Summers Meadows

Photo: Summers Meadows property on Twin Lakes near Yosemite National Park.

In an effort to explain The Conservation Fund and my job, here's an example of one of our latest projects we completed: Summers Meadows, California.

On the eastern edge of central California between Yosemite National Park and Bridgeport, the 880-acre Summers Meadows property was the largest single private property within the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest on the east slope of the Sierra Nevada Range. The property on the glacial Twin Lakes with a view of towering mountains is important for backpackers, hikers and campers and the protection of Sierra Nevada Bighorn Sheep, deer, grouse and quail.

Photo: Sierra Nevada Bighorn Sheep

During 2009-2011, our southwestern director worked with a willing-seller landowner and the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) in order for the property, a priority for the agency, to be transferred to the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest.

In order for the USFS to buy the property, they needed $2.4 million. The USFS cannot contract or buy from a landowner until they have the money in hand, and the money comes from Congress during its yearly appropriations bill. While USFS can list a project in its budget, federal agencies are prohibited from lobbying for funding.

This is where The Conservation Fund comes in. The Fund can contract with landowners and lobby. The USFS approached us and asked for our help. Our non-profit's mission is to conserve land on behalf of agency or private partners and this deal fit. We spoke with the landowner and negotiated a contract with him, securing the deal for a time.

I am The Conservation Fund's "western lobbyist," so I met with the staff of California Senators Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer and told them about the opportunity for USFS to purchase this priority parcel in their state. We had several meetings over the years and I would bring in photos and fact sheets and discuss real estate/legislative details in order to compel them to request funding for this project. It's a beautiful project, but A LOT of California is beautiful, and many projects were competing for funding. The Senators would select only a few conservation requests.

During the Spring of 2010, Senator Feinstein sent in a request Congress to appropriate the money. In the Fall of 2010, Congress passed its "Fiscal Year 2010 Appropriations Bill," which included a line-item for $2.4 million for USFS to acquire Summers Meadows. A large real estate deal like this takes time, and The Conservation Fund spent the next months finalizing the details so that USFS could purchase the land. In March 2011, USFS bought the property and it is now in public ownership. We celebrated.

Photo: Summers Meadows, California!!

I work on dozens of these western conservation deals a year, which is very rewarding. I enjoy working with an expert staff, learning the process, and visiting Capitol Hill to discuss these important, beautiful, land and water saving properties. Each project has up to hundreds of components and nothing is guaranteed until the project is completed. Changing politics and the risks of land deals keep us on our toes through this month-to-month, year-to-year process. Each time a property is protected is truly a success to be celebrated. The Summers Meadows property is now YOURS! It is public land.

Link: News story about Summers Meadows.

Paul Simon Invites DC Patent Lawyer to Sing with Him

Photo: Paul Simon in concert in DC last Wednesday. Photo by John Sisk, Washington Post

Sometimes wonderful moments happen in DC. The other night Paul Simon and a patent lawyer created one.

During Simon's concert at DAR Constitution Hall last week, he seemed to have difficulty remembering the words to his song "Gumboots" from Graceland. A patent attorney in the front row shouted out the words and Simon invited him to sing the rest on stage.

Enjoy this hilarious display of talent! Could you sing the rest of this song?

Fan's lawyer photo

Full story here.

Appalachian Trail Days

Despite living in Virginia for three years, I've never been to the western side of the state (it's over six hours away). After a week of 12+ Capitol Hill visits, I'm ready to hike other hills, specifically the Appalachian Mountains and the Appalachian Trail. Tomorrow I head to Abingdon, VA, in the western tip of the state to attend the Appalachian Trail Days and the Partnership for the National Trails System conference.

I'll present on The Conservation Fund's work to protect the Appalachian Trail and dozens of other trails around the nation. For instance, this week I lobbied with the guy in charge of the North Country National Scenic Trail, which runs through seven states, from New York to North Dakota. You may have never heard of it, but it's twice as long as the AT, 4,600 miles.

Mainly, I'm ready to hang out with hikers and see more of this "great outdoors" that I spend so much time indoors talking about.

Photo: Parade for the Appalachian Trail in Damascus, VA. This year's parade will take place on Saturday.

Supreme Court Mock Trial

Photo: Justices Alito, Ginsberg and Sotomayor residing over the Shakespeare Theatre Company's Supreme Court Mock Trial performance. Photo by Wall Street Journal's Jess Bravin

Last month I attended one of my favorite events of the year, the Shakespeare Theatre Company's "Supreme Court Mock Trial." It's an event where the best lawyers in the nation use the "facts" of a play to argue an issue before a Justice. A few years ago attorneys debated whether Hamlet could plead the insanity defense in his killing of his step-father (if Hamlet was still alive), presided over by Justice Kennedy. One one hand, Hamlet knowingly plotted out the murder...on the other hand, Hamlet talked to ghosts!

This year's event debated an issue from Oscar Wilde's An Ideal Husband, a political themed play. THREE JUSTICES presided this year, more than ever. The panel also contained four other famous judges. Since this is D.C., where I always have the sense that there are more lawyers in D.C. than skiers in Colorado, the event sold out within the first 10 minutes. I was glad to get a ticket! Since the Supreme Court does not allow cameras, to see the Justices is a rare treat. To see them seriously question a facetious play was a comical experience.

More about the event at WSJ.


The recent movie version of An Ideal Husband is pretty good.

Easter in Ohio

Celebrity Trees

Image: "Cover" from The Onion Magazine

I meant to post about trees on Arbor Day last week, but we're still celebrating Spring, so here's a tribute to trees, via a great article on Slate about celebrity trees, like the Joshua Tree on the U2 cover and General Sherman, the giant redwood in California.

I learned that the Mormon's gave the Joshua tree its name because they likened the trees' skyward-crawling branches to the hands of the biblical character Joshua leading them to the Western promised land.

Photos: Joshua Tree National Park, November 2010 trip, Cotter

Photo: Grant's apple tree

The article did not cover Grant's apple tree, which will surely make the celebrity list once it grows and Grant becomes a famous conservationist because he was inspired by his tree :).

Link to Celebrity Trees article.