Lani Fulcher, Office Manager

Lani joined the RCD in June 2022 with years of nonprofit experience supporting science education, mental health programs, environmental engagement, and community outreach. 

She brings her management knowledge and her enthusiasm to YCRCD where she will be handling finances, logistics, data entry and tracking, HR, invoicing, and anything else the YCRCD staff needs.

Conor Higgins, Mobile Irrigation Lab Manager

Conor joined the RCD in August 2022 as the manager of the RCD's new Mobile Irrigation Lab Program. Conor recently graduated from UC Davis with a Masters Degree in Ecology where he studied plant and animal community ecology. 

Conor will spearhead the Mobile Irrigation Lab to provide technical assistance on irrigation efficiency and other on-farm conservation practices.

Alli Permann, Outreach Coordinator

In March of 2022, Alli joined the RCD as the Outreach Coordinator. Alli brings her background of environmental stewardship, volunteer outreach, and education to her work at the RCD. 

Alli manages outreach for both the RCD and the Yolo County Fire Safe Council and coordinates wildfire resilience programming like the Reflective Address Sign Program highlighted above.

Zachary Skalak, Grizzly Corps Fellow

Zach recently graduated from UC Davis with a degree in Sustainable Environmental Design. He joins YCRCD for the 2022-2023 service year as a Habitat Restoration Fellow through GrizzlyCorps, a partnership between AmeriCorps and UC Berkeley.

Zach will be assisting with plant installation, site maintenance, and improving pollinator habitat. During the fellowship, Zach hopes to gain practical experience in plant identification, GIS, and land stewardship

Yolo County RCD, in collaboration with Yolo County Office of Emergency Services, is developing a Community Wildfire Protection Plan (CWPP). This countywide plan is collaboratively developed to help communities reduce wildfire risk and facilitate fire adapted communities. A CWPP is a planning document created by local fire departments, governments, land managers, and residents. Developing and implementing a CWPP is beneficial for local communities because its creation enables access to funding sources for fuels reduction work, defensible space projects, and community education.

CWPPs are designed to address unique conditions, values, and priorities within a community to reduce the risk of wildfire and bolster resiliency. If you live in the high fire areas of Yolo County, the RCD needs your help! Yolo County RCD is hosting community workshops to hear from local residents about priority projects and community values to be incorporated in the CWPP process.

Join Yolo County RCD, Yolo County Fire Safe Council, and your community to identify priority projects to prepare Western Yolo County for the next wildfire:

• Capay Valley CWPP Workshop: Wednesday, September 14th at Western Yolo Grange Hall in Guinda, CA at 6:30 PM

• West Winters CWPP Workshop: Thursday, September 15th at Winters Fire Department in Winters, CA at 6:30 PM

The Yolo County Weed Management Area (YCWMA) coordinates management and control of the County's noxious wildland weeds through education and cooperation with landowners, agencies, organizations, and the general public. The group is led by Yolo County RCD and the Yolo County Department of Agriculture. 

The YCWMA hosts biannual informational meetings that feature insights from UC Cooperative Extension and other experts in weed management. The meetings serve as an avenue for participants to network, ask questions, and learn about relevant Yolo County target weeds and their management.

The next YCWMA meeting will take place IN PERSON this fall on October 19, 2022 from 2:00-3:30 PM at Nelson Hall (70 Cottonwood Street) in Woodland. To get involved with the Yolo County Weed Management Area, reach out to Tanya Meyer, Senior Program Manager, at meyer@yolorcd.org.

Yolo County RCD coordinates the Yolo County Fire Safe Council, a county-wide forum of stakeholders that support and promote wildfire preparedness and resiliency. The YCFSC Reflective Address Sign Program offers free reflective address signs to residents living in the high fire areas of Western Yolo County. These signs aid emergency officials in locating a residence under low visibility conditions, day or night.

We are excited to announce the first batch of address signs have been delivered to Yolo County residents. A total of 67 properties throughout Western Yolo County are now equipped with reflective address signs to help first responders more easily locate homes in rural communities. Are you interested in receiving a free reflective address sign? Residents in rural Western Yolo County can request a sign by filling out the form linked below.

