RC&D.
Brochure with descriptive, price and ordering information - an Adobe Acrobat PDF document (file size 275K)

Penn Soil RC&D Creates Susan McCorkle Memorial Scholarship Fund

On November 15, 2006, The board of directors for the Penn Soil Resource Conservation and Development (RC&D) Council officially established The Susan McCorkle Memorial Scholarship Fund. The purpose of the fund is to assist Penn Soil RC&D Area residents in pursuing value added education and training to make small farms more economically viable. During 2007-2008, There were nine scholarships awarded.

For more information about Susan McCorkle, the eligibility guidelines for a scholarship, or to learn how to make a charitable donation to the Susan McCorkle Memorial Scholarship Fund please contact the RC&D Office. Click this link to download the Susan McCorkle Memorial Scholarship brochure (opens a 244 KB PDF document in a new window)

Photo Caption: (From Left to Right) Penn Soil RC&D Chairman Jack Preston presents $3000 ceremonial check to Ron McCorkle, husband of the late Susan McCorkle, and Ron Kerr, Chairman of Penn Soil RC&D Agriculture Committee responsible for administering the Susan McCorkle Memorial Scholarship Fund

Coordinator Reports with Project Updates

Most Recent Quarterly Report
February 25, 2009

Past Reports 2009| 2008| 2007| 2006 | 2005 | 2004

Penn Soil RC&D Partners with Oil Region Alliance to Create Allegheny GeoTrail Tourism Project to Benefit Ten Pennsylvania Counties

A regional tourism proposal developed by Penn Soil RC&D has been adopted by the Oil Region Alliance of Business, Industry, & Tourism headquartered in Venango County to create the Allegheny GeoTrail. This project funded by a $234,200 U.S. Forest Service Grant is being administered by the Oil Region Alliance in cooperation with Penn Soil RC&D and the tourism promotion agencies for the ten participating counties. For more information about this project, read a one page project summary (opens a 174KB PDF document in a new window) or visit the Allegheny GeoTrail website.

The project went officially active on October 1, 2007 and has been a huge success. In the first seven months that the project was active, there were over 27,400 individual geocache finds recorded on www.geocaching.com , the primary website for geocachers.