About Eastern Sierra Land Trust - Who We Are
Founded in 2001, ESLT is the first and only land trust based in the Eastern Sierra. We began our work when private citizens and public officials in our area expressed interest in the development alternatives, mitigations, and habitat protections that land trusts can provide.
In December 2003, we completed our first voluntary land conservation agreements (commonly referred to as conservation easements), in the migration corridor of the Round Valley Mule Deer Herd; the following year we hired our first professional staff. In 2005-2006 we completed land protection agreements to protect 818-acre Montgomery Creek Ranch, keeping its historic water rights forever in agriculture, and to protect important wildlife habitat at Big Hot Springs Ranch on the Highway 395 scenic corridor. Today we're working to protect other vital lands making up a total of 6,000 protected acres thus far.
Eastern Sierra Land Trust: Board of Directors
President: Tony Taylor — Tony is retired after 29 years in technical marketing and management for the IBM Corporation. He has served the University of Redlands in Southern California as president of the Alumni Association and is a member of the Board of Trustees.
Vice President: Orrin Sage — Orrin received a Ph.D. in geological sciences from the University of California at Santa Barbara in 1973. He taught there in the environmental studies program for 15 years and has been an agricultural and environmental consultant for 37 years. He is a principal with Sage Associates and specializes in working with land trust organizations and land owners to craft conservation easements.
Treasurer: Rosanne Higley — Rosanne has lived in the Eastern Sierra since 1975, Lee Vining to Lone Pine, currently with her husband Tom in Swall Meadows. A retired teacher/administrator, Rosanne is balancing her time among environmental and education volunteer projects and more active pursuits such as backpacking, triathlons, and cross-country skiing.
Secretary: Rick Kattelmann — Rick is a consulting hydrologist, specializing in water resources of mountain areas.
Director: Herb Benham — Herb was a CEO for a large agricultural land company in Kern County where he was also a water district chairman for 20 years. He remains active in California water issues.
Director: Bill Bramlette — Bill is a fourth generation rancher in the Benton Valley. He owns the Benton Hot Springs Bed and Breakfast with his wife Diane, and enjoys touring the world by bicycle.
Director: Jan Hunewill — Jan, with her husband Stan and the Hunewill family, own the Hunewill Guest Ranch, a working cattle ranch in the beautiful Bridgeport Valley. Jan filled the post vacated by Stan after he retired from the ESLT board.
Director: Mary Pipersky — Mary has lived in the Eastern Sierra since graduation from UC Berkeley in 1977. She is a former member of the Mono County Board of Supervisors and a small business owner for the past 20 years. She is a partner in Anything Goes Fine Catering in Mammoth Lakes.
Director: Sid Tyler — Sid is a recently retired City Councilmember in Pasadena who has been visiting the Eastern Sierra for 40 years. His business experience has been in the health care field, from which he retired in 1995 as Executive Vice President at Tenet HealthCare Corp. Early years: grew up on a cattle ranch in Western Colorado, thence to Harvard College.
Eastern Sierra Land Trust: Advisory Board
| Dave Doonan Farmer, Montgomery Creek Ranch |
Jacques Etchegoyhen Owner, Terra Firma Associates |
| Steve Frisch Vice President, Programs, Sierra Business Council |
Nate Greenberg Mono County Geographic Information Systems |
| Rusty Gregory Chairman and CEO - Mammoth Mountain Ski Area |
Linda Hess Attorney at Law |
| Sandy Hogan Retired Special Operations Coordinator - Inyo National Forest |
Byng Hunt Mono County Supervisor |
| Geoff McQuilkin Executive Director, Mono Lake Committee |
George Milovich Inyo/Mono County Agricultural Commissioner |
| Pete Pumphrey Attorney at Law |
Doug Ross CPA |
| Terry Gooch Ross Organization and Leadership Development Consultant |
Tim Sanford Attorney at Law |
| Brian Stange Financial Consultant, Washington Mutual Bank |
Ann Wong Realtor/Owner, Eastern Sierra Real Estate |
Eastern Sierra Land Trust: Staff
Karen Ferrell-Ingram - Executive Director: Karen was a founding Board member of ESLT in 2001 and served as Secretary, Projects Committee chair and on the Executive Committee until accepting a staff position as Lands Director. Karen and her husband, Stephen Ingram, donated ESLT’s first conservation easement, which protects a critical wildlife migration corridor in southern Mono County. Karen grew up in Bishop and remains forever grateful to her parents for moving their family to the beautiful Owens Valley way back when. Before being hit by land trust fever, Karen worked in native plant restoration and horticulture.
Serena Dennis – Outreach Coordinator: Serena joined ESLT in January 2009. She spent the last two summers working in Colorado, leading volunteers in removing the invasive weed tamarisk along the Green and Yampa rivers. Serena grew up in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada, and in 2005 graduated from the University of California, Santa Cruz with a degree in Environmental Studies. She enjoys working with volunteers, teaching environmental education, and getting people outdoors. Serena loves whitewater rafting, hiking, and making quilts that reflect the beauty of the world around her.
Heather Freeman – Membership and Office Coordinator: Heather joined ESLT in June 2009. Utilizing her Masters of Business Admin degree, much of her work experience has been in marketing for-profit businesses. She looks forward to expanding her horizons by learning about the non-profit world and working with the talented and friendly staff of ESLT. She and her husband moved to the Eastern Sierra in 2006 from Ventura County, CA, to spend more time exploring the scenic and diverse region. When not at ESLT, Heather works as an adjunct instructor sharing knowledge of computer science and business to local community college students. She also enjoys gardening, hiking, taking pictures, snowboarding and off-roading.
Aaron Johnson – Land Stewardship Coordinator: Aaron joined ESLT in October 2008 after working in natural resource management for a wide range of government agencies; federal, state, and municipal. Aaron brings a background in vegetation management, invasive species inventory, biological field work, and Geographic Information Systems (GIS). He is excited about being a part of the dedicated and inspired ESLT team and using his skills to help conserve the working and wild landscapes of the Eastern Sierra. Aaron joins us most recently from the Bay Area after having worked previously in the Colorado Front Range, Santa Cruz, and Tahoe. When not hard at work, he enjoys mountain biking, scrambling over granite, kayaking, chasing his dog, tinkering with bikes, and lazy mornings with coffee.
Mary McGurke – Development and Outreach Director: Mary joined ESLT in August 2008 in this new full time position funded by a generous grant. Mary will be working to develop and strengthen resources for the organization through outreach and education in the community. Before joining the ESLT, for over fifteen years Mary managed community based, environmental, and education programs for non-profit organizations in California including directing outdoor recreation programs in backpacking, cross country skiing, sea kayaking, and youth programs. This love of the outdoors is one of the main reasons Mary and her husband chose to relocate to the Eastern Sierra from the Bay area. In addition to teaching knitting for a local youth program, Mary enjoys spending as much time as possible out of doors hiking and backpacking, gardening, fly fishing, and generally wandering around the Eastern Sierra.
Sarah Spano – AmeriCorps Education Coordinator: Sarah joined ESLT in January 2010 as the new AmeriCorps member. In 2009 she graduated from New York University with a degree in anthropology and archaeology, where she gained scientific field work experience participating in several excavations abroad. After graduation she spent time working to protect public lands in Washington DC, and found herself called to work in smaller conservation contexts, helping to foster connections between land use and community involvement. As a born and raised Los Angelina, she is thrilled to be living up north in a completely different natural context. When not serving to conserve landscapes in the Eastern Sierra, Sarah loves to explore new outdoor areas, experiment in the kitchen, and organize just about anything.