2009-2010 annual report, inland empire natural resources conservation

8/2/2019 2009-2010 Annual Report, Inland Empire Natural Resources Conservation

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Inland Empire Resource Conservation District.P r o m o t i n g t h e u n d e r s t a n d i n g t h a t t h e q u a l i t y o

t h e e n v i r o n m e n t d e t e r m i n e s t h e q u a l i t y o l i e .



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Board and Sta 3

Mission Statement 4

Executive Summary 5Mitigation Program 6

Federal Funding 8

Education Report 12

Clean-Ups 19

Grants and Partnerships 21

Santa Ana Watershed Association 26Continuing Education 27

Financial Summary 29

District Boundaries 30



DirectorsPaul Williams, President

Cheryl Avent, Vice President

Tim Johnson, Secretary/Treasurer

Terrie Andrews, Director

Sybrand Vander-Dussen, Director

Alison Mathisen, Director

Brad Buller, Director

Kay Kielhold, Associate Director

Sta Jennier Ares, District Manager (7/1/09- 2/28/10)

Mandy Parkes, District Manager (4/8/10-6/30/10)

Mandy Parkes, Project Manager (7/1/09-4/8/10)

James Law, Field Ecologist

Amy Bonczewski, Conservation Educator

Kate Warren, Administrative Assistant

April Andrews, Education Assistant

Shari Tindall , Education Assistant

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The mission o the Inland Empire

Resource Conservation District is

to promote the understandingthat the quality o the

environment determines thequality o lie. In cooperation with

landowners, local, state and ederalagencies, the agricultural community,

environmental and community groups, wewill promote good stewardship

o our soil, water and othernatural resources. We will provide

strong educational programs that will

encourage today’s youth to accept the

responsibility o conserving our natural

resources or tomorrow’s generations.

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The Inland Empire Resource Conservation

District (IERCD) is a public agency, the

boundaries o which include multiple cities

and unincorporated county areas within San

Bernardino and Riverside Counties. As the

product o a merge o two ormer independent

districts, the service area o the IERCD is

correspondingly staggering at over 825,000

acres. The mission o the IERCD is based on the

concept that the quality o one’s environment

determines the quality o lie; accordingly,

the IERCD works to preserve and enhance

the natural resources existing within District

boundaries or the benet o area wildlie,

vegetation, and people. This is accomplished

through a variety o tasks, including

conservation o open space, restoration o

area wildlands, and acilitation o an array o

outreach opportunities or the residents o the

IERCD service area. This work has resulted in

both the enhanced unctionality o the natural

habits and related environs located within the

District’s boundaries, as well as the increased

environmental education o its residents.

In the 2009-10 reporting year, District sta

worked to consistently achieve the goals

and objectives o the IERCD. In this period,

two conservation easements were executed

and recorded, resulting in the in-perpetuity

protection o habitat. Multiple mitigation

projects were developed including one placed

in the Cajon Pass region o San Bernardino

County. This eort was planned and permitted,

with work beginning in the winter o 2009

involving the removal o three species o

invasive vegetation including giant cane

( Arundo donax ), pampas grass (Cortaderia

selloana) and salt cedar (tamarix spp.). In

addition to current projects, all acres o previous

restoration projects were also managed, with

site visits and eld work perormed to locate

and conceptualize additional sites and species

or removal.

Signicant progress was also made in satisying

the District’s mission o outreach and education

to residents located within the IERCD service

area. The District’s education department

perormed nearly twice the environmental

education programs to area students as

were completed in the 2008-09 reporting

year. A similar trend in outreach events was

demonstrated, with a much stronger District

presence at area environmental estivals,

educational airs, and observance o Federally-

recognized environmental days. Additional

education program content was added to

the District’s repertoire o presentations, and

existing content was rened in order to better

communicate the message o the importance

o conservation. The addition o two education

assistants to the IERCD’s sta roster enabled

much o this progress, and the board and

sta will work to continue this education and

outreach development in the next scal year.

In 2009-2010, the District maximized available

resources, partnerships, and conservation

opportunities in order to deliver its message

o restoration, preservation, and education

within its service area. Residents reached,

events attended, and total acres restored and

conserved in-perpetuity all increased as a result

o this work, which is reected in the provision

o District data or this reporting year.

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Evidence o economic recovery can be seen in

a variety o community development projects

taking place within the service area o the Inland

Empire Resource Conservation District. These

eorts include improvement projects such as

the construction o residential and commercial

structures, the creation o recreational spaces,and enhancement o other critical elements

o local inrastructure. While these projects

are economically benecial, they are also

accompanied by negative impacts to local

vegetation, wildlie, and habitat. Development

must and will continue; thereore, these

construction-related impacts must be tempered

with the preservation, and/or enhancement o

like habitat to ensure continued local biologicalsustainability. These conservation eorts involve

a variety o tasks aimed at both short and long-

term restoration and preservation o unctional

habitat, and are collectively known as mitigation

projects.

Mitigation projects range rom small, “micro”

eorts involving work on one ½ acre o property or

less, to large parcels o land in excess o hundredso acres. The acreage and nature o conservation

work to be perormed depends entirely on the

size and severity o impacts projected to occur as

a result o each individual development project.

Once the total impacts are estimated, agencies

with jurisdiction over aected areas assign

mitigation. The proponents o these individual

construction projects then work with agen

qualied to acilitate mitigation assignme

such as the IERCD.

As a resource conservation district, the IER

is qualied to conceptualize and implem

mitigation projects. The District has been acin mitigation work or many years, including b

IERCD-held projects as well as those that sta

collaborated upon with the Santa Ana Waters

Association. While assisting with mitigation w

District sta routinely perorm tasks includ

permit interpretation, location o poten

project sites, assistance with habitat mitigat

and management plans, and with creation

recordation o the conservation easemenapplicable. The IERCD provides a ull range

these services to developers impacting Dist

lands in an eort to maximize the amount o l

conserved and habitat enhanced as a resul

development.

Currently, the District has active mitigat

projects in several o its service-area ci

including Chino Hills, Ontario, Redlands, aBeaumont. In addition to these active proje

the IERCD is also working on multiple pend

mitigations in Mira Loma, Yucaipa, unincorpora

Riverside County, as well as in Beaumont. Cur

and pending IERCD mitigations are summari

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Developer Impact Location TypeMitigation

Assigned (A)

Total

Received

Alabama St.

Culvert

Culvert widening or

SF Res Dev.

Morey Arroyo,

Redlands

Riparian

Restoration0.11 $25,000.00

Cal Trans

EucalyptusConstruction Prado Basin

EucalyptusRemoval /

Cowbird Trap

1 $105,000.00

Calnev Pipeline

Cajon

Pipeline Washout

Repair Cajon Wash

Invasive Plant

Removal 0.51 $40,000.00

Calnev PipelineDeadmans

Pipeline WashoutRepair

Deadman Junction,SB County

RiparianRestoration

0.27 $22,500.00

CalNev PipelineSwarthout

Pipeline WashoutRepair

Swartthout Cyn, SBCounty

RiparianRestoration

0.3 $22,500.00

Century American/Century Homes

SF ResidentialDevelopment

YucaipaRiparianRestoration

0.48 $111,000.00

Chino Hills/Centex

Sycamore Heights

SF Residential

DevelopmentChino Hills

Open Space

Preservation25 $120,930.00

ESRI Parking Lot Morey ArroyoRiparian


Four SeasonsBeaumont

Senior HousingDevelopment

Protrero Creek Enhancement /Restoration

26 $10,000.00

Goose Creek Violation Santa Ana RiverOpen Space

Preservation53 $10,000.00

Nevada Business

Park

Business Park

ConstructionMorrey Arroyo

Riparian


Oak Glen Basins Flood Control Basins Oak Glen Creek Open SpacePreservation

2 $10,000.00

ProLogis LogisticsIndustrial Park

ConstructionCoopers Creek

Enhancement/

Restoration9 $592,058.09

Prologis OntarioIndustrial Park

ConstructionCoopers Creek

Enhancement/


Rialto Channel Channelization work Rialto ChannelInvasive PlantRemoval

3.3.33 $87,000.00

Riverside FlumePipeline Washout

RepairSanta Ana River

Enhancement /


San Seveine Channelization work San Seveine ChannelInvasive Plant

Removal8.7 $450,000.00

Southern CaliorniaEdison - Demens

Canyon

Access road

stabilization

Thorpe Cyn Creek,

SB County

Riparian


Southern CaliorniaEdison - El Casco

Systems

Utility line

stabilizationSan Timoteo Creek

Riparian


So. CA. Reg. Rail

Authority

Santiago Creek

ActivitySantiago Creek Arundo Removal 0.37 $21,000.00

Tournament HillsSF ResidentialDevelopment

Beaumont DrainageRiparian OpenSpace

pending $5,000.00

Wildwood Canyon

II

SF Residential

DevelopmentYucaipa Riparian Creation 0.92 $5,000.00

Totals 139.76 $2,187,600.30

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In reporting years 2003 through 2006, the Inland

