Overview

The Tehama County Resource Conservation (TCRCD) is a non-regulatory public agency whose mission is “to assist citizens with managing, conserving, and improving the natural resources of Tehama County.”  TCRCD provides a number of services for the residents, landowners, agricultural producers and government agencies of Tehama County.  These include:
   Funding cost-share projects for landowners and agricultural producers;
   Financial management and oversight of  projects related to natural resource conservation, protection, and improvement;
   Development and execution of noxious weed mapping and eradication projects;
   Development and execution of resource surveys and analysis;
   Development and preparation of wildfire plans, conservation plans, and resource assessments;
   Providing technical assistance to landowners and agricultural producers for evaluating irrigation systems through the Mobile Irrigation Lab Program; and
   Providing educational services, materials, and workshops for students, teachers, and adults throughout Tehama County.

Our mission is to assist people to manage, conserve, and improve the natural resources of Tehama County.

Our vision is for a balanced use of the county's natural resources, where all land use decisions are socially acceptable, environmentally sound, and economically feasible.

The TCRCD is governed by five Directors, appointed by the Tehama County Board of Supervisors; and by non-voting Associate Directors, appointed by the District's Board of Directors.

The TCRCD includes approximately 1,761,000 acres and embodies all of Tehama County with the exception of the cities of Tehama, Corning and Red Bluff.

HISTORY of RESOURCE CONSERVATION DISTRICTS

In the 1930's -The Dust Bowl Era - Congress recognized soil erosion as the #1 priority if the country's agricultural industry were to continue to prosper. The Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS), formerly known as the Soil Conservation Service (SCS), was  formed to address the crisis of the Dust Bowl. Congress realized that a centrally governed federal agency in Washington could not be responsive to local needs, so they authorized states to form  "Soil Conservation Districts," the local counterpart of NRCS, to provide local assistance to landowners, farmers and ranchers. In 1938 California recognized Soil Conservation Districts (now known as "Resource Conservation Districts") and authorized their formation in the state. Since that time, the NRCS and RCDs have had a close working relationship. Currently 80% of the state is located in a Resource Conservation District (RCD).

Board of Directors

Ernest White, Jack Bramhall, Anne Read, Ryan Sale, Walt Williams

ASSOCIATE DIRECTORS: David Barnes, Bill and Kay Burrows, Frank Dawley, Larry Galper, Fraser Sime, Adrienne Stolz

Staff

Vicky Dawley, District Manager

Vicky has more than 25 years experience in resource management and ranching. She was TCRCD’s first employee when she started as a Watershed Coordinator in 1999. She has overseen the growth of the district to its current ten employees and annual budget of over $1 million. Vicky has also managed millions of dollars in projects and grants for TCRCD. These projects include planting and maintenance of elderberry mitigation sites, development and funding of conservation projects for local ranchers and owners of wildland parcels, education and outreach programs, and numerous environmental studies and reports. She holds a bachelor’s degree in business from Simpson University and has completed three years of botanical studies at U.C. Davis.

 

Tom McCubbins, Project Manager/Watershed Coordinator

Tom has a wide range of experience working for the Tehama County Resource Conservation District and for private consulting firms, as well as state and federal agencies.  In his role as project manager with the Tehama County Resource Conservation District, Tom has managed a number of watershed assessment projects, resource management plans, and wildland fire planning efforts.  This required the supervision of in house staff and management of contractor relationships. In previous positions, Tom negotiated and managed contracts for well drilling, construction services, environmental remediation, and academic services. Tom has a B.A. degree in Geography and Natural Resources and has completed graduate level coursework in Environmental Planning and Quantitative Methods from CSU Chico. In addition, Tom has a Certificate in Purchasing, Materials Management and Contract Administration from University of California, Berkeley.

