Tulare Basin

A skilled and knowledgeable board of directors governs Tulare Basin Wildlife Partners, providing leadership and expertise on conservation and education projects in the Tulare Basin. The board is responsible for the overall affairs of the organization including: supervision, direction, and control of its business transactions; maintaining thorough and correct records of the corporation's financial activities; and ensuring compliance with established business and conservation practices.

Board of Directors

Robert B. Hansen, TBWP president, is a premier field biologist with 27 years of experience in the Tulare Basin. He served as a field biologist and regional land steward for The Nature Conservancy of California for nine years (1981 to 1990), is a biology instructor at the College of the Sequoias in Visalia, CA, and is principal of Hansen's Biological Consulting. Through his company, he conducted bird surveys and nest monitoring at agricultural drainwater evaporation basins for private drainage districts in Kings, Kern and Tulare counties from 1994 to 2004. He managed field surveys and document preparation for Habitat Conservation Plans (HCP), including the Pleasant Valley HCP in Fresno County, the Kern Fan HCP in Kern County, and others in Tulare County. Widely respected as a professional biologist and conservation leader throughout California, Mr. Hansen serves as an advisor on a variety of regional projects. During 2003, he participated as a member of the science advisory committee to Merced County during an analysis of habitat and special status species impacts related to the establishment of the new UC Merced campus. In 2005, he worked on the science advisory committee that reviewed the Yuba/Sutter County natural communities conservation plan (NCCP) and HCP. He serves as a director of Sequoia Riverlands Trust and was co-founder of that organization. Mr. Hansen received a B.S. and an M.A. in biology from California State University at Fresno.

Richard M. Moss, TBWP vice president, is currently the vice president for water resources at Provost and Pritchard Engineering Group, Inc, a civil engineering consulting firm based in Visalia, California. A Registered Professional Civil Engineer, Mr. Moss has 30 years of experience in agricultural engineering, civil engineering, water resources planning and policy development, government relations, contract/agreement development, organizational management and agricultural water conservation. He served as general manager of the Friant Water Users Authority from its inception in 1986 until September 2001. He serves on the board of trustees at University of California at Merced and on the board of directors for Ivanhoe Irrigation District and California Citrus Mutual. Mr. Moss also chairs the environment and restoration committee of the San Joaquin Valley regional water plan. He earned a B.S. in agricultural engineering from California Polytechnic University, San Luis Obispo, and graduated in Class XX from the California Agricultural Leadership program.

David W. Mitchell, TBWP Treasurer, currently works as a sales manager (dairy) for Novus International, Inc. He was previously a relationship manager with Wells Fargo Bank where he managed an agriculture credit portfolio and was also executive vice president of operations for Country Club Mortgage in Visalia, CA. Mr. Mitchell earned a B.A. in economics from the University of Washington and M.B.A from California State University at Fresno. He is currently working on a certificate in accounting at the University of California at Berkeley.

Carole K. Combs, TBWP secretary and executive director, brings conservation organization development and management expertise gained from almost 30 years working in communications, government relations and fundraising with The Nature Conservancy in Arlington, Virginia (1979 - 1996), the Monterey Institute of International Studies (1996-1999) and non-profit organizations in Tulare County, California, and surrounding counties (1999-present). She served as volunteer executive director of the Kaweah, Tule Oaks, and Four Creeks land trusts, and led the merger of these three organizations to form Sequoia Riverlands Trust from 1999 to 2001; she served on the board of directors until 2005. She is the founder and coordinator of the Tulare Basin Working Group and, along with the other board officers listed here, is a founder of TBWP. Ms. Combs received an undergraduate degree in political science and an M.S. in journalism from the University of California at Berkeley and an M.A. in Slavic languages & literatures from New York University.

Carol Sellers Herbert, TBWP director, is a retired attorney and farming executive. She formerly was dean of the San Joaquin College of Law in Fresno; developed the barpassers review course which was sold to West Publishing Co. in 1993; managed the west coast division of Harcourt Brace Jovanovich Legal and Professional Publications, Inc.; founded the committee on women and the law in the Beverly Hills Bar Association; and managed the family farm in Tulare County before moving to Fillmore in 1999. Together with her husband, James K. Herbert, Carol oversaw the transaction that culminated in the bargain sale of a 725-acre pristine vernal pool grassland prairie to Sequoia Riverlands Trust's predecessor in 2000. The resulting preserve has become the premier example of protecting and restoring valley floor natural communities in Tulare County.

Bruce Roberts, TBWP director, is currently the J.G. Boswell Chair of Agronomy in the department of plant sciences at California State University at Fresno, where he has taught since 2004. Dr. Roberts's research interests focus on crop and soil ecology, specifically, integrating ecological principles in crop and soil management practices to achieve sustainable goals of modern agriculture. He previously served for 21 years as the County director and agronomy farm advisor, Emeritus for the University of California Cooperative Extension in Kings County. He also worked for five years as a research agronomist for Basic Vegetable Products in King City and Hanford, California. Throughout his career, Dr. Roberts has promoted integrating agricultural practices that enhance wildlife habitat and resource conservation. Following restrictions on agriculture drainage, he initiated a U.C. workgroup that brought together diverse groups to resolve issues about wildlife use of drainage water in the Tulare Lake Basin. He has authored or co-authored more than 100 publications on agronomic crop research and extension recommendations. Dr. Roberts earned his undergraduate degree in plant science from California State University at Fresno; an M.S. in plant science from Utah State University, and a Ph.D. in ecology from the University of California at Davis.