Empire Resource Conservation District received

Federal unding supported by 41st District

Congressman Jerry Lewis or the purposes

o conducting conservation, eradication and

restoration, education and outreach in the

Santa Ana Watershed. In order to ensure

proper oversight, these unds are managed

and disseminated by the IERCD’s partnering

agency, the Natural Resources Conservation

Service (NRCS). The unds are tracked using a

combination o monthly nancial tracking and

quarterly and annual reporting.

Since 2003, the Federal monies have been

used or a variety o projects conceptualized

and implemented with the original undingrequirements in mind. These include but are not

limited to the removal o invasive vegetation and

replanting o native species, the perormance

o environmental education presentations to

area residents and attendance at community

events, the promotion o water conservation,

and the long-term preservation o open spaces

and wildlie corridors. Projects unded with

these dollars have varied in size, but nearly allhave included collaborations with non-prots,

conservation organizations, and other special

districts, including the Santa Ana Watershed

Association, the Redlands Conservancy, the

Caliornia Conservation Corps, the Mary Vagle

Nature Center, and the San Bernardino County

Special Districts Department.

All completed projects and partnering agencies

have contributed in some manner to the increase

in biological sustainability and unctionality

o the Santa Ana Watershed and dependent

environs. In the 2010-11 reporting period,

the sta o the IERCD will continue to work to

expand the size and scope o programs oered

as a result o this Federal unding.

Invasive Species Removal

One o the largest barriers to sustained

watershed health is the ever-increasing presence

o noxious species o invasive vegetation. While

specic eects o each plant vary, common

characteristics include the crowding out o

native vegetation, accelerated uptake o

available nutrients and water, ailure to provide

suitable habitat or local wildlie, and increased

probability o local re and ood. These species

spread rapidly through a variety o typically

non-preventable mechanisms, and presently

aect tens o millions o acres o open space in

the State o Caliornia. Their growing existence

presents a constant threat to local habitat

unctionality, which has resulted in multiple

resource agencies and conservation districts

making their eradication a top organizationa

priority.

Historically, the District has worked to remove

several species o aggressive, invasive plants

including tree o heaven ( Ailanthus altissima)

tree tobacco (Nicotiana glauca), castorbean

(Ricinus communis), and salt cedar (Tamarix spp.)

All o the aorementioned species negatively

aect other local vegetation and wildlie

primarily as a result o their displacement o

native plants. This replacement o endemic

with invasive vegetation oten results in lack o

oraging and shelter opportunities or native

wildlie, which invariably disproportionately

aects marginalized and/or threatened species

such as the least Bell’s vireo (Vireo bellii pusillus)

The traditional vegetative cover provided t

riverine systems is typically crowded out by these

plants, resulting in higher water temperatures

with potentially disastrous consequences on

dependent species. I let unchecked, the growth

rates o these species can aect acreages in

adjacent watersheds, potentially causing simila

issues to vegetation and wildlie in those areas.

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While the IERCD does ocus on the removal o multiple

species o invasive vegetation, the plant most oten

targeted or eradication is giant cane ( Arundo donax ).

This species was originally introduced into the region

or the purposes o bank stabilization, and has since

become both a prolic and highly problematic

presence in the watershed due to its rapid growth and

tolerance o a variety o habitat types and weather

regimes. The presence o giant cane in natural systems

oten compromises water quality, and contributes

to erosion issues as a result o its impermeable,

clumped growth patterns. However, perhaps most

importantly, giant cane transpires water at a rate o

three times that o native vegetation, which translates

to signicant nancial as well as hydrologic losses in

highly inested areas.

Invasive species’ removal projects are at times unded

rom mitigation assignments; however, the majority

o projects undertaken by the District have been

paid or with Federal Appropriations monies. The

unding has allowed the IERCD to make a signicant

dierence in the ecological health o the watershed,

through this ever-expanding invasive plant removal

program. The biggest benet rom these projects

can be seen in the water saved, as each ull acre o giant cane removed results in the replacement o 1.8

million gallons back into the watershed. Following

initial removal, site maintenance results in a savings

o 900,000 gallons per year. In total over the course o

the IERCD’s removal projects, over 1.9 billion gallons

o water have been saved.

In 2009-10, the sta o the IERCD continued its work

in the initial removal o invasive species, as well as

maintenance o ormer eradication sites. In addition

to this removal, the list o species targeted or

extermination grew as sta located populations and

conceptualized projects or the eradication o newly

problematic, yet equally threatening vegetation. Key

species added to the list in this past reporting period

included yellow starthistle (Centaurea solstitialis),

perennial pepperweed (Lepidium latifolium) and

the Arican clawed rog ( Xenopus laevis). In the next

reporting period, sta will continue to work toward

ull eradication o each species o concern within

lands comprising the IERCD.

Invasive Plant Removal

Methodology The process o removing invasive vegetation rom

lands within IERCD boundaries is one that the District

works to consistently rene and improve, in order to

operate at peak eciency when conducting projects

o this nature. This ocus on working quickly yet

methodically not only allows the District to maximize

both the number o species targeted or removal as wel

as the acreages upon which they grow; it also assists

with ensuring utilization o proper saety techniques

and environmental protection practices. These

projects take place in various locations and habitat

types throughout the District’s service area, and

range rom micro-projects to larger eorts consisting

o hundreds o acres o invasive species. While the

overall removal methodology is airly consistent, the

size, scope, species targeted or removal, and location

relative to sensitive habitat all actor in to the District’

project planning and implementation.

The most important step in this process is location

o invasive vegetation to target or removal

which is done through a combination o eld visits

historic removal inormation, and inormation rom

cooperating agencies. Once the location has been

mapped, the District’s eld ecologist perorms an

initial site visit in order to conrm location as wel

as to estimate total acreage o plant presence andpercent inestation. Based on this data, the Distric

elects to categorize it either as a small, in-house

eort, or as a larger-scale removal necessitating labo

and oversight by an outside qualied restoration

contractor. Depending on the scale o the project

sta will either begin implementation as soon as

biological and regulatory clearances are given, or o



more comprehensive eorts, the project is put out

or bid since the IERCD will ultimately be utilizing the

services o a restoration ecology rm.

Smaller eorts are predictably easier to plan,

implement and manage, as they involve ewer sta.

They also call or very straightorward treatment

methods, consisting o hand-applications o salt-based wetlands-approved herbicides, either by oliar

spray or through direct application o herbicide

known as cut and daub. Following this initial

treatment, IERCD sta will then remove the resulting

biomass, and transport it to a greenwaste acility.

The District’s eld ecologist then perorms ollow-up

maintenance and monitoring consisting o site visits,

photo documentation, and the eradication o any

re-sprouts. The requency and intensity o this work correlates to both the success o the initial removal as

well as to the prevalence o re-growth.

Larger projects are ar more complicated, as they

invariably involve other conservation agencies,

outside contractors, extensive permitting, and

biological oversight. However, a similar process is

ollowed in that site visits are conducted ollowed

by initial herbicide treatment, removal o biomass

and subsequent maintenance and monitoring. The

key dierence in these larger eorts is overall projec

scale, as well as the physical biomass removal, which

is done using heavy machinery and multiple crews

due to the nature o the inestations being treated.

