What Is a Resource Conservation District?
The Value and History of Resource Conservation Districts in California
Thinking of the Dust Bowl Era of the 1930s often brings to mind grainy images of barren landscapes; stories of dust storms that lasted days and made it impossible to walk from one house to a neighbor’s home; and long lines of Midwestern farmers moving west, often to California, to try to build a better life. It was a time in U.S. history when the consequences of not tending to natural resources led to transformative impacts on our society that reverberate through to today. Resource Conservation Districts, or RCDs, were born out of the catastrophic soil losses and devastating societal impacts witnessed during the Dust Bowl Era. The need to conserve America’s natural resources, most notably its agricultural soils, was federally prioritized and led to the development and funding of RCDs across the country.
To this day, Resource Conservation Districts bring public and private funding alongside technical assistance to farmers and ranchers so that they can voluntarily conserve water, soil, and wildlife habitat on their land with the help of the RCD as a local and neutral partner. Spanning many generations, RCDs have maintained deep connections to farmers and ranchers, but they have also evolved with the changing needs of California’s diverse communities. Today each RCD’s projects and programs are different, with services that include habitat restoration, forest health, soil health, public education, landscape-scale conservation planning, climate resilience, water conservation, water quality improvement, and preparing for drought and fire.
What Is a Resource Conservation District?
Resource Conservation Districts work to be relevant, responsive, and transparent hubs for natural resource conservation and agriculture on public and private lands at local, regional, state, tribal, and federal levels. RCDs were designed to evolve with the changing needs of people and the land to ensure that local communities are thriving and resilient. Resource Conservation Districts are committed to utilizing voluntary, cooperative, and scientifically sound methods to ensure that the natural resources within the District are sustained, conserved, restored, and protected within a landscape of productive agriculture, growing cities, and open spaces. There are 95 RCDs throughout California, each covering a distinct geographic area. Nationwide, there are more than 3,000 Resource Conservation Districts.
Resource Conservation Districts are established under state law to be locally governed with independent Boards of Directors that are accountable to their communities. The relationships with the communities RCDs serve are crucial to how they accomplish their work in agricultural, rural, and urban landscapes. Traditionally, RCDs have focused a large percentage of their work on directly supporting landowners. Now, the organizations are opening their work to broader groups, including people who lease land and community organizers, to include more people who often have been marginalized or left out of the conservation work. RCDs are special districts, a form of local government created by the community to meet a specific need, similar to districts created for needs such as fire protection, schools, open space, or flood control. As trusted stewards of public and private funds, RCDs are subject to transparency and accountability laws that require public meetings, open records, annual audits, and financial reporting.
As a legal subdivision of the state, each RCD is organized to support natural resource management solutions through partnerships with individuals, organizations, and agencies. RCDs across California collaborate to drive conservation initiatives locally, regionally, and statewide.
Resource Conservation District Directors are typically local landowners in the district who volunteer for the role. The Board of Directors is made up of people who are actively engaged with rural, agricultural, and natural resource conservation issues and businesses. Surprisingly, although RCDs are subdivisions of state government, they receive no dedicated funding from the State, and most RCDs receive a small percentage, typically less than 10%, of their annual budget from the county tax base. The remainder of an RCD’s annual budget comes from competitively sought grant funding and fee-for-service contracts. Technical assistance is provided to landowners, farmers, ranchers, and others in the district who voluntarily seek expertise, guidance, and input from their local RCD.
Why Are Resource Conservation Districts Important?
Skilled technical assistance is an important, strong foundation for conservation projects. Technical assistance includes the relationship-building, expertise, coordination, permitting, and project management needed to site, design, implement, and monitor multi-benefit projects that sequester carbon and otherwise conserve and enhance natural resources on the land. RCDs also provide critical technical assistance to farmers and ranchers applying for funding, including programs such as the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) Climate Smart Agriculture grants.
Resource Conservation Districts combine the accountability and transparency of a public agency with the flexibility and non-regulatory approach of a nonprofit organization. This nimbleness allows RCDs to adapt to the ever-changing needs of their communities, build trusted relationships, and act as the crucial bridge that connects individuals with state and federal partners and programs.
The Resource Conservation Network gathers and shares the stories and ideas from its partners and colleagues. The opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect those of the RCDs managing this publication.
