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. <\/a>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 5 landowners and run by a small staff.<\/p>\n RCDs are established under\u00a0<\/a><\/span>California law (Division 9 of CA Public Resource Code) <\/span><\/a>to be locally governed with independent boards of directors.\u00a0 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. <\/span><\/p>\n In 2016 the Marin RCD was given an A-grade for transparency by the Marin County Civil Grand Jury.<\/span><\/p>\n Annual compensation for RCD Director and Employee positions can be found on the\u00a0<\/span>Government Compensation in California website.<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n The board is responsible for\u00a0ensuring that the MRCD remains focused on its\u00a0mission<\/strong><\/a>, its\u00a0strategic plan<\/strong><\/a>,\u00a0governance, compliance, project review and approvals, oversight of financial plans and budgets, and operations.\u00a0As such, the Directors ensure that the provisions of\u00a0Division 9 of the California Public Resources Code<\/a>\u00a0are being followed\u00a0in addition to\u00a0compliance with the MRCD Conflict of Interest Policy.\u00a0Directors\u00a0must regularly attend the District Board meetings, participate in strategic planning, establish policies, budgets and controls, serve as a spokesperson for the MRCD and represent the needs and values of the District\u2019s constituents to the MRCD. The Board meets monthly, and conducts its business in public, in compliance with the Public Meeting Act, commonly known as the Brown Act, of 1953<\/a>. The act established the rule that all meetings of a legislative body of a local agency should be open to the public, subject to specific exceptions.<\/p>\n The MRCD Board has five voting Directors who are elected for four-year terms by voters who reside in their District. To ensure that MRCD retains experienced directors at all times, some director terms will expire in even numbered years and some in odd numbered years. Under certain circumstances, such as a Board position becoming vacant midterm, the Board of Supervisors can appoint a replacement and it is the intent of the Legislation that they will only appoint a Director with a \u201cdemonstrated interest in soil and water conservation.\u201d The Directors are not compensated for their service.<\/p>\n The current board members are landowners, ranchers, farmers, conservationists, and oyster producers with extensive experience in agriculture, food production, and conservation which enables them to make informed decisions on the District\u2019s behalf.<\/p>\n To qualify to serve as an RCD director, candidates must live within the district and be landowners, or if they are not landowners, they must have served as an Associate Director for two years. The position of Associate Director was created to allow qualified individuals to take an active role in the operation of a district without being a voting member of the board. Available RCD director seats are announced on our “Join Us<\/a>” webpage.\u00a0<\/p>\n[\/et_pb_toggle][et_pb_toggle title=”Marin RCD Board Conflict of Interest” open_toggle_text_color=”#5B8500″ icon_color=”#D8DB24″ open_icon_color=”#D8DB24″ _builder_version=”4.24.2″ _module_preset=”default” title_text_color=”#5B8500″ title_font=”Work Sans||||||||” title_font_size=”14px” body_text_color=”#000000″ custom_margin=”6px||-4px|||” hover_enabled=”0″ locked=”off” inline_fonts=”Karla” global_colors_info=”{}” sticky_enabled=”0″]\n As elected or appointed officials of a public agency, directors must avoid conflicts of interest and are bound by a district\u2019s\u00a0Conflict of Interest Policy<\/a>.\u00a0They are not prohibited from participating in RCD\u2019s projects\u00a0and may apply for grants along with their peers through a competitive application process, although they cannot vote on the project in question. Projects are typically part of a larger effort to accomplish a specific environmental goal for public benefit, such as carbon sequestration\u00a0to address climate change impacts, or the restoration of a watershed to improve water quality or to improve habitat for a particular species, such as Coho Salmon. Potential projects are recommended in the monthly\u00a0public\u00a0meetings by\u00a0Technical Advisory Committees\u00a0who are assigned to evaluate projects and rank them according to selection criteria which relate the merits of each project to the purpose of the grant.