As with any process, the methods utilized in the

removal o invasive species rom lands within IERCD

boundaries have changed signicantly in the time

period in which the District has been involved in this

process. In this reporting period, IERCD sta have

worked to incorporate the process o revegetating

ormer removal sites, in order to prevent recolonization

by other species o non-natives. This revegetation

has only been perormed in a limited capacity thusar, and has consisted o the planting o IERCD-

propagated pole cuttings o riparian species. In 2010

11, the IERCD will continue to work to implement this

post-removal revegetation in as many ormer remova

sites as is possible, as well as to continue to rene and

improve upon existing removal methodologies.

ld Ecologist Treating Yellow Starthistle (Centaurea

stitialis)

Urban Conservation Corps Volunteers Assist With Ar

Rem10



Project Location Acreage Status

Upper SantaAna River Phase

1

Santa Ana River atMission Avenue

100 The project is now in the spray portion which is in year 4 o a 5 year contract.

It is estimated that the targeted species are approximately 80% eradicated.

Upper SantaAna River Phase

2

Santa Ana River, atMission Avenue

19

The removal portion began in February 2009 and was completed March5th, 2009. In addition to the removal o the invasive plants, a one year spray

contract was awarded and began March 15th, 2009. A 6 month herbicidecontract was awarded in March 2010. Ater this contract expires the SAWA

spray crew will take over herbicide operations.

Mill Creek Chino 125

The Arundo donax is approximately >95% eradicated and all monitoring

and spray duties have since been taken over by Santa Ana WatershedAssociation’s spray crew.

210 Drainage Redlands 13

There is <1% Arundo donax biomass remaining on site. Unortunately, thesite has been recolonized by tree tobacco (Nicotiana glauca). Project plans

are currently underway to remove this new invasive plant, and replace withspecies o Riversidean sage scrub plants in 2010-11.

East Twin Creek San Bernardino 84Less than 5% o noxious non-native plant species are present at the site. TheIERCD eld ecologist monitors the site and applies herbicide treatments to

re-growth.

Santa AnaMainstem

Santa Ana River atWaterman Avenue in

San Bernardino70

The regrowth o Arundo donax at this location is less than 3%. The IERCDeld ecologist monitors the site and SAWA spray crew treats any re-growth

encountered.

Warm Creek San Bernardino 1 The herbicide application contract expired in February 2009 or theeradication o Arundo donax. All site monitoring and herbicide applicationsare conducted by the IERCD eld ecologist.

San TimoteoCreek,

subtributariesCalimesa 16

Arundo donax removal occurred in 2003. All photo documentation is done bythe IERCD eld ecologist. All re-growth is sprayed by the SAWA spray crew.

EtiwandaPreserve

Rancho Cucamonga <1 The Etiwanda Preserve contract has expired and all monitoring and

herbicide application are conducted by the IERCD eld ecologist. There isless than 1% re-growth o Arundo donax.

Oak GlenArundo

Oak Glen <1All photo documentation and herbicide applications are conducted by the

IERCD eld ecologist. There is less than 3% re-growth.

Santa Ana Riverat Limonite

Norco 125

An herbicide extension contract was awarded due to the large nature and

amount o re-growth at the site. Once the contract expires, either anotherextension will occur or the SAWA spray crew will take over herbicide

applications.

Yucaipa YellowStar Thistle

Yucaipa 20

It was brought to the attention o the District by USFS that there was a newinestation o yellow starthistle in the upper part o the watershed. Herbicide

applications were initiated in May 2010 to prevent the spread throughoutthe rest o the District.

3rd AvenueDrainage-

Morrey ArroyoProject

Mentone/Redlands <1

There were two small inestations that were located in the upper portiono the watershed. An initial biomass removal and one year herbicide

contract was initiated in October 2009. Once the contract expires all photodocumentation and herbicide applicatoin will be conducted by the IERCD

eld ecologist.

ApplewhiteCampground

and Picnic AreaLytle Creek 6

This project has been a joint eort between USFS and the District to control

approximately 6 acres o tree o heaven. In February the Urban ConservationCorps and Del Rosa Hot Shots assisted with removal o tree o heaven

( Ailanthus altissima) as well. Future herbicide applications will be conductedby both the District and USFS.

SB Gol Course San Bernardino 5Since the contract expired in 2007, all herbicide applications have been

conducted by SAWA’s spray crew. There is less than 1% re-growth.

SB CleanupContract

Various Locationsin Yucaipa, San

Bernardino, Highlandand Upland.

17 acres

This contract was initiated to control multiple small inestations o Arundo

donax that were originally missed within the City o San Bernardino. Oncethe contract expires in January o 2011, either SAWA’s spray crew or the

District’s eld ecologist will take over monitoring and herbicide applications.

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Education SummaryOne o the most signicant areas o growth in this

reporting period has been the development o

the IERCD’s education department. Historically,

the District has operated its outreach and

education program using just one conservation

educator, responsible or all tasks associatedwith this position. In 2009, the presence o

Federal earmark dollars in the budget, as well

as the receipt o grant unding by the Sempra

Energy Foundation allowed the District to add

two education assistants to its sta. These two

recent hires, in combination with the existing

conservation educator, resulted in three

individuals able to contribute to the workload o

the IERCD’s education department. This in turnincreased both the reach and eectiveness o

the District’s education program.

IERCD educator attendance at events in 2009-

2010 dramatically increased. Local gatherings

in which IERCD staed an outreach booth and/

or acilitated an activity included the Water

Awareness Festival, Arbor Day, and multiple Earth

Day events. In addition to these, the educationdepartment planned and implemented a

number o volunteer-based undertakings,

including several clean-ups o illegal dump sites

and a sod conversion project on the grounds o

a local nature center. The District’s educators

also executed a highly successul Speak-O,

which is a local competition or high schools

students on a dynamic annual topic, in addition

to participation in the Caliornia Envirothon,and the Environmental Youth Leadership

Conerence. In 2010-11, IERCD educators will

continue to seek out, participate in, and expand

on opportunities or outreach and education

within District boundaries.

In addition to community events, the District’s

education department continued to perorm

its repertoire o ree environmental education

programs in area schools, community acilities

and environmental education centers. These

programs ocus on a variety o local and world-

wide environmental issues, including the

importance o recycling, alternative energy

sources, and the components o a healthy

habitat or area wildlie. Each ranges rom 45

minutes to one hour in length, involves a take-

home element or participating students, and

is consistent with Science Content Standards

or Caliornia Public Schools. In previous years

the maximum number o programs perormed

in a single reporting period was 467; in 2009-10

that number jumped to over 750 presentations

The importance o these programs cannot be

overstated, as they both provide a platorm

or the dissemination o critical environmenta

inormation to local residents, as well as connect

the District with its residents in order to provide

additional services or contacts with othe

local conservation agencies. IERCD classroom

programs are urther described in the ollowing

descriptions.

Water Use Efciency

This program teaches students and the publi

about local water sources, the signicance

o the current drought and the importance

o conserving water to prepare or potentia

water restrictions. Using the Enviroscape®

model, students learn about the importance o

groundwater or collection and use by IERCD

residents.

Toil o Soil

This program uses scientic soil sieves to assis

participants in discovering and subsequently

discussing the components and properties o

soil, as well as the manner in which it is ormed

Upon completion o the program, participating

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students should understand the importance o

conserving existing healthy soil or the overall health

and unctionality o the natural world.

Backyard Conservation

Backyard Conservation teaches students the

importance o practicing conservation locally.Students participating in the program learn to recycle

every day household items in order to enhance

habitat quality to encourage the presence o native

wildlie in their own backyards.

Stormwater Pollution

Stormwater pollution teaches students about Non-

Point Source (NPS) Pollution through the use o an

Enviroscape® watershed model. This portion o theprogram allows students to actively participate in

determining how surace and groundwater can

transport pollutants rom their neighborhoods into

the Santa Ana River and out to the Pacic Ocean.

Students are also taught about the water cycle and the

local sources that provide water to District residents.

