The Gold Ridge Resource Conservation District (RCD) is an opportunity of a lifetime, for those on their toes. As defined by the Gold Ridge RCD ~ “The Gold Ridge Resource Conservation District in Sonoma County facilitates stewardship projects to address water quality, climate change, biodiversity, ecosystem health, and water quantity on private and public lands by providing technical assistance, outreach, education and project implementation. Gold Ridge RCD provides non-regulatory, confidential, free assistance to our community.”
HISTORY:
- Goldridge RCD is based in Western Sonoma County, and has a team of experts to help – in their own words, above.
- WEBSITE: In 1941, the Gold Ridge Resource Conservation District (Gold Ridge RCD) was established as one of the original Resource Conservation Districts, the first in Sonoma County and the 7th in California. The 134,000 acre district is located in West Sonoma County and is bordered by Marin County to the south, the Russian River to the north, the Pacific coastline to the west, and the Laguna de Santa Rosa to the east. The diverse resources of the region include rangeland, woodland, wildlife habitat, vineyards, dairies, orchards, cropland, streams, coastal areas, as well as rural and urban areas.
I attended a presentation, as part of a meeting the Russian River Valley Winegrowers Association held. I really wanted to know more about the Gold Ridge Resource Conservationists. I came away really impressed.
They’re willing to help with the following groups of people, for instance:
- Residents
- Farmers
- Permits
- Public Education
- Technical Support
- Financial Support
The operative words HERE, for now, are “help” and “farmers.” Having worked with viticulturists since 1993, I’m very clear on this farmers concept. They’ve taught me viticulture in wine grapes, I’ve taught them PR and marketing of wine in reciprocity. When I heard the presentation by John Green, he made it abundantly clear to the agriculturists who were present:
Sonoma County’s working lands produce not only foods, fiber, and fuels, but also can create widespread benefits to our environment and our economy. With a wide swath of local partnership and initiatives focused on sustainability, the RCD works to support Sonoma County’s agricultural industry as one of the most progressive in the world.
Their purpose is to support Sonoma County agricultural landowners, with the many natural resource concerns vineyardists have… and their services are free…
Did you “get” that? I certainly did, when attending the Russian River Valley Winegrowers Association meeting, which included guest speaker John Green.
John’s the lead scientist and project manager with Gold Ridge RCD. The company is located at 2776 Sullivan Rd, Sebastopol, CA 95472. John Green’s phone number (707) 823-5244, and he can also be contacted via Email: john@goldridgercd.org. Their Website is www.GoldRidgeRCD.org.
Check out their website for more details. Here is one example.
LandSmart® Planning:
LandSmart® is a regional collaborative program that helps land managers meet their natural resource management goals while supporting productive lands and thriving streams. LandSmart® Plans are prepared with you and are geared to meet your needs. LandSmart Plans describe the natural and agricultural resources of your property, document the practices that you use to protect natural resources, identify opportunities to maintain or improve the quality of natural resources on your property, and prioritize management practices according to your needs, goals, and timelines.
There’s so much more to know and offered by this non-profit.
- Water Conservation
- Erosion Control
- Nutrient Management
- Carbon Farm Planning
- Attracting Pollinators
Looking for your own verdant Eco system, especially as Sonoma County has a deadline of 2019 as the year when wine grape growing and producing of wine is scheduled to be 100 percent sustainable? If you’re a farmer in Russian River Valley, you know that the rigors of sustainability is quite complex, and a partnership toward that goal, especially for small farmers, is a Godsend . Check out this video for more.
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