Mission Statement
Penn Soil Resource Conservation and Development (RC&D) Council is a 501-c-3 Not-for-Profit Corporation registered with the Internal Revenue Service and the Pennsylvania Bureau of Charitable Organizations. 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 of northwest PA.

(L-R) Nathan Welker, USFS; Jack Preston Chairman of Penn Soil RC&D; Wes Ramsey Exec. Director Penn Soil RC&D; Sheila Sterret of U.S. Senator Patrick Toomey Staff, & PA Senator Scott Hutchinson pose with certificates of appreciation presented to Penn Soil RC&D on its 50th Anniversary of serving the residents of Northwest PA

The Two Mile Run Dam was one of Penn Soil's earliest and most significant RC&D projects providing flood control, recreational benefits, fish and wildlife habitat, and economic benefits to Venango County.

Penn Soil RC&D renewed its partnership with Venango County to improve accessibility of visitors to the Nature Lodge in 2009.

(L-R) Nathan Welker, USFS; Jack Preston Chairman of Penn Soil RC&D; Wes Ramsey Exec. Director Penn Soil RC&D; Sheila Sterret of U.S. Senator Patrick Toomey Staff, & PA Senator Scott Hutchinson pose with certificates of appreciation presented to Penn Soil RC&D on its 50th Anniversary of serving the residents of Northwest PA
Where To Find Us
Penn Soil RC&D serves the residents of eight northwestern PA counties, including Clarion, Crawford, Erie, Forest, Lawrence, Mercer, Venango, and Warren, but our main business office is located at 4000 Conewango Avenue; Warren, PA 16365
You can call us at 814-726-1441 Fax us at 814-406-0005
or email us at pennsoilrcd@wcconservation.net
Get Involved
Penn Soil RC&D is governed by a Board of Directors appointed by our member County Sponsors. Each member County is allowed to be represented by four voting members: one County Commissioner representative, one Co. Conservation District member, and two At-Large Council members. The board meets quarterly at one of the eight county host locations. For a list of meeting dates and locations, click here.
Penn Soil RC&D awarded $5000 grant in support of the Toy Shoppe of Warren, PA from Cummins Inc. to upgrade woodshop tools.
Penn Soil RC&D received a $5000 grant from the Cummins Diesel Inc. to support the Toy Shoppe of Warren,PA Project. The volunteers at the Toy Shoppe produce over 1400 handmade wooden toys for distribution to disadvantaged children and childrens service providers in the Warren-Jamestown Area in 2022.
Annual Nature Art Showcase & Sale set for February 3-4, 2023
Penn Soil RC&D will once again partner with the Council on Greenways & Trails to plan and co-host the seventh annual Nature Art Showcase held February 3-4, 2023 at the Barrow-Civic Theatre in Franklin, PA. This free event is designed to celebrate four seasons of outdoor recreation and the beautiful natural resources of northwestern Pennsylvania. The event held during the Franklin On Ice Carving event also provides opportunities for artists and artisans to display and/or sell their artwork to the public in attendance. The 2022 event attracted 48 participating artists who entered 87 pieces of art including 71 pieces of art listed for sale to the public. Over 500 visitors attended the Nature Art Showcase & Sale Event and voted for their favorite work of art. For more information, or to register your artwork click this link to the Council of Greenway & Trails website. The event is free to attend and there is no charge to register as a participating artist. The public will also vote for their favorite piece of artwork in the Showcase for the Peoples Choice Award.
Artist Deac Mong's "Rufus" wins Peoples Choice Award in 2022

Penn Soil Receives SARE Grant to Build Mobile Poultry Bedding Processing Machine
In cooperation with the Association of Warm Season Grass Producers, Penn Soil RC&D applied for and was awarded a $29,993 Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Grant to build and test a mobile poultry bedding processing machine. The machine has been built and is currently being tested.
Baby Arch Monument to honor local workers connection to Gateway Arch completed

The Committee of Retired Boilermakers, based in Warren, Pennsylvania, recently completed a campaign for recognition of the men who worked for the Pittsburgh Des Moines Steel Company plant in Warren, more commonly known as PDM. A fact often obscured in the history of the Arch is the fabrication of its components. While the base of the structure was a combination of concrete, steel and other foundation elements put in place by the Ironworkers and other tradesmen, the above-ground part of the Arch— 80 percent of the structure –was fabricated off-site and shipped to St. Louis by rail. That fabrication job was left to the small PDM boilermaker shop in Warren.
These Boilermakers were responsible for fabricating the pieces that became the Gateway Arch in St. Louis, Missouri, on the national park known as the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial. From 1962 to 1965, there were approximately 280 men who worked on the Gateway Arch project welding, cutting and fabricating the pieces that would be shipped by train and semi-trucks from Warren to St. Louis. Each piece had to be intricately cut, measured and ground to within 1/64th of an inch to make sure they would fit together perfectly with the other two pieces to form the triangle that began the base of each leg on each side. They were built continuously in this manner, only to be adjusted as the degree for the arch was adjusted. The completed Arch stands 630 feet tall in St. Louis to this day, with the 55th anniversary approaching in October of 2020.
As recommended in a tourism study done by consultant Gary Esolen of PLACES in 2007, it was our goal to build and place a new miniature replica of the Arch at the PA Visitor’s Center located in Starbrick, PA where visitors and tourists stop often to get information regarding information on things to do and also the history of Warren, PA. Our goal is to have this “Baby Arch” project completed with everything set up at the Visitor’s Center this year..
Our Committee solicited potential donors for a new project to fabricate and erect a scale model replica (“Baby Arch”) of the St. Louis Gateway Arch at the Warren County PA Visitors Center to let visitors know that the PDM shop in Warren was the birthplace of the St. Louis Gateway Arch. The Boilermakers' union also provided our Committee with videos and murals that we could put on display in the PA Visitor’s Center. Labor for the project was donated by committee volunteers. Penn Soil Resource Conservation and Development Council, a 501c3 charitable organization based in North Warren, served as our committee’s fiscal agent.
In November of 2012, the Committee of Retired Boilermakers from Warren boarded a motor coach bound for Saint Louis. Their mission: claim their contribution as Boilermakers in building the Gateway Arch, and to “put Warren on the map” as “the home of the Arch” where most of its wedge-shaped components were fabricated. When these Boilermakers toured the Gateway Arch, Tom Bradley, superintendent of the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial, held a ceremony and lunch to honor the men. “We’ve had many reunions here of workers over the years, but none quite like this one. Many of you were instrumental in building the Arch, this incredible memorial, yet never saw it when it was completed,” Bradley told the men. “But it’s due to your hard work that we are here today.” The National Park Service presented each retired Boilermaker a special commemorative book about the history of the Arch project.



The Gateway Arch in St. Louis, MO stands 630 feet tall and was completed in 1965. All the above ground sections of the Arch were fabricated in Warren, PA.

In 2012, a group of retired boilermakers made the trip to St. Louis to claim the Arch

Ike Erdman is recognized by National Park Service in St. Louis, MO for his work on fabricating sections of the Arch at the PDM shop in Warren, PA.

Gateway Arch in St. Louis nearing completion in 1965