Trees Please

In this program, students engage in a class discussion

on the benets trees provide including shade,

lumber, oxygen, improved air quality, and valuable

wildlie habitat, among others. Students also discuss

the benets o growing native plants, species that are

adapted to the local climate and thereore require

ewer resources or survival. Finally, students are given

a planter, some soil, and a native seed to cultivate and

take home with them.

Wonders o Wetlands

The Wonders o Wetlands program uses an interactive

game to involve students in demonstrating the

unctions and eatures o a wetland. Students learn

the valuable qualities o wetland habitat, including the

improvement o the quality o water passing through

them due to ltration o pollutants. At the end o the

presentation, program participants discuss the ways

in which this vital habitat type can be preserved to

benet uture generations.

Recycle, Reduce, Reuse

Recycle, Reduce, Reuse teaches students how they

can help promote the wise use o our resourcethrough the implementation o these three very

important actions. At the end o the program, students

will understand the importance o diversion o

material rom landlls through reduction in persona

reuse generation as well as implementation o home

recycling programs.

Education AssistantsAt approximately 825,000 acres, the territory o theInland Empire Resource Conservation District is

both geographically and demographically complex

characterized by large variances in biology as wel

as in population. While outreach to this region

has historically been perormed with a single

conservation educator, in 2009 the District decided

to expand its reach by increasing the size o its

education department. Two education assistants

were added to the IERCD’s sta, allowing or both

an increase in outreach presentations perormed

and the development o new and strengthening o

the District’s repertoire o environmental education

programming. Following oce and classroom training

both assistants immediately began visiting area

campuses, community acilities, and environmenta

organizations to perorm presentations ranging rom

the importance o reducing, reusing and recycling, to

the unction and value o wetland habitat.

The addition o these educators has allowed th

District to continue to expand its outreach and

education to service-area residents, as well as to set

goals or additional increases in the next reporting

period.

13



Envirothon The Caliornia Envirothon is an outdoor natural

resource education competition whose mission is to

“…provide youth with natural resources experiences

to promote a sense o personal stewardship o the

natural environment and to empower them to take

responsibility or the wise use o those resources oruture generations.” This annual competition is open

to teams o students rom high schools throughout

the state, which are challenged to work together

to answer written questions, as well as to conduct

hands-on explorations o orestry, soils, wildlie,

aquatics, and a current issue topic that changes

annually. The overall goal o this competition is to

build the decision-making, reasoning skills and public

speaking condence that will continue to benetparticipants throughout the rest o their lives. In the

2009-10 reporting period, the dynamic theme was

“Biodiversity in a Changing World” and the winning

team was Arlington High School, rom the City and

County o Riverside.

The Inland Empire Resource Conservation District

participated in the 2009 Caliornia Envirothon by

sponsoring two teams rom Banning High School. Theconservation educator and Associate Director Kay

Kielhold volunteered at the event, held at the Joshua

Tree Retreat Center in Joshua Tree rom March 31st –

April 2nd. The conservation educator also planned

a pre-conerence workshop to assist students in

their preparations or the event. The Envirothon is a

valuable competition or increasing environmental

awareness as well as student leadership development,

and the District plans to actively participate in thecompetition or the next reporting year as well.

Vermont Parent UniversityIn the 2009-10 reporting year, the IERCD Education

Department began their second year o participation

in Vermont Parent University (VPU), a parent-ocused

program being implemented at Vermont Elementary

School in the community o Muscoy. Sta at Vermont

Elementary recognized the low rates o high schoo

and college graduation in their community, and

created VPU in response, the basis o which is parent

attendance at monthly classes designed to assist with

their children’s success in and out o the classroom

Classes were taught by a variety o school sta and

community proessionals, on topics ranging rom

strategies or homework assistance to strengthening

personal nances. Ater each monthly VPU classroom

session, all participating parents and children were

treated to a complimentary dinner served on-site, as

well as a rafe.

The District contributed to this progam by providing

activities or the children o the attending parents

While the parents and caregivers o Vermon

students were in class, students were participating

in environmentally-themed educational activities

acilitated by IERCD educators and Vermont

Elementary School teachers and aides. All classroom

planning was done by the IERCD conservation

educator, and topics ranged rom the importance

o native plants to crating using recycled and/or

recyclable materials. The District is looking orward

to continued participation in VPU in the 2010-11

reporting period.

Speak-O The Speak-O is an annual competition or hig

school students that is coordinated by the Caliornia

Association o Resource Conservation Districts

and acilitated by local RCD chapters. Each student

participant is given 3-5 minutes to speak on a specic

annually changing topic, which has historically ranged

rom wildre prevention and recovery to RCD/youth

partnerships and uture conservation planning. While

researching speech content, participants bolste

knowledge o both local resource issues and resource

agencies, and also build public speaking skills. Al

speech evaluations are done by a panel o judges, who

award rst, second and third place prizes consisting

14



o $250.00, $150.00, and $100.00, respectively. Past

CARCD Speak-O winners have included contestants

rom Placer County RCD, Tuoloume County RCD, and

the Amador County RCD.

The 2009 IERCD local Speak-O took place on

September 16th, 2009, at the Highland Sam J.

Racadio Library and Environmental Learning Center,

and resulted in a signicantly higher number o

contestants than those that participated in previous

competitions. This jump in attendance was due to a

change in the outreach eorts o the IERCD education

department, who utilized both printed materials as

well as in-person advertising in area classrooms in

order to draw contestants. This alteration o traditional

outreach strategies proved to be very ruitul, and

the District will work to emulate this approach to

recruitment in uture Speak-O years.

The topic or the 2009 competition was “the RCD’s

role in the protection o ground water though urban,

agricultural, and environmental planning.” The

winner was Maya Prakash, a junior at Redlands High

School, with second place awarded to Arnetta Brown

rom San Gorgonio High School in San Bernardino,

and third place awarded to Jasdeep Sandhu, also a

Redlands High School Student. There was no regiona

competition due to lack o area RCD participation, so

Ms. Prakash went directly on to the state competition

where she beat out all other to take rst place in the

2009 CARCD speak o competition.

Community WorkshopsIn the 2009-10 reporting period, the project

manager and conservation educator developed and

implemented multiple outreach presentations to

community groups within District boundaries. Al

educational programming consisted o a PowerPoin

presentation, ollowed by a question and answe

component, driven by program content and by specic

issues voiced by participants. Multiple presentations

were conducted or the Caliornia Conservation

Corps as well as adult students at various educationa

institutions, and to community groups including

the Inland Empire Master Gardeners, the Calimesa

Community Services Commission, and the Redlands

Rotary club. The presentations were on a variety o

specic topics related to elements o IERCD’s mission

including water conservation, stormwater pollution

native plant installation and recycling.

The perormance o these programs allowed Distric

sta to reach individuals not typically targeted

in the IERCD’s usual repertoire o environmenta

programming. Historically, IERCD’s educationa

services have been ocused on students ranging in

age rom ve to eighteen; however, the District is now

also working to actively engage adults in its resource

conservation mission as well. These programs oe

attendees the chance to receive current inormation on

a number o pressing resource issues, to discuss these

trends with other community members concerned

with sustainability, and to potentially connect with

District sta or the purposes o uture partnering

Work will continue in the 2010-11 reporting period

to expand both the topics oered and the groups

reached in the adult environmental education and

outreach program arena.First, Second and Third Place Participants

rom the 2009 Speak-Of

15



2009-2010 Community Workshops

Program # o Workshops # o Students

WaterConservation

7 105

StormwaterPollution

9 195

Native Plants 2 50

IERCD Services 1 15Reduce, Reuse &

Recycle1 25

Total 20 390

16

Native Plant WorkshopIn the 2009-10 reporting period, the project manager

began working with the Redlands Aromatherapy

Foundation (RAF), a local non-prot operating in the

City o Redlands. The mission o RAF is to provide

inormation on the importance o incorporation o

native plants into home landscapes, due to benets

including a reduction in required maintenance,

support o local native environs, and lowering

the quantity o water required in traditional sod

landscapes. The second part o the RAF mission is

to create access to native vegetation through its

sister oundation, Rolling Hills Annuals nursery. This

emphasis on making species accessible is done to

encourage use o native plants by all local residents,

and not just landscaping proessionals. The message

o RAF is carried out in a number o ways, including

printed outreach, the maintenance o a demonstration

garden, and periodic workshops or local residents.