Laurie Kehrer, Watershed Specialist

Laurie  has served as Watershed Specialist for the TCRCD since July 2006. She is responsible for coordinating TCRCD's Education and Outreach program. She also has charge of various monitoring and data collection programs such as Vernal Pool and Residual Dry Matter Monitoring at the Coyote Creek Conservation Area. Prior to her employment with the TCRCD, Laurie had nine years experience in quality assurance/quality control in a laboratory environment, including the preparation of standard operating procedures for laboratories operated by ExonMobil Corporation and Transbas, Inc.  In addition, Laurie has extensive experience in gathering field data together with the use and calibration of water monitoring and soil testing equipment.  As an employee at the California Department of Fish and Game, Laurie was responsible for monitoring and quality control of environmental contractors conducting field surveys, preparing Natural Resource Damage Assessments, and performing surveys for sensitive, threatened, and endangered plant species.  Laurie holds a B.S. degree in Biological Science from CSU Chico and has completed coursework in GIS software at Butte College in Oroville, California.

Randy Cousineau, GIS Analyst/Watershed Coordinator

Randy is a GIS Analyst for the TCRCD.  In this role, he is responsible for procuring and managing GIS related data, conducting spatial analysis, and preparing maps and other project deliverables.  In addition, Randy acts as the District’s in-house GIS trainer due to his teaching experience in the use of ArcView software.  Since his arrival, Randy has also prepared grant applications, written project proposals, and developed an online resource related to local fire projects. Randy’s background prior to his arrival at the TCRCD included 12 years with the United States Forest Service on the Lassen National Forest.  During his stay with that agency, Randy worked in rangeland management, where he prepared resource analyses, plans, and environmental documents that often required extensive use of GIS techniques. Randy holds a B.S. degree in Geography and Economics from Steven F. Austin University and a master’s degree in Geography from CSU Chico.

Cathie Benjamin, GIS Manager/Systems Administrator

Cathie  is GIS Manager for TCRCD, overseeing and coordinating all geospatially-related tasks in support of our environmental work. She also personally conducts an array of GIS analyses and is our organization’s cartographic expert.  As Systems Administrator, Cathie maintains the District’s network, troubleshoots technical problems, attends to security issues, and procures computer hardware and software. Prior to her arrival at TCRCD, Cathie provided GIS support to various local nonprofits, and she continues in her nine-year role as Instructional Support Technician and GIS computer lab manager at CSU Chico. Cathie has earned a B.S. degree in Biogeospatial Analysis from CSU Chico with a Geoscience minor and GIS Certificate, and she is currently pursuing her master’s degree in Geography with an emphasis on watershed management. 

Kristin Lamkin, Controller

Kristin is the Controller for the TCRCD and oversees our organization’s fiscal systems.  Her responsibilities include all of the District’s financial transactions, financial statement preparation, cash flow forecasting, budgeting, payroll, human resources, grant accounting, and financial reporting to the Board of Directors.  She also provides consulting services through TCRCD to other Special Districts and non-profits to help with fund accounting and grant reporting issues.  Prior to her arrival at TCRCD, Kristin worked as an Accountant for various agricultural business companies in the North State.  She also operated her own horse training and marketing business since 1997.  Kristin earned a B.S. degree in Business Administration with an Accounting concentration from CSU Chico in 1993, and she is always pursuing continuing education in Non-profit and Special District Accounting to further her skills. 

Kevin Greer, Mobile Irrigation Lab Director

Kevin has been involved with a variety of irrigation systems including agricultural, residential, and commercial applications. His local knowledge in serving the Tehama region over the past 10 years has greatly advanced the success of the Mobile Irrigation Lab program. Introduction to irrigation began in his youth, moving and repairing sprinkler pipes in his grandfather’s walnut orchards. He gained extensive field experience through training with his father’s custom landscape design company, where he acquired the skills of design and irrigation installation. He holds a B.A. degree in Geography with honors and a minor in Geology from Humboldt State University. He received his GIS certificate from CSU Chico in the spring of 2009. He was employed with TCRCD in the spring of 2009. During this rookie year, he completed the largest number of evaluations ever done in one season. His specialty is the evaluation of crop irrigation systems, testing for application rates, distribution uniformity, and system performance.

 

Joel Osofsky, Chipper Operator

Joel Osofsky comes to TCRCD after working for the US Forest Service. He has a BS degree in Natural Resource Recreation and Tourism from Colorado State University, with experience in recreation and natural resource management, and he enjoys coordinating and implementing short and long term conservation projects. He hopes to use his communication and partnership development skills to make the most of the chipper program and all that it has to offer. In his spare time, Joel likes to spend time with his wife and two dogs, ride his motorcycle, and dabble in digital photography.