A Board of Trustees oversees the activities of the SRWP and work within committees to guide the organization using a consensus-based approach. The Board of Trustees meets at least quarterly at locations throughout the watershed.
Jerry Bird
US Forest Service
Jerry Bird began his career with the US Forest Service in 1999. Since 2011, he has worked as the Klamath Basin Coordinator, a position supporting forests in both the Pacific Northwest and Pacific Southwest Regions. In 2012, Jerry relocated to Sacramento and added additional duties in the Pacific Southwest Region as the Regional Forester Liaison for Ecological Restoration. In addition to working with water and salmon issues, he facilitates and leads a monthly state-wide Biomass Working Group seeking opportunities to turn wood byproducts into energy. He has held a number of positions with the agency with almost all of his work related to the management of water resources. Early in his career, Jerry worked on grassland (North Dakota) and forest (Idaho) ranger districts as a GIS Specialist and hydrologist. Later, he worked as a hydrologist and team leader for a hydropower and water-system easement team based in Salt Lake City. Jerry worked on this inter-regional team, supporting forests in four regions spanning 12 states in the interior west, for over eight years. Jerry holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Geology from the University of Oregon and a Master’s Degree in Earth and Planetary Science from the University of New Mexico.
Karen Buhr
California Association of Resource Conservation Districts
Karen Buhr serves as the Executive Director for the California Association of Resource Conservation Districts (CARCD). In this role, she actively works on various conservation issues from grazing to water and serves on multiple statewide committees. Her focus is bringing diverse people together to solve complex conservation problems in a collaborative manner. She is passionate about local conservation and supports the work of 98 local RCDs in the State as they make a difference in their communities. Ms. Buhr holds a Master of Science Degree in Natural Resource Science and Management from the University of Minnesota and a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Environmental Studies from Macalester College in St. Paul, MN. She graduated from the University of Minnesota with a 4.0 GPA while serving in the position of student body president for the Graduate and Professional Students. For her efforts, she received a President’s Student Leadership Award in 2005. Her focus has been on community outreach and Watershed Science. Ms. Buhr’s work experience includes serving as a lead author on an evaluation of a Minnesota-wide landscape level planning effort, 3 years as the Watershed Coordinator for the Cosumnes River, extensive work in environmental education, and a stint with the Minnesota Conservation Corps.
Chris Elliott (Chair)
ICF International
Chris directs projects in water resources compliance, flood management, landscape architecture, habitat restoration, and recreation and open-space planning. His expertise includes master planning, site assessment, development of design objectives and guidelines, arborist surveys, facilitation of public meetings, preparation of construction documents, trail design, visual resources analysis, environmental documentation, regulatory compliance, construction oversight, and monitoring and adaptive management.
He specializes in integration of multiple-use objectives (e.g., flood control, recreation, habitat restoration, and urban development) into river systems and has worked in watersheds, such as the American, Sacramento, Yuba, Feather, Bear, Mokelumne, and Carmel Rivers. He has a B.S. in Landscape Architecture from the University of California, Davis.
Lourdes Gonzalez-Peralta
ECORP Consulting, Inc.
Lourdes is the current Biological and Natural Resources Director at ECORP Consulting, Inc. (ECORP). A federal small business environmental consulting company established in 1987. ECORP supports public and private sector clients from initial baseline environmental studies through environmental planning review, permitting negotiation, liaison to obtain legal agreements, mitigation design, construction monitoring, and compliance reporting. Lourdes has been with ECORP over 20 years, and in recent years, been instrumental in bringing all aspects of biology, water quality, and regulatory permitting/compliance in Northern California together into one cohesive/collaborative group (NRD).
Lourdes completed a four-year term as the President of the International Fisheries Section of the American Fisheries Society (AFS). She was instrumental in the development of the new chapter of the AFS in Mexico. She was also the International Committee chairperson of the AFS California-Nevada Chapter and coordinated grants and travel funds for international scientists and students in developing countries.
Lourdes holds a Masters of Biological Sciences degree from CSU Sacramento and a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Mexico City, where she grew up. Lourdes enjoys traveling to Mexico City to visit her family and friends and in her spare time she is walking and hiking in the foothill of Auburn where she currently lives with her faithful furry companion, Forrest.
Dennis Heiman
Retired from Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board
In August 2009, Dennis retired after 35 years as an Environmental Scientist with the State Water Resources Control Board and the Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board. He continues to work as a 'voluntary' staff member of the Regional Board. Prior to Water Board employment, he received his BS in Fisheries Biology and MS in Aquatic Entomology from Michigan State University and a PhD in Aquatic Ecology from Univ. of CA, Davis. In recent years when working for the Redding Office of the Central Valley Regional Board, he was involved in providing technical and financial assistance (via state and federal grants) to locally directed watershed management programs throughout the northern part of the Sacramento River Basin. In retirement, he continues to participate and be involved in this capacity.
Heidi Krolick (Secretary/Treasurer)
Pacific Forest and Watershed Lands Stewardship Council
Heidi is the Executive Director with the Pacific Forest and Watershed Lands Stewardship Council, an organization established to ensure the preservation and enhancement of 140,000 acres of watershed lands currently owned by PG&E primarily in the Sierra and Cascade Mountain Ranges. Heidi is responsible for staff operations, coordinating the work of the organization's board members, and overseeing the organization's long-term strategy. Additionally, Heidi oversees the Stewardship Council's Youth Investment Program in its efforts to connect California's underserved youth to the outdoors.