The Yolo Creek and Community Partnership (YCCP) consists of Yolo County RCD, the Center for Land Based Learning, Putah Creek Council, and Point Blue Conservation Science. Generously funded by the Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation, this partnership connects the local community with hands-on environmental stewardship projects implemented on the working lands of Yolo County. With the goal of regional collaboration to promote conservation, YCCP works to engage community members and high school students in habitat restoration for the benefit of wildlife, soil and water quality, and beneficial insects.

Yolo County RCD coordinates and implements projects with the help of CLBL’s Student and Landowner Education and Watershed Stewardship Program (SLEWS) and Putah Creek Council’s Volunteer Stewardship Days. Point Blue Conservation Science assists with ecological monitoring and provides valuable input throughout the process.

In late August, the Yolo Creek and Community Partnership met to discuss, plan, and celebrate the upcoming planting season. Upcoming events will take place in late 2022 and early 2023 and will consist of community events and SLEWS field days where members of the public will get the opportunity to collectively steward the land and implement restoration projects. Are you looking to get involved? Stay tuned with the Yolo Creek and Community Partnership to join a community stewardship day soon or become a SLEWS Mentor for the upcoming season.

California Coastal Cleanup Day is right around the corner on September 17, 2022 from 9 am to noon. A number of local organizations and community groups are taking part in this event to cleanup local waterways including Yolo Basin Foundation. Join Yolo Basin Foundation in cleaning up our local wetlands in the Yolo Bypass Wildlife Area to remove trash buildup for the benefit of habitat and wildlife! To join this cleanup effort, meet at Parking Lot A of the Yolo Bypass Wildlife Area and be sure to come prepared with water, sun protection, and close toed shoes.

Did you know that the Yolo Bypass Wildlife Area hosts two agricultural operations managed in ways to provide beneficial wildlife habitat? Yolo County RCD serves as a lease liaison for the California Department of Fish and Wildlife and farmers to ensure habitat objectives and lease agreement terms are met. Farmers and ranchers in the Yolo Bypass Wildlife Area plant wildlife food sources, fallow and flood fields for shorebird habitat, and move cattle to manage for vernal pool and upland grassland health.

Other organizations in Yolo County that are hosting cleanups are Putah Creek Council, Cache Creek Conservancy, the City of Davis, and Putah Creek Trout! Join the Yolo Basin Foundation or other local organizations on September 17th to get dirty by cleaning up!

Solano RCD is conducting a survey of habitat impacts remaining from the 2020 fires in Solano County - the Hennessey/LNU Complex and the Quail fire.

Beginning this fall, Solano RCD staff will be doing site visits to catalogue habitat damage & collect data to inform future grant proposals. This information will also be used to build projects for an implementation grant we received from California Association of RCDs that begins in Summer 2023, focusing on post-fire impacts to Solano County creeks. 

Putah Creek Council is hiring Seasonal Restoration Technicians for folks looking to gain experience in the habitat restoration and conservation field. 

The program meets twice weekly at various restoration sites within the Putah Creek Watershed and Putah Creek Council’s Native Plant Nursery. Technicians can expect to work 6-8 hours per week, and the program is flexible based on participant schedules. Participants will gain hands-on experience with plant care and planting, and gain knowledge and experience from meeting and working alongside other regional restoration professionals.

A 2.5 mile hedgerow installed in the Yolo Bypass Wildlife Area by Yolo County RCD can be seen to the left of the road for the benefit of wildlife and native pollinators. This project was funded by the Delta Conservancy.

The backside of these valley oak leaves contain white and pink spined turban galls created by wasps for protection of larvae.

A stand of Arundo donax blocks the view of a native oak tree. Arundo has very little habitat value and consumes five times the water of California native plants.

California Conservation Corps members assisted with arundo removal as part of the RCD's Putah- Cache Arundo Eradication Program.

Left: Narrowleaf milkweed (Asclepias fascicularis) in bloom in a native plant hedgerow in the Yolo Bypass Wildlife Area entrance parking lot.

Right: California wildrose (Rosa californica) in bloom with red rose hips, planted in the same demonstration hedgerow in the Yolo Bypass.