In October o 2009, the IERCD began planning a nativ

plant workshop with the Redlands Aromatherap

Foundation, slated to take place in November, i

the historic ormer YWCA building in Redlands. Th

building’s new tenants re-landscaped the propert

with native and drought-tolerant vegetatio

ater moving in, making it the perect location o

conduction o a workshop on the importance o loca

species. The workshop was scheduled in two portion

with part I consisting o a PowerPoint presentatio

showcasing area native plants, demonstratin

benets o sod removal, and highlighting area yard

in which owners landscaped using such specie

Part II was scheduled to be a question and answe

session and a demonstration o planting technique

specically or native species, ollowed by a plant sal

by Rolling Hills Annuals. The District and RAF als

collaborated on a give-away bag or each participan

which would contain a CD o the day’s presentation

printed outreach materials, and native plant resource

or inclusion into residential landscaping.

The workshop was a big success, with 23 participant

attending, in addition to sta rom the IERCD as we

as RAF. The District was thrilled with the results o

the workshop, and will continue to work to oer suc

opportunities to adults as well as to children withi

District boundaries. The dissemination o inormatio

on critical environmental issues and upcoming event

is something the IERCD will continue to work to do i

the next reporting year.

Eriastrum densifolium ssp., woolly starpuntia littoralis, coastal prickly pear 16



Event # o Students

Backyard Conservation

Smiley Library Family Day 150

Subtotal 150

Energy Conservation

Flex Your Power Event 100

Subtotal 100

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

Chino Hills Earth Day 125

Chino Basin Water Conservation District Earth Day 325

Community Health and Wellness Fair 125

Vineyard Stem Elementary School Earth Day 125

Healthy Chino Family Fitness Day 150

San Bernardino Farmers Market 150

Subtotal 1000

Stormwater Events

Earth Day on the Mountain 125

Rialto Pollution Prevention Fair 225

Read Across America 150

Community Reading Festival 200Fontana Fitness Day 200

Redlands Emerald Jubilee 150

National Public Lands Day 125

Healthy Fontana Variety Night 150

Upland High School Earth Week 75

Subtotal 1400

Trees Please

Arbor Day, Mary Vagle Nature Center 225

Newman Elementary Earth Day 825

Lyle Briggs Elementary Earth Day 525

San Bernardino County Earth Day 200

Highland Library Earth Day 225

Landscape and Water Conservation Festival 125

Kids Day at Oakmont Park 100

Chino Wetlands Park Earth Day 175

Pecan Festival, Rubidoux Nature Center 100

Buttery Days, Rubidoux Nature Center 150

Kimberly Elementary Science Night 175

Girl Scout Camporee 100

Go Green Night, Ontario Reigns 225

Subtotal 3150Water Use Efciency

Yucaipa Iris Festival 375

Davidson Elementary Farmers Market 125

Subtotal 500

Wonders o Wetlands

Chino Wetlands Bird Festival 150

Subtotal 150

Grand Total 6,450

e d

u c a t i o n e

v e n t

s



e d u

c a t i o

n p r o g r a m

s

24,425The total number of students reached by IERCD

education programs in 2009-2010

Program # o Students # o Classrooms

Backyard Conservation 2,650 106

Energy Conservation 1,225 49

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle 3,225 129

Stormwater Pollution 2,325 93 Toil o Soil 2,225 89

Trees Please 2,050 82

Water Use Eciency 2,925 117

Wonders o Wetlands 1,350 54

Total 17,975 719



Arroyo Valley Clean-up

In the past ew years, the board and sta o the

Inland Empire Resource Conservation District

have made the conduction o clean-ups o illegal

dump sites a priority o the District. These sites

pose threats to human health and saety due to

the nature o the dumped reuse, as well as to the

overall health o wildlie and vegetation existing

on and adjacent to them. Sites o particular

concern include those in close proximity to

wildlie corridors, as well as those located near

tributaries or sub-tributaries o the Santa Ana

River. The District also works to prioritize these

clean-ups in areas near school campuses, as

these draw student volunteers who the IERCD

is then able to work with to demonstrate the

connection between illegal dumping and

habitat degradation and loss o unctionality.

In February o 2010, the project manager was

contacted by teachers and students rom Arroyo

Valley High School (AVHS) in San Bernardino,

in order to assist with a clean-up o an illegal

dump site near the campus. The original

location was ultimately scrapped due toaccess and saety issues; however, the sta o

AVHS did locate an additional site next to the

student parking lot that was deemed suitable

or the clean-up. The site was overrun with

invasive weeds, as well as a signicant amount

o garbage. Together, the presence o the

weeds and trash consisting o plastic, glass

shards, tires, and even a discarded television,

created both a saety concern and a threat toarea wildlie.

The clean-up took place on Saturday, March

20th, and was attended by AVHS students

and one teacher, as well as the IERCD project

manager. Ater a saety orientation and check-

in, all participants began working to collect all

reuse rom the site, ensuring the separation

o recyclables rom garbage. At the end o the

day, over thirty bags o garbage and recycling

were counted, with an additional two truckloads

o invasive thistle removed rom the site as well.

Domestic Avenue Clean-up

On November 7, 2009 the District worked

with community and student volunteers rom

area high schools on a clean-up o Domestic

Avenue, a hidden street located north o Citrus

Valley High School in Redlands. The location o

Domestic Avenue has resulted in its popularity

as a location to dump garbage. The site was

targeted by District sta due to its proximity to

an unnamed tributary to the Santa Ana River, aswell as the copious amounts o garbage located

on the street. The concentration o hazardous

material at illegal dump sites presents threats

or all local wildlie and vegetation, as it has the

potential to leach toxins into the ground and to

interere with the biological unctionality o the

c l e

a n

u p s

Clean-up Volunteers Placing Reuse in Removal

Containers at the Domestic Avenue Clean-up



otherwise existing native habitats on-site.

In total, there were 35 volunteers rom local high

schools and the Caliornia Conservation Corps

responsible or the removal o 11.5 tons o reuse.

O this, 4 tons were regular garbage, 6.5 tons were

recyclable cement and approximately one hal o

one ton represented other recyclables such as cans,

bottles and cardboard.

In an eort to permanently stop the use o Domestic

Avenue or illegal dumping, the access point to

the road was closed to through trac. IERCD will

continue to work to ensure that clean-up projects

remain successul through the use o prevention

techniques such as blocking access combined with

public outreach and education about the negative

eects that dumping has on natural areas.

North Etiwanda Preserve Clean-up

On May 8th, 2010, the IERCD partnered once again

with the Hands-On Inland Empire (HOIE) and the

County o San Bernardino to conduct a second clean-

up o the North Etiwanda Preserve (NEP). Due to the

remote location o the Preserve, illegally dumped

trash is a near-constant eature o the site. This

hazardous material poses a threat to the endangered

threatened, and/or sensitive species or which the

Preserve is supposed to provide sustenance, as well as

human visitors to the NEP. For this most recent clean

up, however, reuse presence was on the decline, so

IERCD sta planned or additional activities other

than trash pick-up; these included invasive speciesremoval and building barriers to entry or o-road

enthusiasts illegally entering the site.

On the day o the clean-up, twenty volunteers worked

to remove garbage rom the site, as well as to pick and

dispose o invasive weeds including mustard (Brassica

nigra) and tocalote (Centaurea melitensis). These two

species are especially prolic on the NEP, particularly

along the entrance to the site as they are both known

to colonize disturbed areas and regions adjacent

to roadways. In total, volunteers removed twenty

nine ull bags o these invasive weeds, which were

taken to a green-waste acility ollowing the clean

up. In addition to the non-native plant eradication

volunteers removed .79-tons o trash present on-site

A small group o volunteers also worked to build rock

barriers to entrances to the NEP, in order to discourage

access by those on motorized vehicles.

