spring 2009 conservation quarterly - yolo county resource conservation district

8/3/2019 Spring 2009 Conservation Quarterly - Yolo County Resource Conservation District

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Yolo County Resource

Conservation District

State lawmakers may have passed a budget in February, but the Yolo County Resource Conservation District

(YCRCD) has seen only incremental progress toward re-sumption of suspended projects.

On December 17 2008, the State of California suspendedover 5,000 bond-funded projects across the state, and by thetime the stop-work news trickled down and came into fo-cus, the impact was prey grim for many RCDs, business-es, and non-prots across the state, including the YCRCD.

For the YCRCD, over 85% of projects representing over $1.5million for Fiscal Year 2008-2009 were aected. A signi-cant fraction of this total goes to pay vendors throughoutYolo County that supply materials and provide a variety ofservices.

Compounding the eects of the freeze was the fact thatthe state already owed the YCRCD and its vendor’s reim-

bursement for work completed as far back as summer 2008.These payments were held back because of the long delay

in nalizing the state budget last year.

In response to the December stop-work order, the Board ofDirectors decided to severely limit all expenditures and cutsta time to 50% until the budget freeze is lied. Based onthe YCRCD’s nancial position at the time and projectedcosts, this was a way to preserve basic operations and re-tain sta so that the District could power up again quicklyonce the spending freeze was lied.

The situation has presented nancial and professional chal-lenges for every sta member. It has been dicult for stato see time-sensitive work, such as timely weed spraying or

seasonal workshops and native plant installation, go unten-ded. YCRCD employees tend to be personally commiedto each of their projects, largely due a desire

to improve our local and regional natural resource condi-tions, but also due to close, long-term working relation-ships with farmers and other land owners and managersthat they’ve known for years.

The YCRCD receives a veryminimal amount of tax basedfunding - just under $12,000 -each year. Our many pro-grams and activities are sup-ported largely by grant fundsand contracts, and over 85%of these have been aected bythe State’s stop-work order.These include programs andprojects covering ag wateruse eciency, ag water qual-ity, watershed coordination,invasive weed control, educa-tion and outreach, erosioncontrol, and pollinator and

wildlife habitat restoration.We have developed quite a bit of expertise over the yearsin all of these areas and prideourselves on being a ready-resource for any landownerneeding assistance. Unfortu-nately, many of these valuableservices and programs arecurrently supported throughvoter-approved propositionsfunded by General Obligation

bond sales, and these have

stopped cold since the statespending freeze order.

Conservation Quarterly

In This Issue:

Volume 12 Issue 2Spring 2009

1-3 State Budget Impacts RCD Operations

2 Executive Director’s Message

3-4 The Science of Compost Use in Agriculture

Also included: Annual Dinner Registration and Publication Flye

State Budget Conditions Still Impacting

RCD OperationsJeanette Wrysinski, Senior Program Manager

Story continues on page 3



Yolo County

Resource Conservation

DistrictDan’s Message:Greetings!

On December 17 2008, theState of California suspended

over 5,000 bond-funded projectsacross the state, and by the timethe stop-work news trickled

down, the impact was preygrim for many RCDs, businesses,and non-prots across the state,including the Yolo County Resource Conservation District (YCRCD).

In this issue of the Conservation Quarterly, we provide a taste of theprojects that have been suspended and a lile on the ripple eect that ithas had.

Although this has resulted in considerable hardship to our understand-ing vendors and sta, I have been struck by the commitment and sup-port that our partners, Board, and sta have demonstrated to help ussurvive. For example, when they

heard of our 50% cut in sta time,one of our multitalented farmingfamilies brought in bags of citrus,eggs, and vegetables (which soondisappeared from our lunchtable), and several of our sisterorganizations have found billableprojects for our sta.

While it looks like it may be a long thaw until our projects regain theirfull strength, there is room for optimism. The YCRCD is busy rein-venting itself, building on our reputation for innovation, diversity ofprograms, and extensive experience in building positive, collaborative

partnerships. We have been busy developing new projects and ideas,and several of these are beginning to bear fruit, which we will sharewith you in future newsleers.

We call for your help, too. On June 10th, we will host our annual din-ner. Though usually the event focuses on supporting a student to aendRange Camp, we are broadening our appeal this year to help supportthe general operations of the YCRCD. Especially in this time of need, weare very appreciative of your participation, sponsorship, and donations(oh yes, did I mention that donations to the YCRCD are tax-deductible?)

I am grateful for your support and we are ready to reinvigorate the

YCRCD to ensure that we not only survive but thrive in the comingyears.

