San Mateo County Resource Conservation District releases newsletter
I recently received a copy of the email newsletter from the San Mateo County Resource Conservation District. If you live in the rural areas of the County, or are interested in what’s going on there, you should check it out. The newsletter includes:
- Building Success in the San Mateo County RCD, Part Two
- Web Site Picks
- Drainage Tips for Hillside Homes
- RCD Staff Report, December, 2004
- Public Notice RCD Policy Committee meeting
- Agenda, RCD Board Meeting, January 18, 2005
- Calendar of Events and Opportunities
Click on "read more" to see the entire newsletter.
SMC RCD NEWS, VOL. 4, No. 1
January 11, 2005
In this issue:
A. Building Success in the San Mateo County RCD, Part Two
B. Web Site Picks
C. Drainage Tips for Hillside Homes
D. RCD Staff Report, December, 2004
E. Public Notice RCD Policy Committee meeting
F. Agenda, RCD Board Meeting, January 18, 2005
G. Calendar of Events and Opportunities
Building Success in the San Mateo County RCD, Part Two
On February 24, 2005, the RCD in conjunction with the NRCS, will sponsor a facilitated workshop with Ray Ledgerwood, a consultant who has helped conservation districts set goals, develop long range plans and build success for the past 15 years throughout the United States. The general public and RCD partners are encouraged to attend and participate.
Last September, Ray assisted RCD Board, staff and partners in listing the top ten greatest accomplishments they would like to see the RCD achieve in the next 5 years; developed seven Building Note Statements on delivering services to land owners/managers in San Mateo County; and set five short term priority action items (see below). On February 24, participants will review what has been accomplished and establish new priority action items and goals to help the RCD become the community’s one stop shop for natural resource conservation assistance.
The following bullet statements were generated by RCD Board, staff, partner, and public participants at the September 14, 2004 Building Success Workshop:
RCD Greatest Accomplishments in the Next 5 Years:
- RCD evolve to an organization that can respond to calls for resource conservation – one stop shopping for assistance of any kind related to resource conservation
- Get a reasonable, sustainable funding source – level of funding for reasonable staffing level
- Most people that manage land in the county know who we are and what we have to offer
- San Mateo Board of Supervisors recognizes the RCD as their delivery mechanism for natural resource conservation in the county
- Full time NRCS presence in San Mateo County
- Stable funding base, stable partnerships, stable staffing
- Reestablish the reputation of San Mateo RCD as a/or the source of technical assistance and resource management facilitation
- Developing strong relationships in the community leading to projects which lead to staffing opportunities
- Strong partner – strong player
- Our ability to raise public awareness of the RCD work which leads to support and increases in program funding
- RCD has a function to perform as a clearing house for what is going on – what is going on and what needs to go on
- Building Our RCD to Deliver Services to Land Managers of San Mateo County: (building note statements on the RCD we want to be)
- A more active and effective board that has a strong vision, has a strong sense of mission, understands the natural resource concerns, have diversity in membership (including farm), has relationships and linkages with other organizations and elected officials
- Be a trusted source of information and technical assistance
- We would have competent staff with conservation background, technical services to provide and meets needs that can complement NRCS staff assistance and the funding to support the staff. (base this on the board’s vision and ideas based on the community input, projects needed, and workload) raise money and do projects.
- Going out to the community to learn needs and community members would be coming to the RCD – base projects on these needs – find our forte – eg watershed coordinator – watershed activities
- The delivery system is identified – how information and services are provided – would have a marketing plan – everyone on the same page
- Be a facilitator of permitting efforts through effective partnerships with regulatory agencies and environmental community – build on service providing certificates of grading exemptions – emphasis on getting conservation applied
- Will be providing conservation education linking urban and rural education in district and also education of our elected officials and staff, education of environmentalists on land conservation (with staff to support)
Please come and join us on February 24 to give your input on what you want your RCD to be!
Web Site Picks
NRCS has an interactive web site on soil surveys that can organize data in the electronic files to generate reports by specific subjects and/or soil classifications. The site may be accessed at
http://efotg.nrcs.usda.gov/popmenu3FS.aspx?Fips=06081&MenuName=menuCA.zip
or the simply go to www.ca.nrcs.usda.gov and search for San Mateo. Remember that the RCD has complete soil survey reports and maps for both the western (coastside) and eastern (including San Francisco) parts of San Mateo County. The western San Mateo Area Soil Survey completed in 1954 is also available on a CD in a pdf file.
The NRCS Plant Materials Center maintains a wonderful plant data base at http://plants.usda.gov/ A search can pull up lots of information and pictures on all your favorite plants including all those invasive weed species we try so hard to control.
