PENNSDALE - Clinton Township residents Michael and Vanessa Sherman have been named the Lycoming County Conservation District's 2010 Cooperators of the Year.
The award was presented Tuesday during the district's 51st annual awards banquet at the Pennsdale United Methodist Church social hall.
According to Paul Wentzler, vice chairman of the Conservation District Board of Directors, the Shermans operate a cow-calf beef operation on a 100-acre farm bought in 2007 from Michael Sherman's grandparents.
Using state and federal programs, they immediately began implementing conservation practices on the property designed to conserve soil, reduce erosion and improve the water quality of a nearby stream.
Practices include the implementation of a rotational grazing system, off-stream watering system, riparian stream buffer, a stabilized heavy-use area, stabilized stream crossing for cattle and no-till cropping, among other practices, Wentzler said.
The Shermans routinely allow groups to visit the property to see how the practices benefit soil conservation and water quality, he said.
They also recognize the importance of preserving quality farmland and have enrolled their property in the county's Ag Land Preservation Program, thus ensuring the land will remain in agriculture forever, he said.
In accepting the award, Michael Sherman said it was extra special because of the high level of conservation practices employed throughout the county.
Sherman thanked Conservation District staff and Cary Edwards of the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Natural Resources Conservation Services for their work in helping to implement the practices.
"It was nothing we did," he said. "It was what they did."
He also thanked his father Donald Sherman for supporting the use of conservation practices on the farm.
"My father does a lot. He should be up here (accepting the award) with us," Sherman said.
Also recognized for their conservation efforts were the Rev. R. Bruce Smay and John Bower.
Smay served as an associate director for the Conservation District from 1999 to 2010, according to Conservation District board member Joseph H. Radley. He was instrumental in forming the Muncy Creek Watershed Association and served as its president for 12 years, Radley said.
The group installed a fish habitat enhancement on the creek that proved to be a great success and has also conducted programs at elementary schools and during association meetings.
Bower devoted many years to the county's agriculture community, serving for more than 30 years the county Farm Service Agency as a field assistant and committee member.
Bower's participation with Conservation District programs spans more than 50 years, according to Conservation District Manager Mark Davidson.
He was named Cooperator of the Year in 1961 and was one of the first people to participate in the county Chesapeake Bay program, Davidson said.
Folk musician, storyteller and historian Van Wagner presented a program that featured his original music about the area's lumber and coal heritage and other historic aspects of the region. The songs were accompanied by videos displayed on a screen that illustrated each song.
His song "Woolrich Coat," which pays homage to his father and so-called "Pennsylvania tuxedo," has become the unofficial anthem of Woolrich Inc. and the right of passage of passing the coat from father to son.
