The Lancaster County Conservation District recognized outstanding efforts in natural resource conservation this spring at the District's 70th Awards Banquet at the Farm and Home Center.

The City of Lancaster received the Outstanding Low Volume Road Award, recognizing the municipality's commitment to creative design and innovation to maintain environmentally sensitive areas with permeable pavement, bioretention areas, and rain gardens. Green infrastructure projects throughout the city's low-volume roads were highlighted and serve as a role model for improving water quality in the Chesapeake Bay watershed.

Laura Norton was presented the Watershed Volunteer Award. This distinction recognized her work as a volunteer who went above and beyond to assist with water quality improvement projects, including several tree plantings that improve local watersheds in Lancaster County. A teacher with Lancaster-Lebanon Intermediate Unit 13, Norton led the students in her life skills classes in planting over 1,000 trees in the Mill Creek watershed. These projects impact Earl, East Lampeter, and Upper Leacock townships.

Diehm & Sons Inc., Lititz, was honored with the Conservation of Natural Resources Award for the Building Industry. This award is presented to a member of the building industry in recognition of a demonstrated commitment to protecting the water resources of Lancaster County during the land development and construction process. The team at Diehm & Sons Inc. demonstrates a high level of professionalism and expertise in its preparation of erosion and sediment control management plans and post-construction stormwater management plans. Through planning and design, the company minimizes its projects' detrimental impacts to the streams, creeks, rivers, and wetlands of Lancaster County.

Evelyn Sites, an educator at Clay Elementary School in Ephrata Area School District, received the Conservation Educator Award for her dedicated teaching and commitment to inspiring youths to learn about and value the role of conservation practices in a watershed. She has developed opportunities for students to study and evaluate water quality in local streams in addition to planning for teacher professional development during the summer.

Theresa King was recognized with the Lancaster County Youth Conservation School Service Award. King volunteers with the Northern Lancaster County Game and Fish Protective Association near Denver to prepare the site that hosts the Conservation School summer field school experience.

Levi and Fannie Fisher received the Soil Stewardship Award. This award is presented to a member of the agriculture community in recognition of a demonstrated commitment to conserving soil and water resources on his or her property.

The Outstanding Cooperator Award was given to Paul and Mark Miller, owners of Cedar Valley Farm. The award is for farm operations that have a well-developed working relationship with the Conservation District and have demonstrated a commitment to conserving the natural resources on their farm.

Located near Elizabethtown in West Donegal and Conoy townships, the Miller brothers' farm was purchased by the brothers' grandparents in the 1940s, and the brothers have expanded it to what it is today. Beginning with contour farming and some cropland terraces, the conservation practices have grown to include multiple grassed waterways, diversions, manure storages, barnyard runoff controls, and rock-lined outlets on both owned and rented properties. Well-managed pastures include fencing to exclude livestock from a tributary to the Conewago Creek.

The Millers transitioned to a full no-till system by 2006 and utilize both traditional and multispecies cover crops for winter soil protection. More recently, the brothers have begun "planting green," or planting into a living cover crop in the spring. The Millers maintain a 125-cow dairy; raise 75,000 pullets; and manage 330 acres of cropland, much of which is in farmland preservation.