Drainage Tips for Hillside Homes
Most hillside lots which are located in an unstable watershed are very susceptible to water drainage problems. Prolonged rains and excessive landscape watering cause most of the damage. Drainage and erosion control become very important. To treat surface drainage problems first identify the source of the water or runoff flowing over your property. A good place to start is by looking at your roof, patio and driveways since these surfaces can shed tremendous amounts of water during even a dingle storm.
A roof should be fitted with gutters and downspouts, taking care to release water from these onto a non-erodible surface such as a paved driveway or alternatively by connecting the downspouts firmly to solid plastic pipe that will carry water downslope away from your home to a place where it will be released safely such as a paved roadside ditch. Because twigs and leaves can clog gutters and downspouts, gutter guards of 0.25 to 0.5 inch hardware cloth are recommended.
An asphalt or compacted earth berm on the outside edge of a driveway or building pad can direct runoff away from sensitive slopes to an area where it can be released safely. Recommended height of the berm is a minimum of 12-18 inches. A sandbag berm may be a temporary measure. A pipe drop may be used to carry runoff downslope to a place where it can be released safely, such as the paved roadside ditch.
Roads and driveways can be graded toward a lined ditch designated to handle water sheeting from paved surfaces and uphill slopes. Water should then be released safely into the main road drainage ditch and eventually released onto a non-erodable surface where an energy dissapater may be needed. Roads and driveways generally require a number of drainage measures and you may need to consult with additional sources when designing your own system.
Correct grading of your property helps prevent water from pooling around foundations, flooding basements and adding unwanted weight to slopes. In general, all soil should be graded away from foundations at a minimum grade of 1-2 feet for every 100 feet. Soil must be graded evenly since rainwater can collect in depressions.
Good drainage must be provided for retaining walls. Weepholes and perforated pipe with a gravel backfill behind the wall work well. Small openings between boards of redwood retaining walls are also used for this purpose.
A diversion ditch may be needed to handle surface runoff flowing onto your property from upslope. For slopes steeper than 5% where large amounts of water are expected the ditch should be lined with concrete or hand-placed rock underlain with filter fabric. Water should be directed to a safe, non-erodible surface- NEVER onto the slope itself. Always consult a qualified engineer to design water diversion measures.
One of the best maintenance measures if for you to observe your system during the rain when you can watch runoff patterns on your property. Also, check gutters and downspouts during and after storms to remove debris. Clean and repair berms and ditches as necessary. Be sure to plug gopher holes since these provide easy avenues and may lead to collapse of structure walls. Plant and/or mulch all bare areas especially on slopes. Regular maintenance saves time and money in the long run.
And for more information, call your NRCS-RCD Local Partnership Office!
Excerpted from: NRCS, California FS-DT, November 2003.
Staff Report for December, 2004
RCD Administrative and General
RCD staff spent considerable time reviewing and updating policies and procedures, especially those relating to safety and risk management. The Policy Committee will meet in January and provide recommendations to the full board at the February meeting. Staff also continued to work on grading exemption projects and fill information requests. The Contribution Agreement with NRCS was closed out and a new one for 2005 prepared and submitted. An agreement for marketing the horse keeping manuals was also drafted and submitted to the San Francisco Bay Area Resource & Development Council. Staff attended the regularly scheduled PMAC meeting.
RCD Watershed and Conservation Projects
Apanolio Canyon Steelhead Passage Improvement Project
Progress continued to be made on resolving issues related to sensitive species with consultants and agency staff exchanging emails and phone calls on options and potential solutions. If the instream pond at barrier two is removed to benefit fish passage, then suitable replacement habitat for both the red-legged frog and garter snake must be proposed. In addition, the RCD and our consultants submitted a new proposal for stream flows and operations of farm water diversions. A meeting was held with DFG, NOAA Fisheries, and one of the landowners to review progress and discuss options. Support for the project, both from a species perspective and farmer perspective, remains high. If issues can be worked out by the end of January, then the project could conceivably be implemented next summer.
Frenchman’s Creek
Plans remain under review by the state engineer. A meeting date has been set for late January and it is anticipated that the engineering designs will be approved by the end of the month, allowing the CEQA process to be initiated. A geotechnical report was completed.
Bear Gulch Rural Road Restoration Project.
No activity occurred on this project during December.
Monterey Bay Sanctuary Agricultural and Rural Lands Action Plan
No activity occurred on this project during December, however, the Sanctuary Foundation did hire a new coordinator for all partners working on this important project.
Farm Bill programs and Conservation Plans.