Prior to joining the Stewardship Council, Heidi acted as a Restoration Specialist and Project Manager for ECORP Consulting, Inc., a biological consulting firm based in Rocklin, CA. Heidi holds a Master of Arts degree in Parks, Recreation, and Tourism Management from Lincoln University in New Zealand, and Bachelor of Arts degrees in Environmental Studies and Geography from the University of California, Santa Barbara. She enjoys opportunities to explore the outdoors with her family and in her free time, you will find her hiking, backpacking or snowshoeing in the mountains of the Sierra Nevada with her husband and two young children.
Todd Manley (Co-Chair)
Northern California Water Association
Todd is the Northern California Water Association’s (NCWA) Director of Government Relations. Todd works with NCWA members on issues at the federal, state and local levels. He also coordinates with government agencies, urban and agricultural water interests, and environmental organizations on various issues, including legislative negotiations, appropriations, Sacramento Valley Integrated Regional Water Management Plan implementation, Sacramento Valley Water Management Agreement, Central Valley Project Improvement Act (CVPIA), Endangered Species Act regulations, water use efficiency and groundwater management.
Previously, Todd served as Federal Legislative Advocate in the Association of California Water Agencies’ (ACWA) Washington, D.C. office. In that position, he represented the association before federal legislative and administrative branch officials on a number of issues, including Endangered Species Act reauthorization, appropriations, federal projects, electric industry restructuring, and hydroelectric re-licensing. Todd serves on the Sacramento Valley Landowners Association Board of Directors, the California Water Policy Conference Planning Committee and the Northern Sacramento Valley Water Forum Steering Committee. He is a graduate of California State University, Sacramento’s College of Business Administration where he received the degree of Master of Business Administration. He has a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and History from the University of California, Davis. Todd is also a graduate of the California Agricultural Leadership Program.
Robert Meacher
Portola City Manager
Robert is currently the City Manager of Portola California, located on the Wild and Scenic Middle Fork of the Feather River in Plumas County. Previously, Robert was a County Supervisor for 20 years for Plumas County. In that capacity he was appointed to serve on the Calfed Bay Delta Public Advisory Committee wherein he was instrumental in forming the Watershed Program component for that effort. And, today he is still the co-chair of that program that is now housed in the Department of Conservation. Robert was also the Rural Counties Representatives of California (RCRC) to the Pacific Forest Watershed Stewardship Council for seven years. And, he is also currently on the Board of Directors for the Sierra Fund and the California Watershed Network. In 2012 Robert was the “Rural Democrat” candidate for the State Assembly District 1.
Todd Sloat
The Pit River Watershed Alliance
Todd Sloat is an independent consultant and contractor who specializes in biological surveys, habitat and geomorphic assessments, compliance and permitting, multi-stakeholder collaboration, and design-build stream restoration projects. He currently conducts most of his work within northeastern California where he develops restoration projects on private and public lands working through the Fall River and Pit Resource Conservation Districts. Todd received his B.S. in Wildlife and Fisheries Biology and M.S. in Ecology at the University of California, Davis. He lives in the Fall River Valley where he and his wife enjoy recreating throughout the region.
Board Committees
Executive Committee
The Executive Committee develops, reviews, and provides oversight on SRWP policies and procedures and makes recommendations to the full Board. The committee is responsible for developing job descriptions and soliciting and hiring consultants. The committee will evaluate the need for additional insurance coverage as needed. The Executive Committee in cooperation with the Finance Committee is responsible for reviewing the annual budget, evaluating terms and applications to obtain a line of credit from a bank or other lending institution, and investing SRWP idle monies. The Executive Committee shall be chaired by the SRWP Board of Trustees Chair and composed of the Co-chair, Treasurer, and Secretary.
Finance Committee
The Finance Committee provides oversight and reviews SRWP’s financial reports, audits and budgets. The committee shall work closely with the bookkeeper to review the general ledger account statement and ensure that expenses and revenues are appropriately reconciled. The committee has authority for fiscal oversight of SRWP’s financial affairs, including approving expenses from reserves, banking decisions, and the expenditure and reporting of funds within the limits of the budget adopted annually by the Board. The Finance Committee in cooperation with the Executive Committee is responsible for reviewing the annual budget, evaluating terms and applications to obtain a line of credit from a bank or other lending institution, and investing SRWP idle monies. The Finance Committee shall be chaired by the Treasurer and composed of the Chair or Co-Chair and other Trustees as interested.
Governance and Membership Committee
The Governance Committee reviews and revises SRWP's legal documents including bylaws, resolutions, and minutes and makes recommendations to the full board. The committee provides oversight and review of annual reports and of the organization. The committee is responsible for ongoing review and recommendations to enhance the quality and future viability of the board of trustees including board composition, knowledge, roles and responsibilities, leadership, and effectiveness. The Governance and Membership Committee is responsible for increasing SRWP’s membership base, identifying members’ and nonmembers’ needs and perceptions, making prospective and current members aware of membership benefits, and recommending ways to acknowledge new members and encourage participation. The Governance and Membership Committee shall be chaired by the Secretary and composed of other Trustees as interested.
Development Committee
The committee’s major role is to develop and oversee the implementation of fundraising strategies for both annual operating funds and any capital campaigns. The committee will work with the ED to develop a funding strategy that includes time frames and goals for the year. The funding strategy will include grants, special events, sponsorships, and individual donors. The development committee will help implement the funding strategy and review progress. The development committee will work closely with the events committee on organizing special events, identifying and soliciting sponsors, and marketing and outreach efforts.