Mission & Purpose

Mission Statement

The Mission of California Open Lands is to enhance and preserve natural resources in the conservation of Northern California’s flora and fauna on open lands in perpetuity, including the restoration and cultivation of California native plants utilizing principles of Indigenous Traditional Ecological Knowledge (ITEK) for food, fiber and medicine; and to foster opportunities for people to connect with and learn about the natural resources and open lands of their neighborhood and region.

Purpose

California Open Lands preserves and manages open space, exchanges scientific information, and fosters the conservation of California’s natural resources. California Open Lands accepts conservation easements for the purpose of protecting wetlands, sensitive resources, endangered species, and other natural habitats. California Open Lands was specifically established as a third party conservation oriented entity.

Goals and Objectives

Establish productive cooperative and educational relationships with private and public individuals, organizations, schools, and agencies to provide benefit to California’s natural resources and to foster connection between local open lands and the community

Manage and monitor easement properties to ensure yearly management obligations and long-term goals are met;

Increase public recognition of COL as a leading private conservation organization in Northern California promoting indigenous agricultural practices as integral to maintaining native plant communities as they were traditionally cultivated and tended.

Develop relationships within the diversity of our local community which have the potential to communicate the land trust’s services and impact in a manner that resonates with and engages the community.

COL Staff

Ali Meders-Knight - Executive Director

Ali Meders-Knight is a Mechoopda tribal member, mother of five, and traditional basketweaver based in Chico, CA. She has been recognized by the Mechoopda Tribe as a Master TEK practitioner, and works to form partnerships for federal forest stewardship contracting and tribal restoration programs on public lands. She has been a Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) practitioner for over 20 years, collaborating on environmental education and land restoration projects with Chico State University, the City of Chico, Tehama County Resource Conservation District, and more. She serves on the Tribal Relations Strategic Planning and Implementation committee for the US Forest Service in Region 5. In March 2022 she testified to the U.S. House of Representatives Environmental Oversight Subcommittee on the merits of TEK and Tribally-led workforce development to restore California forest resilience and address the problem of catastrophic wildfires. In 2009 she helped plan and establish Verbena Fields, a unique 17-acre interactive food forest and interpretive park in North Chico, to educate about the rich ecological heritage of the Mechoopda people through weekly community tending workshops.

Meleiza Figueroa - Conservation Director

Mel Figueroa brings nearly 15 years of expertise and experience in traditional ecological knowledge and community-based natural resource management to COL. A PhD Candidate in Geography at UC Berkeley, she has conducted fieldwork with traditional communities in North and South America, including in the lower Amazon River basin studying traditional agroforestry and burning practices to create the carbon-rich, biochar-based anthropogenic soils known as terra preta. For the last three years in Butte County, she has worked closely with Ali Meders-Knight to create a Tribal TEK certification and workforce development program, as well as partner with local and federal agencies on planning, project development, and contracting for Tribally led restoration, fuels management, and climate adaptation projects throughout the northern Sierra Nevada region. Mel and Ali are strong policy advocates for the inclusion of TEK and Tribal co-stewardship in public lands management throughout California, serving on an advisory committee for the US Forest Service Tribal Relations Strategic Planning Team in Region 5, which collaborates with Tribal practitioners and agency staff to expand opportunities for Tribal co-stewardship on National Forest lands in California.

Holly Nielsen - Project Development Director, Nature-Based Therapy

Holly Nielsen served as Executive Director of California Open Lands from 2014-2022. During that time, she completed the conservation acquisition process for seven projects in the Northern Sacramento Valley watershed. Three additional acquisitions are currently in progress. Since 2007, COL manages these conservation acquisitions as guided by long-term management plans and is well respected within the land trust community and federal and state regulatory agencies. Holly has long held a vision of the organization that would more directly involve local peoples and bring indigenous management practices of land stewardship to the land trust community.

Nielsen has worked closely with Mechoopda Master TEK Practitioner Ali Meders-Knight on community projects in Chico, including the Kids and Creeks outdoor education program as well as implementing homeschooling science curricula teaching hands-on practices of Indigenous Traditional Ecological Knowledge.

COL Board of Directors

John Dahlmeier - Secretary/Treasurer

John has been in the insurance industry for over 30 years. He is currently the Vice President of Dahlmeier Insurance Agency. Being a motivated person, John takes on many civic as well as industry positions. He is a Trustee for the Butte-Glenn Community College served as past president of the Oroville Rotary Club, Butte-Glenn Community College Foundation, YMCA, and Ehmann Trust Foundation . He also served on the Oroville Hospital Community Board as well as several non-profit boards. John also likes to play tennis, golf, and enjoys the outdoors.

Mike Donnelly - Board Member

Mike is a Broker with more than fifteen years of Economic Development and Commercial Real Estate experience and specializes in helping companies with their real estate experiences so they prosper and grow, creating more jobs for the community. He is a member of the Chico Rotary, and has served on the Board of Directors for the Work Training Center, the Butte County Economic Development Corporation, the Chico Economic Planning Corporation and the Oroville Economic Development Corporation. He is also a Founder of Golden Valley Bank and a member of the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC). Donnelly loves the great outdoors and open spaces, and looks forward to preserving natural landscapes for future generations.

Herb Votaw - Board Member

With over 38 years of experience in the field of land surveying and has extensive knowledge in land surveying principles and surveying law. He is currently the President of Rolls, Anderson & Rolls in Chico, California; he is also a member of the California Land Surveyors’ Association. Herb loves fishing and hunting and is an advocate for open spaces.

Frank "Fritz" Schulenburg - Board Member

Fritz is a former executive of the Wikimedia Foundation, the organization that operates Wikipedia. In 2014, he started Wiki Education Foundation, an ed-tech nonprofit dedicated to improving Wikipedia's coverage of topics that are of interest to the general public. Fritz is passionate about the natural environment and spends most of his free time outdoors. As one of Wikipedia's volunteer photographers, Fritz enjoys sharing his love of nature with millions of people through the lens of his camera. He's a member of the Pacific Crest Trail Association, the North American Nature Photography Association, and the Chico Rotary Club.

Melissa Thiede - Board Member

Bio coming soon