\u00a0For more information go to\u00a0Project Selection<\/strong> below.<\/p>\n[\/et_pb_toggle][et_pb_toggle title=”Monthly Public Meetings” open_toggle_text_color=”#5B8500″ icon_color=”#D8DB24″ open_icon_color=”#D8DB24″ _builder_version=”4.16″ _module_preset=”default” title_text_color=”#5B8500″ title_font=”Work Sans||||||||” title_font_size=”14px” body_text_color=”#000000″ custom_margin=”6px||-4px|||” locked=”off” global_colors_info=”{}”]\n 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.\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n[\/et_pb_toggle][et_pb_toggle title=”Funding” open_toggle_text_color=”#5B8500″ icon_color=”#D8DB24″ open_icon_color=”#D8DB24″ _builder_version=”4.16″ _module_preset=”default” title_text_color=”#5B8500″ title_font=”Work Sans||||||||” title_font_size=”14px” body_text_color=”#000000″ custom_margin=”6px||-4px|||” locked=”off” global_colors_info=”{}”]\n 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.<\/p>\n MRCD has teamed up with GrizzlyCorps Climate Fellowship<\/strong> 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<\/a><\/strong>, or contact Marin RCD.<\/span><\/p>\n Sita Mulligan<\/strong>, a dear friend of the Marin RCD, bequeathed her remaining paintings and all of the rights of reproduction.\u00a0 The paintings are on display at the Marin RCD\u2019s office.\u00a0 Prints are for sale to benefit habitat conservation and restoration.<\/span><\/p>\n 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:<\/p>\n Annual Report<\/strong>\u00a0<\/span>\u2013\u00a0<\/span>Annual Report FY 17-18<\/a><\/p>\n Audits<\/strong> \u2013\u00a0 Audits from 2000 to present can be found at this link.<\/a><\/p>\n Budgets<\/strong>\u00a0<\/span>\u2013 Budgets from 2007 to present can be found at this link.<\/a> <\/span><\/p>\n Financial Reserves Policy \u2013\u00a0<\/strong>MRCD Reserves Policy-Approved 09-14-16<\/a><\/p>\n Summary of Fees Received and Revenue Sources. \u00a0<\/strong>Marin Resource Conservation District does not collect fees. \u00a0Please refer to our audit for a list of revenue sources.<\/p>\n[\/et_pb_toggle][et_pb_toggle title=”Collaboration with Partners” open_toggle_text_color=”#5B8500″ icon_color=”#D8DB24″ open_icon_color=”#D8DB24″ _builder_version=”4.16″ _module_preset=”default” title_text_color=”#5B8500″ title_font=”Work Sans||||||||” title_font_size=”14px” body_text_color=”#000000″ custom_margin=”6px||-4px|||” locked=”off” global_colors_info=”{}”]\n 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:<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n[\/et_pb_toggle][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.16″ _module_preset=”default” custom_margin=”||-4px||false|false” custom_padding=”3vw||||false|false” global_colors_info=”{}”]\nSpecial District Status and Public Accountability<\/h2>\n
Explore below to learn more about the tenets of the Marin RCD operation, including finances, project selection process, and more.<\/span><\/h4>\n[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_toggle title=”Role of Marin RCD Board” open_toggle_text_color=”#5B8500″ icon_color=”#D8DB24″ open_icon_color=”#D8DB24″ _builder_version=”4.24.2″ _module_preset=”default” title_text_color=”#5B8500″ title_font=”Work Sans||||||||” title_font_size=”14px” body_text_color=”#000000″ custom_margin=”6px||-4px|||” hover_enabled=”0″ locked=”off” inline_fonts=”Karla” global_colors_info=”{}” sticky_enabled=”0″]\n
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Project Selection<\/h3>\n[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_toggle title=”Who decides which projects get selected?” open_toggle_text_color=”#5B8500″ icon_color=”#D8DB24″ open_icon_color=”#D8DB24″ _builder_version=”4.16″ _module_preset=”default” title_text_color=”#5B8500″ title_font=”Work Sans||||||||” title_font_size=”14px” body_text_color=”#000000″ custom_margin=”6px||-4px|||” locked=”off” global_colors_info=”{}”]\n