First UCCE cluster office may serve the Mother Lode

UC is proposing to restructure how it serves several Mother Lode counties by closing existing county offices as soon as January and replacing them with a single regional office, according to a story this week in the Stockton Record.

Writer Dana Nichols quoted Don Klingborg, who is spearheading UC Agriculture and Natural Resources advocacy and county partnerships. Klingborg said Calaveras, Amador, El Dorado and Tuolumne counties have been invited to participate in the proposed regional cluster. The consolidation of services in the Mother Lode counties may be the first, but such clustering will eventually happen throughout the state, the article said.

"We would not have a stand-alone office in every single county," Klingborg was quoted. "We may, however, as part of this process, have a smaller storefront, an office that would house faculty as they would be traveling through that county."

As an example, Klingborg said it is easier for UC to justify hiring someone with expertise in range and livestock if they will serve a cluster of several counties.

"From Mariposa to El Dorado County, there is huge need for somebody with that expertise," Klingborg was quoted.