The Measure A tax ordinance was passed twice by Marin residents: the first time in 2012 where Marin RCD received about $100k per year and the second time in 2022 where Marin RCD is forecasted to receive around $640k/year. Measure A enables the Marin RCD to leverage outside State and Federal grants that require dollar to dollar matching contributions.

With the recently renewed Measure A, Marin RCD has already secured over $4 millions dollars in highly competitive State and Federal grants with the help of having $460k of Measure A funding to commit as match.

 

Marin RCD prioritizes projects that protect and enhance water quality, climate resilience, and other vital ecosystem services, guided by the Marin County Climate Action Plan and local Watershed Plans. These projects provide tangible public benefits, including clean air and water, healthy wildlife habitat, climate mitigation, recreational landscapes, and support for local agriculture.

Measure A overcomes ag opponents

Point Reyes Light: Ike Allen, June 15, 2022

Measure A, Marin’s sales tax for parks and open space, passed easily at the ballot box again, despite heightened scrutiny. The quarter-cent tax, which pays for the maintenance and acquisition of county parks, open space preserves and protected farmland, first passed in 2012 with little opposition. But opinions on the preservation of farmland have shifted in recent years, and the months leading up to last Tuesday’s primary saw targeted opposition to the measure from a group that cast Measure A grants for agricultural easements as public entitlements for private businesses…

read the rest of the article here.

 

2022 MEASURE A: Estimate $640,000/YEAR & MATCHED BY $4M IN GRANTS (as of 2024)

• $1M grant from the CA State Coastal Conservancy to complete 6 riparian projects and design 6 additional projects on ranches
• >$2.4M grant from USDA Climate Smart Commodities to write 4 new Carbon Farm Plans, implement 16 carbon smart ag practices (compost application, riparian restoration, and rangeland/cropland practices that will enhance soil health), and develop a Regional Carbon Finance Initiative Strategic Plan
• $739k grant (soon to be increased to $1M) from State Water Resources Control Board to implement two dairy water quality improvement projects in the Stemple Creek watershed

2012 MEASURE A: OVER $100,000/YEAR & MATCHED BY $2M IN GRANTS

Marin RCD began receiving Measure A funds in 2013.  Since then we have secured over $2 million in matching grants (over $2.5 to every $1) for local projects!

Accomplishments of 2012 Measure A matching funds:

• Improved 6 miles of endangered salmonid habitat by eliminating summertime farm water diversions
• Improved streams by installing 9.8 miles of livestock-exclusion riparian fence
• Installed alternative livestock water sources to reduce pathogens in Tomales Bay: 10 solar pumping plants, 9 tanks and 11 troughs equipped with wildlife escape ramps
• Installed 2,978 native plants to increase wildlife habitat and biodiversity
• Improved 111,300 gallons of water at dairy facilities
• Sequestered 37 MT CO2e/year with compost application on 23 acres
• Complete a dairy water quality improvement project, matched with GHG reduction funds, to save 3,600,000 gallons of water per year and 4,200 gallons in diesel fuel resulting in a GHG reduction of 3,171 MT CO2e over five years.

TRANSPARENCY & ACCOUNTABILTY

Marin RCD welcomes transparency in our work. The public is always welcome to attend our monthly meetings in person or by Zoom at the following link.  You can find out more about our projects or our organization by viewing the following documents (covering the last 20 years of our work) on our website:

• Agendas and Minutes
• Financial Reports and Board Packets (upon request)
• Annual Fiscal Audits
• How We Operate (describes our selection process)
• Board Membership (describes Board elections and availability of Board seats)
• RCD Project Tracker

Our State and Federal Agencies provide matching funds to Measure A only upon review and approval of all projects and associated receipts of expenditure to ensure projects are benefiting the public good.

Measure A Projects

View the interactive project map in a new tab here.

Read more about each project by clicking on the watersheds!

Examples of Projects that Received Measure A Match

Marin RCD funds riparian livestock-exclusion projects to protect water quality in Marin’s watersheds.  Implementing this practice on working agricultural lands is a recommended strategy (and often matched) by the US EPA and State Water Resource Control Board to meet water quality standards.

Measure A, CA Dept. of Fish and Wildlife, CA Coastal Conservancy, Wildlife Conservation Board, USDA NRCS, and Marin Ag. Land Trust contributed funds to the Pine Gulch Creek Instream Enhancement Project that improved summer stream habitat for salmon in Pine Gulch Creek.  Three farms partnered to secede their riparian water rights to the fish, thus limiting their withdrawals from the creek during winter storm flow. Point Blue Conservation Science contributed volunteer-hour match from their participation in the riparian planting project portion of this work. Several years after the project, surveys have shown that salmonids have returned to Pine Gulch Creek after years of not being detected.

Measure A funding has contributed funds to projects that are helping dairies make water quality improvements by upgrading their manure management systems. Upgrades are needed to replace infrastructure that has reached its lifespan (10-20 years), and to adjust to climate change shifts in rainfall particularly fewer rain events with higher volumes of rain. Helping dairy producers maintain and improve their manure management systems helps protect water quality for downstream kayakers, swimmers, salmon, oysters and more!