BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Nils Lunder, President of the Board
Russell Reid, Vice President of the BoardJames Wilson, TreasurerPhil NoiaBennie Johnson |
STAFF
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Brad GraevsDistrict Manager
Brad grew up on a small farm in rural Missouri and received his undergraduate degree from Missouri State University in Biology, Secondary Education, and Analytical Chemistry. The early part of his career focused on wildlife monitoring and habitat restoration from the Midwest to the remote Pacific working for various federal, state, consulting, and non-profit organizations. Brad first moved to Plumas County in 2012 and decided to plant roots here with his family in 2015. After three years working for Plumas Audubon Society as a Project Manager, Brad transitioned to District Manager of the Feather River Resource Conservation District. When he's not working on finding ways to restore fire on the landscape at the RCD, he's probably burning somewhere at his residence that looked like it needed fire...or fishing.
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Michael HallConservation Project Coordinator
Michael Hall started working with the District in 2020 bringing with him a diverse and multidisciplinary background in natural resource management. He spearheads our conservation programs which focus on addressing issues in the unique forest ecosystems of Plumas County. Michael has worked as a wildlife technician, park interpreter, GIS specialist, trail builder, and grant writer for organizations in Colorado, Montana, and throughout the Sierra Nevada region. He hopes to combine these skills to implement projects that will not only the natural resources, but the communities that depend on them.
Michael lives in Quincy with his wife Mandy and dog Scout and enjoys a multitude of mountain sports. When not at work you can find them somewhere deep in the wilderness, often lost, seldom bored, and usually hungry. |
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Katie ReidySierra Nevada Alliance Forestry Fellow
Katie grew up in the suburbs of Chicago, but as soon as she could she fled to the Blue Ridge Mountains of the Southeastern US where she studied environmental ecology at the University of North Carolina Asheville. It was there that her passion for the outdoors, the environment, and conservation blossomed. After years of working and studying forest health, Katie began teaching environmental education for a variety of organizations. Her drive to teach about the environment brought her to CA, where she lived in Yosemite teaching young students about the importance of conservation. After years of teaching, Katie is eager and enthusiastic to get back to work in Forest Resource Management. As an SNA Forestry Fellow, she is excited to have Feather River RCD as her host site where she assists with projects and learns more about Forestry Management. In her spare time, you will most likely find her kayaking down some local whitewater.
For more information on the Sierra Corps Forestry Fellowship Program, click here. |
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Julia SidmanLead Forestry Technician
Originally from the Boston area, Julia came to the District in the spring of 2020 to work as a forestry technician on our Moonlight Fire Area Restoration Project. After receiving a degree in Forest Ecology from UMass Amherst, Julia has worked in various states across the country as a forester, trail builder, and outdoor educator. With a passion for forest health and resiliency, she is excited to contribute her skills to the RCD team and such important work!
Julia enjoys hiking, struggling through crossword puzzles, and inundating friends and family with pictures of her cooking and baking adventures. |
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Brad UnderwoodConservation Project Coordinator
Brad Underwood is a Plumas County native with roots in the community that reach back five generations. After earning a bachelor’s degree in Biology from CSU Chico and working throughout the Sacramento Valley in wildlife and fisheries management, Brad returned to Plumas County in 2019 as a forestry technician with the Feather River RCD. In working with the RCD, he hopes to bring a local voice to the table while developing projects that will conserve and enhance the district’s resources and communities. He currently serves as a Conservation Project Coordinator at the RCD, where he is most notably involved with the Moonlight Area Reforestation Project and projects within the Crescent Mills Wetland Conservation Area.
Brad spent much of his childhood on cattle ranches and in the mountains surrounding Indian Valley. He and his family enjoy the resources of the area by hunting, fishing, woodcutting, and taking advantage of the many forest roads and OHV trails within the county. |
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Leaf Van PeltOperations Manager
Having grown up in Plumas County, Leaf brings a lifetime of knowledge of experience living and working in the area. After graduating with a BA in Liberal Arts from Saint Mary's College of California, Leaf spent several years traveling the world gaining useful perspective to bring back to his community of Plumas County. Leaf places strong value in his community and the environment surrounding it and has found an avenue to promote the worth of natural resources and the importance of their sustainability through working with the RCD.
Leaf started as the Operations Manager with the RCD in May 2021 and is dedicated to being a supportive and effective addition to to Feather River Resource Conservation team and its partners. |
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Justine CornwallForestry Technician
Justine grew up in southeast Idaho and promptly took off to Utah State University in Northern Utah. During her undergraduate studies in Conservation and Restoration Ecology, she gained an appreciation for dynamic forests and fire ecology. Lab tech jobs took her to research sites across the western states, and she is excited to be back in the Sierras! She is eager to be a part of crucial resource management projects in Plumas County.
Justine can be found sifting through rock piles, hugging rock walls, or hiding away with a good book. Whether at work or at home she is predominantly snack motivated. |
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Kawayan De GuzmanForestry Technician
Born and raised in the city of San Francisco, Kawayan cultivated a love for the outdoors over sparse but delightful childhood camping trips. Kawayan pursued a degree in Wildlife, Fish, and Conservation Biology at the University of California Davis. After being a hummus salesperson in a farmers market, he moved to New York State as a plant surveyor and trail builder. Afterwards, he returned to California to contribute to native vegetation restoration projects at the Channel Islands National Park. Kawayan joined the Feather River RCD and is excited to learn about what it means to be at the intersection of wildfire mitigation, wetland restoration, and the complex international industry of reforestation.
On the weekends, Kawayan likes to hang out inside the public library or pluck around on his mandolin, but never both at the same time. |
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Will HoxieForestry Technician
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Mitch PolingForestry Technician
Mitch Poling grew up in Michigan and attended Grand Valley State University. There, he studied natural resource management, with an emphasis on wildlife management and ecosystem restoration. After working a couple of seasons for the Forest Service in Baldwin, MI, he began seeking out wildlife work in the Sierras. After moving around to various places, a Northern goshawk surveyor position with the Plumas Audubon Society caught his attention. He moved here for the job, with his partner Jac and his dog Milo, and they pretty quickly became enamored with Plumas County. With its unique ecology and beauty, Mitch decided that this is where he wanted to work to promote the wellbeing of wildlife and the ecosystems that they reside in. While living here, he has done surveys for Northern goshawks, black-backed woodpeckers, California spotted owls, Sierra Nevada yellow legged frogs, willow flycatchers, and carnivores, as well as various habitat restoration and fire management efforts with the Forest Service.
When it's the off season for field work, he's oftentimes working in kitchens. If you've eaten at Pangaea, he has probably fed you. He has also worked at some notable restaurants in Grand Rapids, MI and Portland, OR. When he isn't doing field work or working in the kitchen, he enjoys a good hike, camping, birding, fishing, reading old sci-fi novels, playing guitar, experiencing new music, watching old cartoons, the occasional video game, and relaxing by the creek. Mitch's favorite bird is a hermit thrush! |
