A message from Mason Voehl:
Thanks to the support and generosity of our members and supporters, the Amargosa Conservancy has experienced tremendous growth and success in recent years. Through the expansion of our advocacy work, our Save Ash Meadows campaign, and our substantial new investment in conservation and restoration on the California side of the Basin, we’ve risen to meet new challenges that face this special place. We have new staff members, new projects, and it’s a new season of growth and evolution at our organization.
After four years of service as Executive Director of Amargosa Conservancy, I will be stepping into a new position as the Conservancy’s Campaigns Director.
This move is driven by the evolving needs of our organization and the critical opportunities and challenges now facing the Amargosa River watershed.
Fortunately, thanks to the generosity of our funders and members and the volunteer spirit of our Board, the Conservancy finds itself well positioned to expand our leadership capacities.
Ashley will bring a wealth of experience in conservation leadership, community outreach, and public lands advocacy to the position, as the organization seeks a permanent Executive Director in the coming months.
Russell’s deep experience following a 31-year career of public service working for the Bureau of Land Management in leadership positions across the California Desert will be invaluable to our continued ability to navigate the changing landscape of public lands management. At a time when federal employees are under siege due to the actions of the current administration, we’re proud to have someone atop the organization who has stood in those shoes, and can help us support conservation in the agencies’ missions. I feel confident that the future of Amargosa Conservancy could not be in more capable hands at this important juncture.
These transitions are a recommitment. A recommitment to the mission of the Amargosa Conservancy: Working toward a sustainable future for the Amargosa River and Basin through Science, