The Lehigh County Conservation District

A dynamic partnership of conservation professionals providing quality service to protect Lehigh County’s diverse natural resources through leadership, technical assistance, education, land protection, promotion of sustainable development, and protection of water and soil quality.

History

The Lehigh County Conservation District was established by the Lehigh County Commissioners on September 26, 1946, at the request of a significant number of landowners in the county. It is one of sixty-six conservation districts in Pennsylvania and nearly 3,000 nationwide. At that time, its primary purpose was to address soil erosion from mostly agricultural properties. Governed by a volunteer board of citizen directors, it was staffed by employees of the Soil Conservation Service in the US Department of Agriculture, who worked with farmers to develop farm conservation plans.

The past half-century has seen the District employ its own staff to address a variety of resource management concerns through agricultural nutrient management, soil conservation practices, conservation education, and watershed protection. Currently, fifteen full-time employees and one part-time employee work in these program areas, most under delegation agreement or contract with state agencies.

The District is funded by three major sources: county government, state government and user fees. Donations and fundraising activities help fund educational programs. The current board consists of three farmers and three public directors and one county commissioner. Directors, appointed by the County Executive, serve four-year terms, and meet monthly to set policy, hear progress reports, and plan the District’s work. The Pennsylvania State Conservation Commission guides them in their operations, and they belong to both the Pennsylvania Association of Conservation Districts and the National Association of Conservation Districts.

Who We Are

General Information

For general information, please email us at: info@lehighconservation.org

Staff Contacts

AmandaBunn
Agricultural Resource Conservationist
2993abunn@lehighconservation.org
AnnSellers
Resource Conservationist
2988asellers@lehighconservation.org
CaitlinMercier
Watershed Specialist
2992cmercier@lehighconservation.org
DanAhn
District Engineer
2997dahn@lehighconservation.org
GarrettCook
District Engineer
2986gcook@lehighconservation.org
HollyKaplan
Assistant District Manager
2981hkaplan@lehighconservation.org
JohnRyanPolascik
Resource Conservationist
2991jrpolascik@lehighconservation.org
KevinCastro
Resource Conservationist
2989kcastro@lehighconservation.org
KevinFrederick
District Manager
2980kfrederick@lehighconservation.org
KimZieger
Lead Resource Conservationist
2987kzieger@lehighconservation.org
LauraHopek
Environmental Educator
2994lhopek@lehighconservation.org
LouiseBugbee
Vector Borne Disease Coordinator
2995lbugbee@lehighconservation.org
MaggieWallner
Conservation Ecologist
2985mwallner@lehighconservation.org
MarleneMera
Executive Assistant
2982mmera@lehighconservation.org
SeanAnlauf
Resource Conservationist
2990sanlauf@lehighconservation.org

Board of Directors

Commissioner Director
AntonioPineda
Farmer Director
ArlandSchantz
Public Director
AdeleBon-Shannon
Public Director
WilliamRoyer
Secretary/Treasurer
PaulSemmel
Vice Chairperson
DanHunsicker
Chairman
WilliamErdman
Associate Director
Mary EllenSnyder

Internships and Volunteer Opportunities

The LCCD offers its Conservation Internship Experience to those interested in gaining experience in the field of natural resource conservation. This internship is designed for college or recent graduate majoring in a field of study related to agriculture, conservation, engineering, construction trades, communications, public relations, or environmental sciences. These paid experiences involve work within the District’s six main programming areas as required. These focal areas include: Water Quality, Watershed Conservation, Agricultural Conservation, Erosion & Sedimentation, Environmental Education, and Dirt and Gravel Road program. For further details, please contact Laura Hopek at LHopek@LehighConservation.org

There are no current internship or volunteer opportunities. Please check back in the future!

Publications

BOARD MEETING MINUTES

2024
2023

January

February

March

April

May

June

July

August

September

October-Canceled

November

December

2022

January- Canceled

February

March

April

May

June

July- Canceled

August-Canceled

September 

October

November

December- Canceled

 

 

2021

January- Canceled

February

March

April

May

June

July

August

September

October

November

December