NRCS and RCD staff continued to work with landowners and operators interested in making the January 21, 2005 application deadline for EQIP. Discussions were also held with a local contractor on gully restoration costs for various treatment options. Interest on this subject remains high.
Public Notice – RCD Policy Committee Meeting.
Friday, January 15, 2005
RCD Policy Committee: Loss Control SubCommittee
Location: SMC RCD Office Time: 7:30 P.M.
625 Miramontes Street, Suite 103, Half Moon Bay. Call 650-712-7765 for info
The RCD Policy Committee sitting as the RCD Loss Control Subcommittee will review the status of risk management programs for the district including property and liability, safety, and workers compensation along with policies that impact these programs and establish a Liability Reduction Work Plan for development of new policies and corrective actions for 2005
AGENDA
Tuesday, January 18, 2005
Regular District Meeting. Location: SMC RCD Office
625 Miramontes Street, Suite 103, Half Moon Bay, CA 94019
Time: 7:00 P.M.
The Board of Directors of the San Mateo County Resource Conservation District will meet on Tuesday, January 18, 2005, at the District Office. The meeting will begin at 7:00 P.M. Please contact the office at 650-712-7765 if you require any additional or special arrangements in order to attend this meeting.
1. Call to Order - Introduction
2. Oral Comment
· Public Comment
· Board and Staff Comment
3. Consent Agenda - Adoption of Agenda
Note: items on the consent agenda are approved by one motion unless a request is made during Oral Comments to transfer an item to the Regular Agenda
a. Correspondence
b. Draft minutes of the December 21, 2004 meeting
c. RCD Staff Report - December, 2004
d. Fiscal Reports (through December 31, 2004)
4. Regular Agenda: Business Old and New
a. Board Priority Action Items: Steps to Success (A continuation of the discussion from past meetings)
¨ Project short list: status, potential funders, and board actions required.
¨ Long term finances: Taxes and/or fund raising. Actions required.
¨ Update on District Conservationist - actions required.
¨ Improving Partnerships: List of organizations and individuals, priorities and action items
¨ Preparation for February 24, 2005, workshop
b. NRCS Activity Report: EQIP, Farm Bill and other conservation assistance.
c. RCD Activity Report: Apanolio, Frenchman, Equine, EQIP, Other
d. Mid-year RCD Budget Update and Review
e. Policy Committee – Report of the Loss Control Sub-Committee: Risk Management Credit Incentive Program, Personnel Policy, Financial Policy, Injury & Illness Prevention Program, Code of Safe Practices, proposed board resolutions, and other policy and administrative issues.
f. Board Updates and Continued Discussions. Next meeting.
5. Other Business
6. Committee Reports
7. Adjourn
THIS AGENDA IS SUBJECT TO REVISION AND MAY BE AMENDED PRIOR TO THE SCHEDULED MEETING. IF AMENDED, A FINAL AGENDA WILL BE POSTED 72 HOURS PRIOR TO THE MEETING AT THE SMC RCD OFFICE, LOCATED AT 625 MIRAMONTES STREET, SUITE 103, HALF MOON BAY. COPIES OF THE FINAL AGENDA WILL BE AVAILABLE AT THE MEETING. A COPY OF THE AGENDA PACKET MAILED TO THE BOARD IS AVAILABLE FOR REVIEW DURING NORMAL BUSINESS HOURS AT THE SMC RCD OFFICE To be placed on an email notification list for RCD activities, please send an email to
Calendar of Events and Opportunities
CONVERSATIONS ABOUT WATERSHEDS: A Conference on Volunteer Stewardship. January 13 - 16, 2005 at East Bay Watershed Center at Merritt College, Oakland. (510) 434-3840
February 7, 2005. San Mateo County Agricultural Advisory Committee Meeting. 7:30 PM. Farm Bureau. Main Street. Half Moon Bay.
February 24, 2005. Building Success in the San Mateo County RCD, Part Two. A facilitated workshop on building long range successful strategies for the San Mateo County Resource Conservation District. The public is invited to participate! RCD Office in Half Moon Bay. Info: 650-712-7765
March 12, 2005, 13th Annual Sanctuary Currents Symposium. California State University, Monterey, 9:00 AM to 4:30 PM, Info:
March 23-24, 2005. California Agriculture Symposium: Challenges and Opportunities. A major agricultural summit. Arden West Hilton, Sacramento. Sponsored by UC, CalPoly, CalState Fresno, and CA Dept Food & Ag. Info: 530-752-1748 or 752-2320.
The SMC RCD News is edited by Mike Ednoff. Feel free to use any information. To be removed or added to this list, comment or provide information, contact Mike at
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