Glenn County RCD cuts hours

The Glenn County Resource Conservation District is keeping its doors open for now despite being hit hard by the state budget crisis.

To remain open, RCD Manager Kandi Manhart and conservation planner Claudia Street reduced their work schedule to part-time status last week to cope with a loss of funding from the state of California. It owes the local RCD more than $63,000 for work performed from September to January, she said.

The small nonprofit agency operates primarily on grant funding, Manhart said Tuesday, but state officials froze the dispursement of grant monies – so nothing is getting paid.

This has put numerous resource conservation districts in a bind across the state, she added, along with city and county governments.

Her office continues to operate Monday through Friday, Manhart said, but its hours were reduced Feb. 2.

It is open 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 8 or 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Friday.

Manhart works 27 hours a week these days, she said, or 66 percent of her previous schedule. Street reduced her hours by 50 percent and handles the office on days Manhart is not there.

The largest project is conserving the Lower Stony Creek watershed, she said, by removing non-native plants like bamboo and Tamarisk looking at options for realigning the creek bed in cooperation with affected landowners.

However, the RCD’s public and youth education efforts are compromised with this reduction, too. “We are trying to strive with as much outreach and education as we can,” Manhart said.

At the present schedule, the RCD hopes to stay open until July, she said.

The agency also is trying to obtain additional grants from federal and private entities while also applying for state grants that may be funded in the future. “They (the state) are still taking applications,” Manhart said. They have not stopped the process.

Glenn County RCD works with landowners on a variety of ecological issues such as erosion control, the re-introduction of native plants and trees to areas where they were cleared and the preservation of habitat.

It also assists farmers and ranchers with irrigation projects and information on agricultural advances that can improve their operations upon request.

The RCD is not a regulatory agency, Manhart said. It only works with landowners, property managers and the public who seek its services. The agency has a 19-member board of directors who volunteer their time.

For more information,  call 934-4601, ext. 120 or visit the office at 132 North Enright Ave., Willows.