Contra Costa Watershed Forum Award for CCRCD

The Contra Costa Watershed Forum (CCWF) honored the Contra Costa RCD and the CCWF Creek Signage Committee as the Watershed Forum’s Participant of the Year for 2005. This award was based on participation in Forum activities, building partnerships, spearheading a CCWF project and inspiring others to be involved in creek and watershed activities.

The RCD also received a certificate from the Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors recognizing their commitment to preserving the county’s natural resources.

The Creek Signage Committee was comprised of CCRCD employees Carol Arnold, Junko Bryant, and Mary Grim as well as Leslie Engler with Mt. View Sanitary District and Nancy Stein with the Contra Costa County Watershed Program. Many thanks also to the City representatives of the Contra Costa Clean Water Program who took responsibility for installation and maintenance of these signs.

The RCD obtained grant funding and successfully coordinated the CCWF Creek Signage Committee in the design, manufacture, distribution and installation of more than 800 signs identifying the names and locations of creeks and watersheds throughout the county. The goal of this signage project is to promote watershed awareness and stewardship.

2004 Outstanding District of the Year

For the first time in its distinguished 63-year history, the Contra Costa Resource Conservation District (CCRCD) has been named 2004 Outstanding District of the Year by The California Association of Resource Conservation Districts (CARCD), an award announced at the CARCD state conference in San Luis Obispo in November.

The Contra Costa RCD was selected out of 102 sister organizations in California for its “exceptional watershed-based planning and public communications leadership, building district staff, partnership building and dramatic expansion of grant funding to advance conservation projects throughout the county.”

The CCRCD is a key player in collaborative efforts to protect natural resources in Contra Costa County through voluntary programs. In recent years the RCD has led innovative efforts to bring agriculture, business, government, industry, and environmental interests together as part of integrated “watershed” planning efforts that seek to protect and preserve local natural resources.

In February, Assembly member Joseph Canciamilla lauded a 2 ½ year community-based effort led by the RCD that culminated in a comprehensive plan to manage watershed issues such as flooding, erosion and wildlife habitat in the Kirker Creek Watershed (Pittsburg/Antioch area).

The bright blue-and-green watershed signs that are popping up near creeks and watershed boundaries around the county are an RCD-led project designed to raise awareness and promote stewardship of local watersheds, and was funded by the Contra Costa County Fish and Wildlife Committee.

A small but dynamic office, the RCD leverages partnerships and grant funds from government and other sources to help communities carry out a wide range of natural resource conservation projects. This year the RCD obtained approximately $1 million in grant funds (a 300% increase over previous years) and is partnering with a wide range of agencies and organizations, including Contra Costa County Public Works and Community Development Departments, the Natural Heritage Institute, San Francisco Estuary Institute, and the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, among others.