Danial Efseaff

Executive Director

Dan Efsea started with the YCRCD in Summer 2008. Previously, he was a Restora-tion Ecologist with River Partners and specialized in implementing large scale riverrestoration projects and leading complex studies. Dan was raised on a farm in the San

Joaquin Valley and aended UC Davis and CSU Chico.

MISSION

The Yolo County Resource Conservation District commits

to protect, improve and sustain the natural resources of Yolo

County.

CONSERVATION QUARTERLYThe Conservation Quarterly is a quarterly publication of the

Yolo County Resource Conservation District (YCRCD), a

governmental subdivision of the State of California orga-

nized under Public Resources Code Division 9.

RCD FUNCTION

To make available technical, nancial and educational

resources, whatever their source, and focus or coordinate

them so that they meet the needs of the local land manag-

ers with conservation of soil, water and related natural

resources. Our projects reect a cooperative effort with our

partner agency, the USDA Natural Resource Conservation

Service (NRCS).

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Blair Voelz, Chairman

Garth Williams, Vice-Chairman

David Gilmer

Ali Pahlavanian

Bob Milbrodt

Julio Hernandez

John Reyes

ASSOCIATE DIRECTORS

Jim Mayer, Rudy Lucero, Rachel Long,

Greg Giguiere, Gio Ferrendelli

YCRCD STAFF

Dan Efseaff, Executive Director

Jeanette Wrysinski, Senior Program Manager

Sue McCloud, Financial Manager

Sheila Pratt, Administrative Assistant

Mark Lane, Water Lab Manager

John Reynolds, Revegetation Specialist

Tanya Meyer, Vegetation Management Specialist

Diane Crumley, Education Coordinator

Heather Nichols-Crowell, Watershed Coordinator

Chris Robbins, Watershed Coordinator

NRCS STAFF

Phil Hogan, District Conservationist

Wendy Rash, Soil Conservationist

Ha Truong, Agricultural Engineer

Nick Gallagher, Rangeland Manage-

ment Specialist

CONTACT

221 West Court Street, Suite 1

Woodland, CA 95695

Phone (530) 662-2037 ext.117

Fax (530) 662-4876

[email protected]

www.yolorcd.org

Spring 2009



continued from front page...

We have not been paid for work completed since Octo- ber of 2008, and have been told to not work further onprojects that:

Remove noxious, invasive weeds from our local•waterways and replace them with native plants that

belong there,Do free evaluations for farmers of their water use ef-•

ciency and distribution uniformity,Bring students out to farms, creeks and conservation•sites to participate in conservation and learn aboutworking landscapes,Provide sta support to groups of landowners who•want to work collectively on mutual problems suchas ooding, sedimentation and weeds,Remove barriers to good conservation practice instal-•lation, such as permit simplication and Safe Harboragreements,Determine how water and geology interact along•Cache Creek to help improve placement of stabiliza-

tion and revegetation projects,Provide funding to pay for costly but important con-•servation projects, such as tailwater/wildlife pondsfor native sh, riparian revegetation, and canal bankplanting,Transfer our local expertise to neighboring counties,•Bring together multiple conservation oriented organi-•zations -local, regional and national.

We were caught o guard - as were many other RCDs,other special districts, and non-prots – by the suddenstop in cash ow in the middle of contracted projectswhose funding was supposed to be disconnected fromstate budget disputes. We and our Board of Directorscontinue to work hard to stay aoat, and must ndalternate ways of continuing the important work that wedo within Yolo County. We would appreciate any form ofsupport you can provide, and look forward to workingwith you for years to come.

Continuing Conservation Education:The Science of Compost Use in Agriculture

by Diane Crumley

The YCRCD has continuedits eorts in conserva-

tion education this year bycollaborating with partners.With support from the CA

Integrated Waste ManagementBoard (CIWMB) and UC Riverside Cooperative Exten-sion, the YCRCD organized a workshop held on April 15th at the Heidrick Ag History Center titled UnderstandingCompost Use in Agriculture. The workshop was aended byover 80 participants coming from the Bay Area to Modestoand included farmers, landscapers, commercial compostproviders, conservation and resource professionals and UCresearchers.

The issue at handAccording to Fernando Burton of the CIWMB, California

residents send over 42 million tons of waste to landllseach year, with 30% of it being potentially compostableorganic materials. In accordance with the 2006 GlobalWarming Solutions Act , the CIWMB hascommied to reducing organic waste inlandlls by 50% by the year 2020 and soare working to identify new markets forcompost production and use.. To thatend they have partnered with UC Co-operative Extension (UCCE) to developscientically-derived compost specica-tions for selected agricultural crops toincrease compost use by growers. These

include tomatoes, strawberries, grapes,leuce, blueberries, and avocados.