EP Clean-Up Volunteers Pose or a Photo Ater the Event and Display Some o

e Removed Invasive Vegetation

20



Cal State Garden

In 2007, the sta o the Water Resources Institute

at the Caliornia State University, San Bernardino

campus, began searching or a solution to the

excessively high water demands o the acres o

sod blanketing the campus. The WRI was soon

joined by the San Bernardino Valley Municipal

Water District (SBVMWD) in this eort, and the

resulting plans or the on-campus drought-

tolerant demonstration garden began to orm.

The two organizations were eventually joined by

the Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden, (RSABG)

the San Manuel Band o Mission Indians, and the

Inland Empire Resource Conservation District in

this eort, all o whom provided contributions

to garden planning and eventual installation.

The IERCD and SBVMWD provided unding

and planning oversight, the San Manuel Band

o Mission Indians provided educational and

historical inormation or garden and outreach

planning, and the sta o the RSABG provided

plant palette selection and garden design. The

group also hired a proessional landscape design

rm to take all o the content provided and to

conceptualize a garden which would eature

the beauty, ragrance, drought-tolerance, and

historical uses o Caliornia native plants.

In the 2009-10 reporting period, the partners met

on a regular basis to review garden plans and

to oer suggestions on hardscape eatured as

well as integration o educational and outreach

elements. As o June 2010, the nal plan and

plant palette had been designed and accepted,

and the WRI was working to locate a rm to

install the garden. The installation should be

nished by May o 2011, and once it is complete,

the District will begin conducting educational

programs on-site or students as well as

community members on the signicance o the

native plants and lower water-use requirements

o the garden. In addition to its initial donation,

the District will continue its involvement in

the garden to ensure the project’s goals and

objectives continue to be ullled ater the

physical installation is nished.

Mary Vagle Nature Center

The Mary Vagle Nature Center (MVNC) is located

within the IERCD service area, in the City o

Fontana, and County o San Bernardino. It is

a public acility eaturing indoor exhibits and

instructional materials, as well as extensive

grounds surrounding its main oces, which

eature ponds, riparian and upland vegetation,

and a trail system. The Nature Center is run by the

City o Fontana, and recently began partneringwith the IERCD ollowing the hiring o new key

sta, manager Rick Dean and educator Kara

Cromwell. Since the addition o these two sta,

the educational programming at the Center

has considerably increased, and now eatures

daily educational activities and community

events. The new programming has resulted in

a multitude o opportunities or IERCD/MVNC

partnerships, including District participation inthe Center’s summer camp, and its Arbor Day

and National Public Lands Day celebrations.

The Center and District recognized National

Public Lands Day in 2009 by the creation o the

rst annual NPLD event at the Nature Center.

The estival included booths eaturing local

resource agencies, a native plant sale, and

snacks sold in support o local conservation

groups; however, the highlight o the day wasthe conversion project in which 1,364 square

eet o sod was replaced with drought-tolerant,

Caliornia native plants. The Center’s botanist

designed the plant palette, and all plants were

purchased at a discount rom the Tree o Lie

Nursery, while mulch was partially donated

by Wolnbarger, Inc. A large display near the g r a n

t s

&

p a r t n

e r s h

i p s



conversion project educated event participants on

the importance o replacing sod where possible, due

to the savings in labor, emissions rom lawn cutting,

and most importantly in less water required.

In addition to the community events, the conservation

educator also began working with sta rom the

MVNC in order to develop an indoor/outdooreducation program or students in the Fontana

Unied School District. This indoor/outdoor program

is being designed to connect the material taught in

the classroom during IERCD environmental education

programs, to the actual wildlie and vegetation

highlighted during these programs that populate

areas within the Nature Center’s grounds. Interested

teachers will be given the opportunity to sign up or a

session, which will include an indoor IERCD classroomprogram, ollowed by an outdoor program at the

Nature Center. At the end o the session, participating

students should understand that the conservation

themes covered by the IERCD educator are directly

applicable to the ora and auna existing in their very

own neighborhoods. The District and Center will

continue to make progress on this program in the

2010-11 reporting period.

Redlands Conservancy

The partnership between the Inland Empire Resource

Conservation District and the Redlands Conservancy

is one that has existed or several years, as evidenced

by collaboration on various annual community

events, as well as in long-term conservation and

restoration projects. In 2009, the District worked

with the Conservancy on a number o endeavors,including public outreach events such as the Emerald

Jubilee held in the historic Mitten Building in the City

o Redlands. The Jubilee is an annual eort to increase

public awareness o environmental issues and local

resources available or homeowners, schools, and

community groups. The District participates in this

event by stang a booth, eaturing an activity or

children at the event, as well as an additional sta

member to discuss IERCD programs and upcoming

events with adults in attendance.

The District also participated in the Conservancy’

Trails at Ten events, held on the our Saturdays in

October adjacent to the expanding trail system in the

City o Redlands. Education department sta assistedwith outreach to residents and ran an outreach booth

eaturing a rotating group o environmental activities

In past years, the District has acilitated activities

ranging rom planting native Caliornia poppy

seeds in take-home containers to demonstrating the

eects o non-point source pollution using a 3- D

enviroscape® model.

In 2009, the district manager and eld ecologist also

started working with the Conservancy on a restoration

plan or a one-acre wetland parcel located adjacent

to San Timoteo Creek, a tributary to the Santa Ana

River. The wetland is a nutrient and habitat source o

local wildlie and vegetation; however, it is currently

suering both rom inadequate inow as well as rom

nonpoint source pollution rom the adjacent road

The District is working with the Conservancy and a

local conservation biologist to develop an eective

restoration plan as well as or long-term preservation

o the site in order or it to continue to support loca

wildlie and vegetation. Currently, baseline data is

being taken or the supplemental resource section o

the restoration plan, with the initiation o the project

slated to begin in the 2010-11 reporting period.

The Rialto Community Garden

In recent years, there have been multiple community

gardens constructed in IERCD service-area cities

accessible to the public and eaturing a large variety

o cultivation techniques and water-conservation

practices. In early Spring o 2010, the District began

working with the residents o the City o Rialto on

the development o their own community garden

planned or installation in an overgrown, weed



inested lot adjacent to a church and community

center. Construction o the garden began in April

o 2010, resulting in the removal o the invasive

vegetation and debris, and the creation o 81 plots,

ranging rom 50 square eet to 120 square eet.

During construction, garden organizers worked to

advertise the plots to members o the public, usinga combination o local newspapers, direct mailers,

and door-to-door communication. Ultimately,

all plots were secured prior to the termination o

garden construction, with a percentage rented at a

subsidized cost, and all participants agreed to donate

a percentage o their individual projected harvests to

a local ood bank.

In 2009-10, the board and sta o the IERCD worked

to provide support to projects such as the Rialto

Community Garden (RCG), which educates members

o the public on the benets o cultivating one’s

own ood. In addition to the encouragement o local

ood, the RCG organizers also ocused on the use o

water-ecient irrigation. The RCG organizers used a

combination o education and equipment provision

to ensure all those renting garden plots conserved

water, a crucial practice or the arid Inland Empire.

The District was able to assist the garden organizers

by purchasing a portion o this ecient irrigation, in

addition to other garden supporters including the

City o Rialto, the Inland Empire United Way, and the

Stater Bros grocery store.

Water Use Eciency Programs

The Inland Empire Resource Conservation District

began collaborating with both the Yucaipa Valley

Water District (YVWD) and the San Bernardino

Valley Municipal Water District (SBVMWD) in 2007.

The ultimate goal o the collaboration was to bring

the Water Use Eciency program into classrooms,

aterschool programs, and youth organizations

throughout the common acreages between the IERCD,

the YVWD and the SBVMWD. Since its inception, the

demand or these WUE programs has grown, due

to the declaration o drought in 2008 by Governor

Schwarzenegger, and increasing water supply

issues statewide. Ater the drought declaration, the

Metropolitan Water District o Southern Caliornia

declared a Water Supply Alert, resulting in many

cities, counties and water agencies acceleratingpublic outreach campaigns aimed at personal wate

use reduction. Each entity was required to perorm

outreach or contract or the perormance o outreach

in order to get service-area residents to reduce

personal water usage by 20% by 2020.

