USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service-PA To Hold 10 Local Working Group Meetings From Feb. 23 to April 3

The USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service-PA will be holding Local Working Group meetings across Pennsylvania between February 23 and April 3, 2026. These meetings are open to the public.

The Local Working Groups will focus on identifying agricultural and natural resource issues existing in your community and providing information and feedback to NRCS. 

Participants may be agricultural producers; owners of nonindustrial private forestland; representatives of agricultural and environmental organizations; and representatives of governmental agencies carrying out environmental, agricultural, or natural resource conservation programs and activities.

NRCS Local Working Groups are subcommittees of the NRCS PA State Technical Committee and provide recommendations on local natural resource priorities and Farm Bill program conservation activities.

For information about the State Technical Committee, contact Dayanna Barnes at Dayanna.Barnes@usda.gov.  

Click Here for a list of meetings (filter for Pennsylvania) or contact your local USDA Service Center. 

Click Here for the NRCS-PA announcement.

Visit the USDA NRCS-PA webpage for more information on available technical and financial assistance.

Related Articles This Week:

-- Foundation For PA Watersheds Now Accepting Applications For New Round Of Grants; Feb. 18 Webinar  [PaEN] 

-- Coldwater Heritage Partnership Now Accepting Applications For Coldwater Conservation Grants; Energy Transfer/Sunoco Pipeline Penalty Funding  [PaEN]  

-- Columbia Gas Of PA Now Accepting Applications For 2026 Environmental Action Grants  [PaEN]

-- PA Organization For Watersheds & Rivers Now Accepting Applications For Grants To Support Local River Sojourns  [PaEN]

-- National Fish & Wildlife Foundation, EPA Award $44.2 Million In Chesapeake Bay Innovative Nutrient/Sediment Reduction, Small Watershed Grants; Over $19 Million In PA  [PaEN] 

-- Master Watershed Steward Stephen Hinds Helps Restore Riverbanks In Delaware County  [PaEN] 

-- PA Trout Unlimited: Volunteers From 6 Local TU Chapters Ship Trout Eggs To 430 Teachers In 60 PA Counties Connecting With 57,000 Students Thru Trout In The Classroom Program  [PaEN]

-- Carol Parenzan, Environmental Engineer, Author, Launches The Water Healer™, Debuts 'From the Rivers to the Bay,' a New Chesapeake Bay Watershed Education Series [PaEN]

-- House Environmental Committee Told Water Quality Restoration Efforts Need To Be Better Targeted; Important ‘Emerging Contaminants’ Need To Be Addressed; Cuts In Federal Funding Slowing Progress  [PaEN] 

-- Three Rivers WaterKeeper Announces Intent To Sue US Steel, Irvin Works Plant For Oil Discharges Into The Monongahela River  [PaEN]  

-- Bipartisan Ohio River Restoration Act Introduced In US Senate By Fetterman, Young  [PaEN]

-- DCNR Grants News: 340+ Grant Projects Completed In 2025; ATV/Snowmobile Grants Open; Trail Education Grants; PRPS Conference; PA Land Conference

NewsClips:

-- The Allegheny Front: What’s Special About Conestoga River, PA’s 2026 River Of The Year

-- Post-Gazette: DEP Report Finds Southwestern PA Streams Among 37% In State That Are Water Quality Impaired

-- The Allegheny Front/WESA: Three Rivers WaterKeeper Says ‘Alarming’ Levels Of PFAS ‘Forever Chemicals’ From Pittsburgh Airport Are Being Discharged Into Montour Run Watershed

-- Chesapeake Bay Journal: Proposed Chesapeake Bay Program Restructuring To Meet Revised Cleanup Goals Expected By Summer 

-- Chesapeake Bay Journal: Overshadowed By PFAS ‘Forever Chemicals;’ PCBs Remain A Toxic Threat To Chesapeake Bay Watershed Waters

-- Penn State Extension Ag Conservation News: Multifunction Riparian Buffers; Grazing Management; Online Learning

-- Forests For The Chesapeake Bay News: Hobbyist’s Guide To Maple Sugaring; Upcoming Events 

-- Chester County Press: Octoraro Watershed Assn. Photo Contest Seeks Entries  [Chester, Lancaster Counties]

[Posted: February 20, 2026]  PA Environment Digest