Composting to improve soil quality has been used byfarmers for millennia. However, until recently, compost us-ers oen received lile technical guidance, and the productcould be highly variable. Fortunately, recent research hascontributed to major advances in the standardization of thecompost industry, and its safety for a wide range of appli-cations from agriculture to landscape and environmentalenhancement.

Compost 101Dr. David Crohn from UC Riverside introduced workshopparticipants to “compost basics” including the methodsand underlying chemical, physical and biological processesof transforming “dead dirt to living soil.” He reported onEPA studies demonstrating that heat generated duringcompost formation eliminates parasites and pathogens, andinactivates most weed seeds. Production standards statethat compost must be maintained at 131 degrees Fahrenheitor more for three consecutive days to achieve this.

Industry standards are available through participation in

Seal of Testing Assurance (STA) protocols which providedata about product origin, processing history, and chemicaland physical characteristics. A Compost Use Index (CPI)

YCRCD’s new compost workshop was well-aended by over 80 participant

Conservation Quarterly Spring 2009



Y o l o C o u n t y R C D / N R C S F i e l d O f c e

2 2 1 W . C o u r t S t r e e t , S u i t e 1

W o o d l a n d , C A 9 5 6 9 5

F i n d p r o j e c t p r o g r e s s r e p o r t s , e v e n t s , l i n k s , a n d u p d a t e d c o n s e r v a t i o n a r t i c l e s o n t h e R C D w e b s i t e a t w w w . y o l o r c d . o r g

N o n p r o f i t

U . S . P o s t a g e P a i d

W o o d l a n d , C A 9 5 6 9 5

P e r m i t N o . 3 1

W o o d l a n d , C A I f y o u w o u l d l i k e t o r e c e i v e t h i s n e w s l e e r e l e c t r o n i c a l l y i n s t e a d o f b y m a i l , p l e a s e n o t i f y S h e i l a P r a a t p r a @ y o l o r c d . o r g .

(CPI) has also been developed that serves as a “short hand”method for matching compost qualities and characteristicsto specic crop nutrient or site needs. For more informationvisit hp://www.compostingcouncil.org/programs/sta/.

Hands-on experiencesParticipants also heard from local compost suppliers Suel-len Witham of Westside Spreading in Zamora and StanNader of Nortech Waste in Roseville. They discussed thereal life experiences of working with the STA standards.UC Davis agricultural economics researcher Karen Klonskypresented cost estimates for the use of compost in main-taining soil fertility for a variety of crops including walnuts,almonds, alfalfa, tomatoes and corn. She examined directcosts associated with compost use (materials, transport,spreading) as well as the benets derived from compostapplication that can lead to a reduction in fertilizer use.

Aer lunch, well-known local organic farmers Russ Lesterof Dixon Ridge Farm and Paul Muller of Full Belly Farmsspoke in-depth about their experiences using a “whole

systems” approach to soil health maintenance. Lesterdescribed his transition from conventional orchard farmingto an organic, self-sustaining operation by rst applyingcompost to the orchard oor and later maintaining covercrops. Lester said that he receives half of his annual nitro-gen needs from compost and the other half from his cover

crop mix. His yields are similar to conventional fertilityapproaches and he receives the added benet of pollinatorsand other benecial insects.

Paul Muller’s organic farm in Capay Valley serves the local“food-shed” in a variety of ways from providing a rich ar-ray of over 70 kinds of fruits and vegetables to Yolo Countyresidents and Bay Area restaurants to hosting the widelyaended “Hoes Down Harvest Festival” each October.

Muller typically uses 8 to 10 tons of compost per acre com-pared to Lester’s 2 to 3 tons, but his year-round productionand crop diversity has dierent production requirements.He also uses cover crops on all his elds and remarkedabout the many ecological services these practices provideincluding sequestering more carbon and nitrogen, increas-ing the diversity and activity of soil microorganisms andreducing his losses from pests and disease.

Participants gained a lot of valuable information from this5-hour workshop, and the YCRCD is grateful for the sup-port received from UCCE and CIWMB.

For additional information and to view the Powerpoint presentations from the workshop visit the YCRCD website athttp://yolorcd.org/compost-use-in-ag-workshop

Conservation Quarterly Spring 2009

spring 2009 conservation quarterly - yolo county resource conservation district

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