The SBVMWD and YVWD both elected to partne

with the IERCD in order to satisy the public outreach

portion o their state mandates. The partnership

was predicted to capitalize upon the water districts

considerable knowledge and resources, in combination

with IERCD’s ability to connect with the community

to deliver the water conservation message. Sta

rom the water districts worked with the IERCD to

set the terms o the agreements, and to review the

content planned or student and community group

presentations. Ultimately, it was decided that the

presentation would cover several basic concepts

these included but were not limited to water district

description and concept, origins o water supply in

Caliornia, quantity o water used in daily activities

and how to use water more eciently. The IERCD

will continue to sustain current partnerships and to

build relationships beyond the schools to reach more

members o the community.

Alluvial Fan Sage Scrub GrantIERCD sta participated in the Alluvial Fan Sage

Scrub Propagation project in this reporting period

a collaborative eort whose partners included the

Riverside-Corona Resource Conservation District

(RCRCD), the Caliornia Native Plant Society (CNPS)

the Santa Ana Watershed Association (SAWA), the

United States Forest Service (USFS), and Three Sisters



Farm in Redlands. The project was unded through a

grant acquired by the RCRCD, applied or in an eort to

ensure the continued availability o truly local species

or use in restoration projects as well as in landscaping

work. The use o local species is imperative to

regional biological integrity; however, the diculty in

acquiring these plants serves as a barrier to their use,

and discourages their wide-spread implementation

by resource agencies and homeowners.

The goal o the project was to rst locate and

observe populations o alluvial an sage scrub

(AFSS) throughout the territories o the two resource

conservation districts, in order to determine ideal

conditions or sustainability o the community and

member species. Using methods employed by the

CNPS, sta rom the RCRCD, SAWA, the USFS, andthe IERCD located these populations, perormed

vegetation transect surveys, and recorded the

collected data. The data will be reviewed at the

beginning o the 2010-11 reporting period, and then

implemented into phase two o the project, which

involves seed collection rom these populations.

Following the seed collection, local growers like the

Three Sisters Farm will work with sta rom the AFSS

project to propagate species rom this vegetationcommunity. Finally, resource agencies will act as

liaisons between the agricultural operations growing

the plants and the restoration organizations that use

them, in order to ensure implementation o this local

stock o sage scrub plants.

The District participated in this project through

administrative work by the project manager and

district manager; however, it was the IERCD eld

ecologist who made the most signicant contribution.

The eld ecologist worked extensively with the other

partnering agencies to perorm the data collection

in the eld, including undergoing extensive training

by CNPS, and maintaining data and records or use

in uture portions o the project. The IERCD will

continue to participate in this eort in the 2010-

11 reporting period, as the District sees the crucial

need to preserve the biological history o the loca

region in order to retain maximum unctionality o

all dependent species.

North Etiwanda Preserve Grant

The IERCD conservation educator has continueto collaborate with sta o the San Bernardino

County Special Districts Department (SDD) on the

North Etiwanda Preserve (NEP), a large tract o open

space which has been preserved in perpetuity a

a result o the extension o the 210 reeway. The

NEP is home to multiple marginalized species o

both wildlie and vegetation, the most signicant o

which may be the threatened Riversidean sage scrub

community. This vegetation alliance is one o themost rapidly disappearing rom the region as a result

o urbanization, and the NEP houses one o the larges

continuous areas o RSS in southern Caliornia. The

NEP has also undergone a recent transormation, in

which permanent trails have been added, in addition

to educational kiosks and signs, and picnic acilities o

visitors. The vision or this site was to create a location

which would be amenable to visitors interested in

learning about the site’s unique biology and history.Currently, the IERCD is working with the San

Bernardino County SDD on a program nanced

by both agencies and a grant by the Habitat

Conservation Fund. For its role in the project, the

District is reaching out to educational acilities and

community groups in order to begin conducting

educational eld trips. Participating students wil

rst receive an IERCD indoor classroom presentation

ollowed by an outdoor educational experience atthe NEP. Program participants will gain a deeper

understanding o the unique vegetation and wildlie

present on the Preserve, as well as the method

available or the conservation o these species. This

will also give the students the opportunity to educate

their amilies so that the preserve can become a place

or amily outings and learning opportunities as well



Development o a master list o potential participants,

as well as content or the program will continue in the

2010-11 reporting period.

Lytle is Vital Grant

In January o 2008, the Inland Empire ResourceConservation District began participating in the Lytle

Creek Watershed Action project, an advisory group

working to improve water quality in the Lytle Creek

region o the District’s territory. Led by the Water

Resources Institute which operates in cooperation

with Caliornia State University at San Bernardino, the

project was being unded through a grant rom the

state o Caliornia Department o Water Resources;

however, due to state budget issues, the undingor grant tasks became unavailable. However, the

District still desired to continue with the grant work,

which included installation o a drought-tolerant

demonstration garden on the grounds o a local

educational acility.

The location selected or the creation o the water-

ecient garden is the Provisional Accelerated

Learning (PAL) Center, located in the Muscoy region o

unincorporated San Bernardino County. The Center issituated on approximately six acres o land that houses

a variety o educational buildings and pavement, but

also a considerable amount o open space. The garden

will be constructed on these grounds, and will eature

a variety o drought-tolerant Caliornia native plants

and a dry streambed, which will act as a a stormwater

capture eature. Once construction has nished, the

IERCD will visit the site regularly in order to conduct

District environmental education programs usingthe garden as a learning tool. Planning in 2010-11

will continue, with installation planned or winter o

2010 in order to plant at the optimal time or root

development and overall survival.

SEMPRA Grant

In September o 2009, the Inland Empire Resource

Conservation District applied or and received a grant

rom the Sempra Energy Foundation (SEF), the non

prot arm o the southern Caliornia energy provider

The SEF awarded unds to the IERCD in cooperation

with the Santa Ana Watershed Association o

continuation o sta involvement with the Creative

Aterschool Programs or Success (CAPS). The

total awarded or the program was $25,000, which

is projected to be enough to continue program

involvement or calendar years 2010 and 2011.

The CAPS program provides a low-cost day car

option or students in communities in the Countyo San Bernardino. The District has presented its

environmental education programs in CAPS classrooms

or over ve years, but applied or grant unding to

increase the number o programs perormed and

improve the content o these programs. The receip

o the grant monies has allowed or both objectives

to be addressed, as well as the addition o anothe

part-time education assistant to the District’s sta

This most recent addition presents programs to otherschools in the District’s service area, but also ocuses

on delivery and content improvement to CAPS

program classrooms.

The receipt o grant unding has benetted both the

IERCD and the CAPS program. The increase in outreach

to students at CAPS assists the District in ullling its

mission to provide environmental education to al

residents o the IERCD service area; conversely, CAPS

kids receive standards-correlated environmentaeducation programs. The District will continue to

operate this program through the exhaustion o the

grant unding in the next reporting period.



One o the District’s most important partnering

agencies continues to be the Santa Ana

Watershed Association (SAWA), a regional non-

prot ocusing on restoration, outreach and

education within the watershed. SAWA employs

a sta o over twenty biologists, invasive species

removal technicians, and administrative sta, and

is governed by a board comprised o the District

Managers o the IERCD, the Riverside-Corona

RCD, the Elsinore-Murrieta-Anza RCD, and the

San Jacinto Basin RCD, as well as the Natural

Resources Manager or the Orange County Water

District. Together, the board and sta work to

run a Federally-recognized in-lieu ee mitigation

program, a general habitat restoration program,

and an expanding education and outreach

program. The mutual mission o the District

and SAWA is one o a healthy, unctional Santa

Ana Watershed, a collective goal which makes

partnering on programs and projects benecial

to both organizations.

One o the major collaborations between the

two agencies is the operation o the invasive

species removal program. Both agencies

remove multiple non-native plants rom the

watershed including tree tobacco (Nicotiana

glauca), tree o heaven ( Ailanthus altissima),

perennial pepperweed (Lepidium latifolium)

and castorbean (Ricinus communis); however,

the highest priority species or removal is the

relentlessly aggressive giant cane ( Arundo

donax ). SAWA and the IERCD have worked

diligently to remove giant cane rom 3,300 acres

within the watershed, as well as to maintain this

acreage ree o re-sprouts, a eat accomplished

by sta o both agencies as well as outside

contractors. O the 3,300 acres, the District

maintains approximately 1,100 using unding

rom the Federal Appropriations monies.

Projects that have been conceptualized and

implemented in conjunction with the large-

scale targeting o giant cane include the Mission

or Arundo project, the Norco Burn Project, and

the San Bernardino County Clean-up Contract.

The two organizations also partner o

educational content and presentations within

the same acreage in the watershed. The IERCD’s

conservation educator works extensively

with SAWA’s education coordinator to rene

educational content, to perorm outreach to

teachers, students, and other residents in the

region, and to inorm one another o upcoming

opportunities to participate in community

and other educational events. In the 2009-10

reporting period, the two agencies partnered on

the 2009 SAWA Bird Festival, the Emerald Jubilee

in Redlands, and the Kid’s Fitness Challenge in

Fontana. In the next reporting year, the inter

agency collaboration will continue, with plans

to increase events attended and planned, as wel

as to work together on uture indoor/outdoo

eld trips.

In this reporting period, multiple SAWA

employees were housed at the oces o the

IERCD, including the executive director, the

administrative assistant, the project manager

and two biologists. The placement o these

employees made partnering between the two

agencies much easier, as the proximity acilitated

data sharing, project idea development, and

assistance with removal eorts and educationa

outreach. In 2010-11, SAWA and the IERCD

will continue working together to build on

this existing partnership, as well as to strive to

increase acres restored, residents worked with

and grants applied or to supplement costs

o conceptualizing and implementing these

undertakings.

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Long Range Planning SessionIn July o 2009, nearly the ull board and sta

o the Inland Empire Resource Conservation

District met at The Castaway Restaurant in the

City o San Bernardino in order to map out agency

goals and objectives desired or achievement

between 2010 and 2015. The District Managerselected the established long-range planning

rm “Boardworks by Ledgerwood” to acilitate

the session, which lasted or a ull working

day. Prior to participation in the session, both

the board and sta expressed a desire to

hone IERCD objectives related to the District’s

mission, in order to better serve the needs o

the human population, as well as the wildlands

and dependent environs residing within Districtboundaries.

The session began with all participants

reviewing the physical make-up o the

District, in addition to its local natural resource

issues and trends among human, wildlie,

and vegetative residents. Using inormation

gathered during this morning session,

participants spent the aternoon identiying tenareas o priority resource issues within IERCD

boundaries, including orest health, air quality,

and habitat preservation. Once these priorities

were identied, directors and sta were able

to generate a list o goals and tasks or each

priority, in order to guide sta in making daily

decisions regarding district operations.

Since the session, District sta have worked toincorporate goals outlined in the long range

plan into daily work schedules, as well as into

administrative elements such as monthly

board reports. The District recognizes that an

accurate, current long range plan is essential or

guiding daily district operation in cooperation

with long-term goals and objectives, and will

continue to use the long range plan in the 2010-

11 reporting period.

Land Trust Alliance The district and project managers attended the

2009 Land Trust Alliance Conerence, hosted at

the Portland Convention Center, in the City o

Portland, Oregon. The Land Trust Alliance is the

largest gathering o open space preservation

organizations in North America and each year,

eatures multiple presentations to all attending

participants in addition to workshop sessions

on a variety o topics. The two managers

strategized to maximize the variety o seminars

attended, which ultimately included instruction

on everything rom enhancing partnerships

with other area organizations to improving and

increasing available pollinator habitat. Both

managers also attended a seminar on the City’s

green transportation strategies, which included

traveling in light trail, and tram systems, and

a guided hike on a trail system within the City

itsel.

The most crucial aspect o the conerence

remained the instruction on mitigation and

conservation easements, and both managers

participated in courses including easement

valuation, easement monitoring and methods

or establishing eective data sets. The

inormation gleaned rom the conerence

assisted District sta with the long range goal

o increasing open space within the service area

and urther developing IERCD’s Mitigation and

Easement Program.

Cal-IPC The eld ecologist attended the Caliornia

Invasive Plant Council’s 2009 Symposium

which took place in the City o Visalia rom c o n t

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October 7-10th, 2009. In addition to the two days

o seminars which eatured inormation on dierent

invasive control techniques, he participated in the

Advanced Herbicide Control Methods Course which

covered multiple pest species and the use o dierent

herbicide applications. This course also eatured a

twenty minute question and answer session with the

instructor, and provided the eld ecologist with 5 hours

o continuing education credits, which are required

to maintain the pesticide applicator’s license. The

removal o noxious, invasive plants rom lands within

the IERCD’s service area is done to ensure continuity

with the District’s mission, and is absolutely crucial

to sustaining local species o native vegetation and

wildlie. The eld ecologist will continue to engage

in courses and conerences designed to increase his

knowledge o the most ecient methods or ensuring

the continued eradication o targeted species o non-

natives rom District properties.

Understanding Riparian Processes

The project manager attended this two-day training

on the topics o riparian unctionality, biological

health indicators, and methods o restoration,

held at the extension campus at the University o

Caliornia at Davis on August 18th-20th, 2009. The

rst day o the course was conducted entirely in the

classroom, and consisted o lecture and discussion

sections related to the undamentals o natural and

created riparian systems. All participants were given

a book o materials on systems studied within the

vicinity o the UC Davis campus, including those with

signicant issues and those unctioning consistently,

with or without intervention. The second day o the

training was conducted almost entirely in the eld,

with a multi-stop eld trip demonstrating the variety

o riparian systems including linear riparian systems

as well as large, dammed lakes. These habitats

included impacted and non-unctioning systems as

well as those that had been restored, either naturally

or articially. The course highlighted successul

restoration activities as well as those that were not

successul, providing guidance on monitoring,

record-keeping and compliance with local and state

regulations. Inormation rom this course was applied

to the District’s ongoing restoration and mitigation

projects.

GIS TrainingIn the nal week o September 2009 the project

manager and eld ecologist participated in a two-

day Geographic Inormation Systems (GIS) seminar

along with sta rom the Riverside-Corona Resource

Conservation District. The training was led by a

local GIS consultant and involved instruction on

a variety o topics including general map layout,

geo-reerencing, and methods or creating eective

project maps. The inormation was communicated

via PowerPoint presentations in addition to hands-on

mapping exercises at individual computer stations.

The inormation provided at the training has enabled

IERCD to improve the quality and quantity o project

maps produced or invasive removal eorts and or

the purposes o eectively tracking mitigation and

conservation easement projects.



Statement of Acvies for Year Ended June 30,2010

PROGRAM EXPENSES

Salaries and Benets 320,030

Services and Supplies 670,870

Depreciaon 10,185

Total Program Expenses 1,001,085

PROGRAM REVENUES

Intergovernmental 60,269

Federal Assistance 546,039

Capital Grants and Contribuons 295,000

Migaon Funds 112,900

Easement Funds 858,770

Total Program Revenues 1,872,978

Net Program Revenue 871,893

GENERAL REVENUES

Property Taxes 656,969

Investment Earnings 24,561

Loss on Disposal of Capital Assets (416)

Other 60,456

Total General Revenues 741,770

Net Assets- Beginning 3,977,056

Net Assets- Ending 5,590,719

Statement of Net Assets for Year Ending June 30, 2010

ASSETS

Cash and Cash Equivalents 2,923,579

Due from Other Governments 167,072

Due from SAWA 4,249

nterest Receivable 5,362

Taxes Receivable 37,074

Prepaid Expenditures 22,579

Restricted Assets

Cash and Cash Equivalents 2,098,312

Capital Assets, Net of Depreciaon 452,342

Total Assets 5,710,569

LIABILITIES

Accounts Payable 104,024

Salaries and Benets Payable 8,449

Compensated Absences Payable 7,377

Total Liabilies 119,850

NET ASSETS

nvested in Capital Assets 452,342

Restricted for Migaon Projects 1,298,165

Restricted for Easement Expenditures 800,147

Unrestricted 3,040,065

Total Net Assets 5,590,719

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2009-2010 annual report, inland empire natural resources conservation

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