2024 WIP Summit:
20 Years of Impact

Summit recap and recording coming soon.

March 8, 2024

9 a.m. – 1 p.m.

California Natural Resources Building, Auditorium
715 P Street, Sacramento

The Sierra Nevada Conservancy’s Watershed Improvement Program (WIP) Summit connects California policymakers to Sierra-Cascade issues that resonate across the state.

This year’s Summit marks the 20th Anniversary of the Sierra Nevada Conservancy (SNC) and will showcase the many accomplishments, people, projects, collaborations, and events that have shaped the SNC and the Sierra-Cascade over the past two decades.

Agenda

8:30 a.m. Summit Check-In

9:00 a.m.Welcome and Opening Remarks

  • Terrence O’Brien, Sierra Nevada Conservancy Governing Board Chair
  • Angela Avery, Sierra Nevada Conservancy Executive Officer

9:10 a.m. Keynote

Wade Crowfoot, California’s Secretary for Natural Resources

9:20 a.m. Special Address

Senator John Laird, California Senate District 17

9:25 a.m. Partner Impact Stories

Facilitated by President of the Sierra Business Council, Steve Frisch, partners will highlight effective on-the-ground projects and the other ways the SNC has helped protect Sierra-Cascade landscapes and communities over the last 20 years:

  • Andrew Fecko, Placer County Water Agency General Manager
  • Calli-Jane West, Butte Fire Safe Council Executive Advisor
  • Doug Teeter, Butte County Supervisor, California’s Wildfire and Forest Resilience Task Force member, and former SNC boardmember
  • Chairman Robert Gomez, Tubatulabal Tribe in Kern County
  • Kay Ogden, Eastern Sierra Land Trust Executive Director and 30×30 Partnership Coordinating Committee member

10:55 a.m. Network Break

11:30 a.m. Innovative Voices: What’s Next

Facilitated by SNC’s Policy & Outreach Division Chief, Brittany Covich, partners will discuss important work being done and the SNC’s role in addressing regional issues and state priorities amid an ever-changing climate:

  • Blake Milton, 40-Acre Conservation League Board Secretary/Treasurer
  • Geneva E.B. Thompson, California Natural Resources Agency Deputy Secretary for Tribal Affairs
  • Luis Vidal, American Forests Northern California Forest Restoration Manager, former Sierra Nevada Alliance Sierra Corps Forestry Fellowship Program intern
  • Zach Knight, Blue Forest Conservation co-founder

12:55 p.m. Wrap-up

Angela Avery, Sierra Nevada Conservancy Executive Officer