In May, Monroe County Conservation District Director Paul Canevari tendered his resignation from the board. The Monroe County Commissioners are responsible for replacing Canevari.

According to Craig Todd, former district manager for the conservation district, the commissioners must name a replacement before the next regular appointment cycle.Craig said the commissioners have two choices on how to proceed based on the state law, which governs the board."You can name one of the candidates that was previously nominated, which in this case is only myself," Todd said. "Or you can name one of the four current associate directors who qualify to replace Canevari."Todd said he attended the meeting to encourage the commissioners to fill the vacancy as soon as possible."Last year, you promised me that I would be considered for a position on the board in the future," Todd said.Todd spent 34 years in the district office, retiring in 2016 as its longtime director.Chairman John Moyer agreed with Todd that the commissioners would consider Todd for a board position in the future, but reminded him that the reason Moyer and Vice Chairman Charles Garris did not agree to appoint Todd during the last cycle was that they thought it very important to allow the newly hired director, Adam Shellhamer, the opportunity to get comfortable in his new position without Todd looking over his shoulder.Commissioner John Christi had supported Todd's appointment in 2016.Shellhamer completed his first year on July 11.Moyer also added that he was under the impression that the commissioners could wait until the nominations were made for the 2018 appointments and consider those candidates for the position.According to Moyer, the nominations come out in August.Todd disagreed with Moyer's assessment and agreed to provide the county solicitor with the information needed to make the determination.Todd said he was adamant about the appointment because he truly believes that the conservation district will have an even greater amount of responsibility in the near future.Garris pointed out that a recent publication came to the commissioners' attention that claimed that the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection was down 440 employees and he saw that and proposed cuts at the federal level were going to have a great impact on the states as well.Todd agreed and used the argument to further his point regarding the vacancy on the board."You need a strong board more than ever," Todd said.There were a number of residents at the meeting in support of Todd.Moyer agreed to take the matter under consideration. The commissioners also took Todd up on an offer to meet with them to further discuss the matter at another date.