Thomas M. Stanton, TBWP Director, a native of Bakersfield, California, is a retired attorney and mediator with over 40 years civil practice experience in the San Joaquin Valley. He also practiced in Mendocino County for several years and represented that county in general plan litigation as outside counsel. He is a member of the American Board of Trial Advocates and the State Bar of California. He has been involved in waterfowling in the Goose Lake - Tulare Basin region for several decades. He is associated with the Tulare Basin Wetlands Association and a Life Member of California Waterfowl Association. He obtained his undergraduate degree in political science from the University of California and is a graduate of Stanford Law School.

C. Jeff Thomson, TBWP director, is currently president of Thomson International, Inc., a major international grower and shipper of produce, based in Bakersfield, California. He is a member of a prominent family which has been active in southern San Joaquin Valley agribusiness for many decades; he benefits the TBWP and its partners through his first hand knowledge of wetlands management, water distribution systems, and agribusiness needs. He serves as chairman of the board of the Tulare Basin Wetlands Association, a non-profit association of privately-owned duck clubs active in Tulare Basin. Mr. Thomson earned his undergraduate degree in agricultural business management from the University of California at Davis and a M.S. in agricultural economics from Purdue University. In addition, he graduated with Class III of the California Agricultural Leadership program.

advisors

TBWP advisors bring decades of expertise to help guide the organization's conservation efforts, strengthen partnerships, implement restoration projects, and bring new resources to protect habitat for people and wildilfe.

Steve Johnson, Senior Advisor, Conservation Strategies Group; formerly worked with The Nature Conservancy and Resources Legacy Fund

Bill Loudermilk, Manager, California Department of Fish and Game Central Valley Region (retired) and Principal, California Conservation Solutions

Elizabeth Palmer, Southern Wetland Reserve Program Team Leader, Natural Resources Conservation Service

John McCaull, Lawyer, Law Offices of John McCaull; formerly California State Director of American Farmland Trust and Legislative Director for the National Audubon Society

Tasha Newman, Client Manager and Public Funding Specialist, Conservation Strategies Group

Larry Saslaw, Wildlife Biologist, Bureau of Land Management (retired)

Robert Shaffer, Coordinator, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Central Valley Joint Venture

Planning & ImPLEMENTATION Team
A variety of science and outreach professionals assist TBWP by providing expertise and services that help the organization complete its conservation, restoration, and education projects. In addition to those listed below, board members Rob Hansen, Dick Moss, Bea Olsen, and Carole Combs serve on this team.

Sarah Campe is the TBWP Assistant Watershed Coordinator and TBWG Coordinator. Ms. Campe received a master’s degree in environmental science and management from the Donald Bren School at University of California at Santa Barbara in June 2007. While at UC Santa Barbara, she completed a Master’s Group Project entitled “A Dynamic Strategy for Conserving Southern Sierra Blue Oak Woodland” for The Nature Conservancy. Ms. Campe's work experience includes serving as executive director of Tulare County Citizens for Responsible Growth, serving as a conservation planning intern with both The Nature Conservancy and Sequoia Riverlands Trust, and working as a field technician for the US Geological Survey and National Park Service.

Kathy Wood McLaughlin, TBWP Watershed Coordinator, brings more than 30 years of experience collaborating to protect and restore water and wildlife. She spent the majority of her federal career with the US Fish and Wildlife Service where, most recently, she served as the assistant field supervisor for the Conservation, Restoration, and Contaminants program in Sacramento and as a member of the regional climate team. She also worked as the coordinator for the Playa Lakes Joint Venture, a public/private international partnership for North American bird conservation. She also served in refuge management, migratory birds, setting hunting regulations, and external affairs. Ms. Wood has worked on water issues in the San Joaquin Valley, including a special assignment to the California Water Institute at California State University, Fresno working on water planning for the California Partnership for the San Joaquin Valley and the valley Congressional delegation. She also worked for the US Bureau of Reclamation on the Central Valley Project and south coast issues as Resources Management Division Chief in Fresno. Ms. Wood is a graduate of the University of California at Berkeley. She and her husband, Tom McLaughlin, are active in land use and community planning in Fresno.

Niki Woodard, Communications Specialist for TBWP, has more than a dozen years of communications experience in a range of industries, including nonprofits, think tanks, academia, journalism and advertising. In addition to writing and designing collaterals and managing outreach efforts for the TBWP, she is the principal for Spiral-PR, a communications consulting business that specializes in messaging/marketing for nonprofits and small businesses. Prior to starting her own business, Ms. Woodard was the Communications Director for Sequoia Riverlands Trust, and previous to that, she was a Research Associate for the Pew Research Center in Washington, DC. She also served two years as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Guatemala, working with families to plant diversified, organic crops and improve their nutrition. Ms. Woodard earned an M.A. from Georgetown University in Communications, Culture and Technology, and has two B.A.'s from UC Berkeley, in Economics and Rhetoric.

EMERITI

Bobby Kamansky contributed significantly to TBWP conservation planning and project efforts as a consultant between 2006 and 2010. He is principal of Kamansky's Ecological Consulting and project manager for the Southern Sierra IRWMP. Thank you for your contributions.

Steve Laymon served the TBWP for more than six years as a very important advisor on restoration projects, namely the Atwell Island Project, for which he served as Project Manager. We wish him luck as he embarks on a new career with the US Fish and Wildlife Service. Thank you for your hard work and dedication to conservation in the Tulare Basin.

Johanna Lombard served the TBWP as its Communications/ Outreach Specialist for four years while running her own business, Big Trees Marketing. She is now Writer/Editor for publications for the Grand Canyon National Park. TBWP thanks Ms. Lombard for her valuable contributions to the TBWP mission.

Bea Olson served as TBWP director. The Tulare Basin Wildlife Partners is grateful for her dedication to conservation in the Tulare Basin including her invaluable contributions to the Atwell Island Project, the Tulare Basin Working Group, and as a member of the Board of the Tulare Basin Wildlife Partners. Thank you for your service.