Temecula City Council member Dr. Matt Rahn: development issues in Temecula

June 9th Sierra Club General Sierra Group Monthly Meeting: He has extensive experience in the design of wildlife, habitat, and ecosystem monitoring programs, with an emphasis on the identification of invasive species, the impacts on threatened or endangered species, and the development of appropriate management and mitigation programs. He has also successfully tackled some of the most consequential projects in the southern California region, including representing SDSU in the opposition against the proposed Liberty Quarry, water rights litigation on the Santa Margarita River, and the Gregory Canyon Landfill.


Dr. Rahn is currently serving on the Temecula City Council and also represents the City on the Riverside County Habitat Conservation Authority, the Riverside Transit Agency, and California League of Cities. In his academic role, he served as the Associate Director for the SDSU Environmental Sciences Program, Adjunct Faculty member in the Homeland Security Program, and former Director for the Santa Margarita Ecological Reserve and Field Stations Program. He is currently serving as the Director of the Environmental Leadership Institute and Wildfire Programs at Cal State San Marcos.

Temecula City Council member Dr. Matt Rahn will be discussing a number of development issues which will impact the City of Temecula and the Temecula Valley.  These include: the Altair project on the western side of the city, the Temecula Western Bypass, the Temecula Creek Golf Course residential homes and hotel expansion project, the revamping of the I-15/Temecula Parkway interchange, and the installation of Solar Panels at the SDSU Santa Margarita Ecological Reserve as a research project.

Dr. Rahn has over two decades of experience in applied sciences and policy, with an emphasis on environmental science, ecology, statistics, public policy and wildfire science. Having earned both a PhD from UC Davis and JD from University of San Diego, Dr. Rahn has focused much of his work on the interface between science and policy, supporting local, state and federal programs in collaboration with lawyers, policymakers and scientists on issues ranging from wildfires, to watershed management, endangered species, land use planning and renewable energy. He is a subject matter and technical expert on a variety environmental laws, including the Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, RCRA/CERCLA, Endangered Species Act, and NEPA. Dr. Rahn also has considerable experience in the diverse assembly of state and local laws, policies, ordinances, and regulations including CEQA and NCCP.