General

Established on May 20th, 1959, the Marin Resource Conservation District (MRCD) is a service organization that provides private and public land stewards with information, technical assistance, and funding to implement conservation projects in Marin County. Our programs are voluntary and innovative, relying on local history to guide our decisions about the future of our working landscapes. MRCD is governed by a board of five agricultural producers and run by a small staff.  

 

Special District Status and Public Accountability

RCDs are established under California law (Division 9 of CA Public Resource Code) to be locally governed with independent boards of directors.  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. See more below.

Annual compensation for RCD Director and Employee positions can be found on the Government Compensation in California website.

 

Monthly Public Meetings

Board Meetings are generally held the second Wednesday of each month at 9:00am unless otherwise noticed. Anyone from the public is welcome. Find access information, and Board Meeting minutes and Agendas on our “Board Meeting and Agendas” page at this link. 

 

Finances

Annual Report – Annual Report FY 17-18

Audits –  14-15 Audit, 15-16 Audit, 16-17 Audit, 17-18 Audit, and  FY18-19 Audit

Budgets – Budget 2016-2017, Budget 2017-2018, Budget 2018-2019, and Budget 2019-2020

Financial Reserves Policy – MRCD Reserves Policy-Approved 09-14-16

Summary of Fees Received and Revenue Sources.  Marin Resource Conservation District does not collect fees.  Please refer to our audit for a list of revenue sources.

 

Collaboration with Partners

MRCD values our partnerships with land stewards and land owners in our district, and the network of local agriculture and conservation organizations we collaborate with including Point Blue Conservation Science: Students & Teachers Restoring A Watershed (STRAW), the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), the University of California Cooperative Extension Service (UCCE), Marin Agricultural Land Trust (MALT), the Carbon Cycle Institute (CCI), Fibershed, Conservation Corps North Bay (CCNB),  Point Reyes National Seashore (PRNS), and others.

As a multi-agency team, we combine and coordinate our expertise and funding to implement programs that conserve and restore the working lands and natural resources of Marin County for the benefit of all. 

 

Funding

Approximately 90% of MRCD’s $1.2M budget comes from grants while roughly 10% is provided by the County of Marin. Half of our budget is dedicated to on-the-ground construction projects. The MRCD also receives funds from local foundations and other private sources.

MRCD has teamed up with GrizzlyCorps Climate Fellowship to promote climate smart agriculture in Marin while bolstering the next generation of climate leaders. GrizzlyCorps is an AmeriCorps program, which covers about half of the costs of supporting our fellow. We want to keep the partnership going, so we are asking for your support to fund our GrizzlyCorps Fellow and build climate resilience in Marin. If you are interested in donating, please follow this link, or contact Marin RCD.

Sita Mulligan, a dear friend of the Marin RCD, bequeathed her remaining paintings and all of the rights of reproduction.  The paintings are on display at the Marin RCD’s office.  Prints are for sale to benefit habitat conservation and restoration.

We greatly appreciate and would like to acknowledge the following agencies and organizations that have funded landowners and agricultural producers with land stewardship and watershed enhancement through our programs: