WSRCD  Board of Directors Staff Map

Our Mission:

“Collaborate with willing landowners, government agencies and other organizations to facilitate the conservation and restoration of Western Shasta County's natural resources.”

The Western Shasta Resource Conservation District (RCD) is a special district of the State of California and is funded entirely by grants and contracts.  The district encompasses approximately 1.7 million acres bounded on the east by the watershed divide between eastern and western Shasta County; the north by the Siskiyou County line; the west by the Trinity County line; and the south by the Tehama County line.
The Western Shasta RCD was formed in 1957. Over the past 52 years the WSRCD has grown from a small volunteer organization to a highly successful conservation district that is dedicated to the restoration and preservation of western Shasta County’s  natural resources.
Lack of precipitation and overuse of the land led to the 1930s dustbowl. While testifying on Capitol Hill on April 2, 1935, soil scientist Hugh Bennett threw back the room's curtains to reveal a sky blackened by dust. Congress declared soil and water conservation a national priority. Three-fourths of the land in the U.S. is privately owned, Congress realizing this knew that only active support from landowners would guarantee the success of conservation on private land. From this soil and water conservation districts were born.
Today there are nearly 3000 conservation districts, political subdivisions of state government, created by the legislature . Now expanded to serve all the conservation needs of our nation, districts educate and help local citizens conserve land, water, forests, wildlife and other natural resources.

Phil Schoefer, President, has been an RCD board member since 1986. With a B.S. in Agriculture,Phil haslived in ShastaCountysince 1943 and has hay and cattle ranches near Cottonwood. Trying to foster conservation wherever hegoes, he served on the Shasta District Fair board for 24 years, and is pleased to use his conservation knowledge in his ranch work to conserve water. “It is important to me that the membership of the board reflect a broad knowledge about conservation, along with respect for production of agriculture, forestry, mining, and other resource production endeavors,” Phil says.  A busy family man, Phil is a husband, father and grandfather, and resides in Redding, commuting to the ranches.

Tom Engstrom, Vice President, has been an RCD board member since 1993. Tom has a Master of Forestry Degree and moved to this area in 1984. “My emphasis with the RCD has been on trees and forest habitat issues – such as improving forest health and reducing the chance of catastrophic wildfires. Forests are among society’s most valuable natural resources. The RCD is an excellent vehicle to help landowners make responsible political, economic and personal choices to conserve and sustain these natural resources,” says Tom. Tom also stays busy with other natural resource organizations, such as the California Native Plant Society and the Society of American Foresters. His other interests include gardening, running and playing percussion with the Shasta Symphony and the Community Band.

Bruce Wendt became an RCD board member in November 2000. As a retired Shasta College instructor and nursery owner, Bruce brings invaluable experience and knowledge in the areas of soil, water rights, and watershed management. It is Bruce’s hope that “…through education and understanding the complexities in our ecosystem that we, as a society, can become sustainable members for this wonderful planet.” In addition to owning his own nursery, Bruce is also a consultant and grower with the Whiskeytown National Recreation Park and CalTrans. He enjoys traveling and fishing.

Dave Drennan, became a director in 2003. Dave retired from the Los Angeles County Fire Department with 10 years service and the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection with 20 years service. He has a BS in Forest Management from Humboldt State and is a Registered Professional Forester. “My resource concerns are timber stand improvement, erosion control and stream restoration. My goal as a Director is to share my knowledge and experience to help the people of Shasta County improve their watershed conditions,” says Dave. Dave’s hobbies are hunting, fishing, gun collecting and helping his wife with gardening.

Bob Moller became a Director in 2005. Bob is a cattle rancher in Palo Cedro and a member of the Cattlemen’s Association.  He has been a General Engineering Contractor for 27 years. His interests are waterways and stream bank projects.  He feels the need to return some effort back to his community and and would like to be part of making property owners more aware of what the RCD does.

Kathy Callan has been an RCD Board Member since 2007.  Kathy has a Masters Degree in Biology as well as a Bachelors Degree in Zoology, with an emphasis on Ecology.  As a classroom teacher Kathy developed an environmental education curriculum, funded by a state grant, which focused on watershed restoration. “I am proud of the work I’ve seen the RCD do in our community and have enjoyed being part of it,” says Kathy.

Vacant

ASSOCIATE DIRECTORS

We are always looking for new Associate Directors. If you would like to receive more information about the District or attend one of our meetings, call us at 530-365-7332 or contact us via email. We can send you an agenda and information packet. 

WSRCD Staff

Mary Mitchell is the District Manager for the RCD. Her twenty years of management experience in the wood-fired power and pulp and paper industry are a great asset to the RCD and its dramatic growth. Her more recent grant management experience while working in the City of Anderson’s Planning Department brings a very professional touch to the management of the RCD’s grant funding projects. Mary oversees all of the RCD’s grants, contracts, and administrative activities. She has a B. S. in Forest Industries Management from Ohio State University.

Jack Bramhall is the Projects Manager for the RCD, managing erosion control and fuel reduction projects. Jack is a Registered Professional Forester, and a Certified Professional in Erosion and Sediment Control. He has a M.S. in Forest Management from S.U.N.Y. at Syracuse, and over 30 years experience working with RCD’s in forestry and forestry education. Jack serves as Vice President of the Tehama County RCD Board of Directors in addition to managing his family Christmas Tree Farm. Jack has been with the District since August 2000.

David DeMar, Project Manager, has a M.A. in Cultural Resource Management from Eastern New Mexico University, and a BA in both Geography and Anthropology from CSU, Chico. David has over 20 years of experience in the field environmental compliance and mitigation, and has worked with numerous federal, state and local entities to these ends.  David has experience in Historic Preservation (CEQA, NEPA, Sec 106 of NHPA), and has been trained in Army Corps of Engineers Wetland Delineation (Sec 404). Previously David worked as the Staff Archaeologist for the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque, NM and a Cultural Resource Coordinator for Fiber Optics Projects for TRC Environmental in El Paso, TX. Since joining the RCD in 2005, David has served as a GIS Specialist, Wetland Specialist, Archaeologist, Project Manager and Conservation Planner with the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service.

Ryan Teubert is a Project Manager for the RCD, managing stream enhancement and recreational improvement projects. Ryan has a B.S. in Forest Conservation and a double minor in Hydrology and Environmental Ethics from Humboldt State University. Ryan has over 10 years experience working in natural resource management and has been with the District since November 2007.

Rhonda Darling—Chief Financial Officer

Christy Marroquin—Assistant Fiscal Officer

Ali Warren—Administrative Assistant

Rachel Aschbacher—Administrative Assistant for Grant Writing and Grant Management  

Maureen Teubert—Project Manager

Lee Delaney—Eastside Watershed Coordinator

Leslie Bryan—Westside Watershed Coordinator.

Gretchen Garwood—Project Coordinator

Mike Grifantini—Specialty Technician

Steve Morefield—Field Supervisor

Joe Andrus—Lead Conservation Technician I

Jeremey Kelley —Lead Conservation Technician II / GIS Technician / Project Coordinator

Jonathan Hawkins—Lead Conservation Technician I

Billiejo Morefield— Conservation Technician

Benjamin Newcomb—Conservation Technician

Clark Matthews—Conservation Technician

Corey Lewis—Conservation Technician

The District currently assists landowners with technical assistance and also implements projects for:

Fuels Management
Watershed Restoration
Fisheries Restoration
Natural Resource Education

District Map