Long-time public servant and conservation leader Walter N. Peechatka passed away on Saturday, October 19. 

He served in a variety of positions in the Department of Environmental Resources; the Department of Agriculture, including Acting Secretary; the Soil and Water Conservation Society of America; on DCNRs Conservation and Natural Resources Advisory Council; and served as president of the Pennsylvania Forestry Association from 1973-1974.

Although he lived in Camp Hill, near Harrisburg, he was a native of Monroe County.  He served in the United States Army as a Second Lieutenant.

He graduated from Penn State University with a B.S. in Forestry in 1961 and his first job after the Army was as a service forester for the state Department of Forest and Waters from 1964 to 1969.

For the next 3 years, he was a program specialist for Watershed Programs for the state Soil and Water Conservation Commission.

He served as the first Director of the Bureau of Soil and Water Conservation in the newly created Department of Environmental Resources from 1971 to 1982.

Peechatka played a key role in the development of the original Chapter 102 Erosion and Sedimentation Control Regulations and promoted the concept of having county conservation districts delegate authority to implement those regulations.

He was a champion for county conservation districts within state government.

In 1981, he moved to the Department of Agriculture as the Director of the Bureau of Plant Industry through 1991 where he was responsible for administering programs related to pesticides, feed and fertilizer, noxious weeds and bee inspections.

From 1982 to 1987, he also served as Executive Vice President of the national Soil and Water Conservation Society based in Iowa.

He became Deputy Secretary for Regulatory Programs at Agriculture in 1991 where he was responsible for the bureaus of Animal Industry, Food Safety, Plant Industry, Dog Law and Rides and Measurement Standards.

Peechatka served as Acting Secretary of Agriculture during the transition from the Casey to the Ridge Administrations.

In 1995 he became Executive Deputy Secretary in the Department of Agriculture, the number two official in the agency responsible for managing day-to-day operations of the Department and its regional offices.

He became Executive Vice President of the PennAg Industries Association from 1998 to 2007 and was responsible for representing the Association in Harrisburg and Washington, D.C.

After 2007, he was active in a number of capacities.

He became a member of the DCNR Conservation and Natural Resources Advisory Council in November 2007 and served until this year.  The November meeting was to be his final meeting.

Among his many awards for his service are: 1983 President's Citation, Soil Conservation Society of America; 1986 Distinguished Service Award from the National Association of Conservation Districts; Meritorious Service Award from Gov. Dick Thornburgh; Penn State Mont Alto 2003 Centennial Fellows Award; 2003 Penn State Agricultural Council Leadership Award; 2008 Pennsylvania State Conservation Commission's Distinguished Service Award; 2010 Penn State Armsby Honor Society; the 2017 Boyd Wolff Award for Service to Agriculture; and the 2017 Pennsylvania Forestry Associations Joseph T. Rothrock Award.

The citation on the 2017 Rothrock Award from the Pennsylvania Forestry Association sums up Walt Peechatka's contributions very well -- "Walt Peechatka has willingly accepted challenges and built partnerships with others who share his commitment to conservation.  Service has been the hallmark of his distinguished career with the Commonwealth as he championed the environment by working with forestry and agriculture communities.  In the Rothrock tradition, Walt has demonstrated that partnerships are essential for the stewardship of our natural resources."

Walt Peechatka was a dedicated public servant, a common sense problem-solver, and almost everyone who has met him describes him as someone they admired and respected.

The funeral service will be held on Saturday, November 2 at 11:00 a.m. at the Messiah Lutheran Church situated at 6th and Commonwealth in Harrisburg. The visitation will commence in the church at 10:00 a.m. -  one hour before the funeral service.

Click Here for a copy of his obituary.

(Photo: Walt Peechatka (right) receiving the PA Forestry Association’s 2017 Rothrock Award sith PFA President Gene Odato.)

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[Posted: October 21, 2019]

10/28/2019