Mission Resource Conservation District offers priceless conservation plan

If you own a piece of property larger than half an acre, and you’re having trouble with erosion, water conservation, weeds, or pest animals such as squirrels and gophers, the Mission Resource Conservation District (MRCD) has a deal for you.

The District will send a top-notch biologist to your property for a full site tour. The expert will then put together a detailed conservation plan (featuring maps, soils report, ideas for water smart landscaping, and overall best practices) designed specifically to help your property and, consequently, the properties around it. The expert will go over the plan with you step by step, offer suggestions and advice, and answer all questions. The expert will also make a follow-up visit.

The cost of this impressive package? Free. Gratis. Complimentary.

“We're Fallbrook's best kept secret,” said Bethany Principe, a biologist with MRCD, a non-profit that focuses on the conservation of soil, water and natural resources.

"We cover Fallbrook, part of Bonsall, we go down to the city of Oceanside, and then up a little way in the San Luis Rey," said Principe. "I have two openings right now for two more properties in the San Luis Rey Watershed."

Principe said her goal with the conservation plan is to educate and assist property owners.

"What I normally do is an initial site visit, where I walk the property with the owner and we look at the resource concerns that they have," said Principe. "I kind of point out areas that could be addressed, such as this is erosion, this is the way the water is flowing, the septic system is in this area, and bare dirt – while it looks really clean – lets the erosion happen.

"I propose possible solutions, which are the conservation

practices," continued Principe. "And sometimes they're simply not interested or don't want to do that particular practice. So then we come up with a different solution. I like to tell people at the beginning of a site visit, if they're not interested in the practice I'm talking about, just tell me. I don't have an ego wrapped up in this and I'd prefer not to waste their time or mine."

Following the site visit, Principe returns to her office and prepares an extensive conservation plan for the property. The impressive document – which, just to name a few items, includes everything from aerial view maps of the property to information on mulching to instructions on how to build a barn owl box – is then presented to the owner.

"I go over the plan with the owners and answer any questions they may have," said Principe. "It's really for the education of the property owners."

Cheri and Dusty Teague of Rainbow took advantage of the opportunity to get a free conservation plan and couldn't be happier.

"I learned about the program from a flyer insert in the Village News," said Cheri, who along with her husband purchased a home on a piece of property situated high on a hill. The Teagues qualified for the program since their property is in the San Luis Rey Watershed .

"We loved this property, but it had been vandalized and most of the plants and trees were taken," said Cheri. "Our question was, with our finite resources, how do we restore the property? Where do we start?"

Cheri said she found the answers to all her questions in the customized conservation plan prepared by Principe.

"When the book (conservation plan) came, it was so cool," said Cheri. "We knew where we could start because we had this plan. We were able to take the plan and show it to a permaculturalist and say, 'help us.'"

The Teagues were having trouble with erosion, losing property with every rain.

"The rain would sheet across the driveway and make a mess," said Cheri. "It didn't soak, it didn't do anything. Hatch Aquatics designed a waterway system based on our problems and used the book exclusively to make sure that when the water did run off, it stayed in the natural water course.

"So we don't get erosion here anymore and the water rarely goes that far because we're catching it," continued Cheri. "And when it rained, everything bloomed, it was a haven. Before it just sheeted off. We love the property even more now because it's sustainable."

The conservation plan also helped the Teagues with planting techniques, plant selection and organizing a garden.

"Not only does the book say this is how you do it, but this is what you can plant, and on which slope," said Cheri.

"We give them suggestions, booklets, and brochures about vulnerable, critical area planting," said Principe. "They're all low water use and non-evasive plants. Evasive plants can be problematic on the property itself."

Principe said helping property owners make the right choices via education benefits them and the environment.

"We are concerned with anything that is impacting the quality of the property, and the surrounding environment," said Principe. "Anything that can impact water quality down stream. I've never met a single person that meant to do something that was going to negatively impact their property or the surrounding properties. They just didn't know, whatever the condition was, how to fix it. They try to fix it, and it's not fixed correctly, they make it worse."

"Education is a great tool," continued Principe. "And most of the time I go out because the people have contacted me and they are already trying to address the problems. And they're almost always on the right path, they just need more information on how to actually execute that plan properly. And then I can also offer new ideas. And that's fun, to see that little light go on."

Cheri said the educational aspect of the conservation plan was what she liked best. That, and the help from Principe.

"The education and the outreach is incredible," said Cheri. "Being able to say, 'can you help me with this?' We learned so much from Bethany. The education was outstanding and the resource was priceless. To think what you would have to pay for this type of consulting...we couldn't have done it."

So how can the MRCD offer such a service for free?

"We're a special district of the state," explained Principe. "And we have a very tiny tax base that we get an annual income from, so we basically have to go out and find our own sources of funding. There's a lot of contracts and we're excellent at writing grant applications and trying to interest the different funding agencies."

"What some of the funding agencies are now very interested in are the conservation plans," continued Principe. "And we're delighted because we can offer the service then for free to property owners and residents in our area. The funding agencies cover the costs of the actual plans and our time."

For more information about the conservation plan program, contact Principe at (760) 728-1332 or [email protected].