August 14 & 15, 2024
Paicines Ranch
Advancing Conservation on Working Lands
Gathering for Shared Understanding
Agenda
“We are collaborative by nature. We’ve been trained to not collaborate and so we must re-learn how to genuinely work together. We must first unlearn what has made us forget our own nature.”
A Recap
ADVANCING CONSERVATION ON WORKING LANDS – A Gathering for Shared Understanding, August 14-15. The CalGLC brought together a diverse group of people at its first gathering, with the goal of fostering collaboration and understanding among landowners, livestock producers, non-profits, government agencies and rural communities. Effective collaboration is the way forward to secure a brighter future for California’s beautiful working lands. We aim to keep the conversation and momentum going, and plan to host a serie
s of region-specific gatherings in the near futur
e. Stay tuned and contact Alex.Your content goes here. Edit or remove this text inline or in the module Content settings. You can also style every aspect of this content in the module Design settings and even apply custom CSS to this text in the module Advanced settings.
Gathering Organizers and Facilitators
Jared Talley
Engaged Facilitator
Jared, based in Boise, is an interdisciplinary scholar with a background in environmental philosophy. His work explores community relationships with land, collaboration opportunities, and the roles of science, place, and imagination in shaping environmental identity and policy.
Bre Owens
Convener
Bre lives in Los Molinos, CA where she runs a small cattle operation utilizing mostly leased private and public lands. Bre grew up in Northern CA on a cow-calf ranch, attended Chico State and Colorado State University, Fort Collins, focusing her studies on rangeland ecology and livestock production.
Alex Karol
Convener
Alex Karol, California Grazing Lands Coalition coordinator: Alex is a sheep and cattle rancher in San Luis Obispo County, California. Alex and his wife Kelsey started Outlaw Valley Ranch in 2017. They sell their beef, lamb and wool products direct to consumers in the region
Karen Sweet
Organizer
California Rangeland Conservation Coalition Executive Director: Karen is a rancher in the San Francisco Bay Area Karen was a founding member of the CRCC and over the years has served as volunteer, contracted administrator, and Coordinator of the Annual Rangeland Summit, an event that is attended by diverse rangeland stakeholders.
Laurel Harkness
Organizer
Laurel’s diverse background spans outdoor recreation, natural resources, community development, and working landscapes. Before joining RVCC, she promoted resilient economies in the California Governor’s Office. She’s contributed to large-scale conservation efforts across the West, prioritizing Indigenous futures in place-based solutions.
Ranchers & Producers
The gathering will include numerous rancher voices including the below CalGLC advisors.
John Austel
4J Horse & Livestock Co
John Austel, owner of 4J Horse and Livestock Co., collaborates with local agencies to restore fallow acres into grazing land on a historic Old Spanish Land Grant. His Natural Angus operation, running on the now CDFW Ecological Reserve, promotes sustainable grazing while preserving unique ecosystems.
Bianca Artadi Soares
Talbott Sheep Company
Bianca Soares, a 4th generation rancher at Talbott Sheep Company, passionately manages Star Creek Land Stewards. With a degree in Managerial Economics and expertise in targeted grazing, she leads client communications, strategizes grazing plans, and prepares project schedules. Soares actively contributes to California’s wool industry, serving on the Targeted Grazing Committee and the California Sheep Commission Board.
Andrew Bertotti
Biologist
Andrew Bertotti, a biologist with the Point Blue Working Lands Group’s Roots Program, assists landowners in enhancing wildlife habitat on working lands in Janesville, CA. With a background in crop and soil sciences, Bertotti contributes to grazing management planning and conservation efforts. Passionate about synergies between land, climate, flora, fauna, and people, he enjoys exploring the outdoors with his son Clyde.
Organizers
