Western Shasta Resource Conservation District

05/27/2026

📢HEY OLD SHASTA RESIDENTS!!! Defensible Space Inspectors will be in your area soon!!

Hi Old Shasta,

Mark your calendars: Defensible Space Inspectors from Shasta County Fire/CAL FIRE will be visiting your neighborhoods in the coming weeks.

Their goal is simple: help property owners reduce wildfire risk before fire season intensifies.

Now is the time to create defensible space and improve firefighter access by clearing dry grass, leaves, brush, and other flammable materials around your home.

Start with the areas closest to your home:
Remove dead leaves and debris
Clean roofs and gutters
Mow grass and weeds
Trim dead branches
Keep clearance around generators and fuel storage

Wildfire safety starts on your property. A more prepared home helps protect your family, your neighbors, and your community.

Learn how to prepare for your inspections: https://na2.hubs.ly/H05LyCt0

05/26/2026

NEW: Stay Ready, Shasta Website from Shasta County Fire!!!!

🔥A local resource to help Shasta County residents get ready for wildfire🔥

CAL FIRE/Shasta County Fire has launched Stay Ready, Shasta—a new countywide effort designed to help residents take simple, practical steps, and find resources to reduce wildfire risk and better prepare their homes and communities.
Wildfire risk affects Shasta County, and if there is one thing we all know, it’s that readiness starts with each of us as individuals.

This effort reinforces a clear message: small actions—like clearing dry vegetation and maintaining defensible space—can make a meaningful difference in protecting your properties and communities against wildfire.

To find out more and to learn about additional resources click the link below:

https://mailchi.mp/westernshastarcd/srs-and-defensible-space-readiness-program-launch

05/19/2026

Butterflies, caterpillars, and community… what more could you ask for?!

Huge shout out to our member, Jasmine, for creating and leading her first nature walk! She shared her passion for butterflies, while educating the group about different native butterfly species, the difference between a chrysalis and cocoon, and so much more.

Check out more events happening at Horsetown-Clear Creek Preserve this spring!

05/13/2026

📣ATTENTION SHASTA COUNTY RESIDENTS!!!!

Have you heard about the brand new Stay Ready Shasta???

Shasta County Fire has launched a new program to help Shasta County residents reduce wildfire risk and keep their homes, neighborhoods and communities safe from wildfires.

Visit the newly launched website to find out more here: https://stayreadyshasta.com/

A safer Shasta starts with you!!!!

TheShasta County Fire Department. partnering with Cal Fire, have launched a new campaign aimed at helping residents better prepare for wildfire season.The prog

05/13/2026

Are you curious about chrysalises? Interested in insects?

If you are a budding lepidopterist looking to learn more, join Jasmine's butterfly walk at Horsetown-Clear Creek Preserve this Saturday, May 16th from 10 am - 12 pm!

All ages are welcome. We'll be meeting at the amphitheater, just down the trail from the parking lot. Horsetown-Clear Creek Preserve has dirt single-track trails with some slight elevation gain.

🚱No water is available, so please pack plenty!
🌞Sun protection is a must
🦟Ticks and mosquitoes are present - long sleeves and pants are helpful

For more info: https://horsetownclearcreekpreserve.org/events/butterfly-walk/

05/04/2026

What’s that wild critter? Is that a moss or a lichen? What bird left its wing behind?

Now that the observation period for City Nature Challenge is over, we need help! Join Shasta Environmental Alliance and Western Shasta Resource Conservation District to help identify our observations using iNaturalist. We’ll guide you through the process, no prior knowledge or experience necessary.

Share your brain power on May 8th between 6-8pm at Pourboys Tapyard in Redding. See you there!

For more information about identifying iNaturalist observations, visit inaturalist.org/pages/citynaturechallenge

05/01/2026

Check it out! In March, some of the local California Conservation Corps members joined Western Shasta Resource Conservation District for a California Naturalist certification course. California Naturalist courses combine classroom and field experience in science, problem-solving, communication training and community service. The course covers topics including indigenous experiences, fire history, geology, botany, wildlife, and energy.

The CCC members spent the week with a lead instructor, co-instructor, and teaching assistants from the RCD, visiting many places around Shasta County to learn more about the environment around them. We had a great time hiking, touring, chatting, sampling, and building connections with our group and our guest speakers. In addition to doing a LOT of learning, the class also participated in a stewardship project, helping to thin oak saplings for better growth.

After graduation, California Naturalists continue to give back to their communities and spark curiosity about the natural world in others.

**Special thanks to our MANY guest speakers - without you this course would not have happened!**

04/30/2026

04/29/2026

A few weeks ago, Western Shasta Resource Conservation District hosted two high school Career Technical Education (CTE) groups out at Horsetown-Clear Creek Preserve for a job shadowing field day! Students from Anderson New Tech and Northern Summit Academy learned what RCD employees do for field work related to forestry, botany, wildfire resilience, and creek health. We spent the day with our feet in the creek, creating defensible space, identifying native plants, measuring trees, and making new friends 🌿🌲🧯🪲

04/24/2026

Join the City Nature Challenge, a worldwide movement to document nature and help fight biodiversity loss! Every observation you make of WILD nature in Shasta County is a data point that helps scientists and researchers understand and protect nature for all of us.

How to Participate:

From April 24 - 27, 2026, get outside and take photos or record sounds of nature where you live. Look for WILD plants, animals, fungi, etc. (Wild means it was not put there by people and is not being taken care of by people.) Take a close look at the plants around you. Are there any insects or spiders on them? How many different types of birds can you find in your local park? Put on your nature eyes and see Shasta County in a whole new way.

By participating in the City Nature Challenge, we can connect with nature, connect with each other, and connect with cities all over the world!

The City Nature Challenge is organized globally by the California Academy of Sciences and the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County. The Shasta County City Nature Challenge is put on by Shasta Environmental Alliance ,Point Blue Conservation Science, and Western Shasta RCD.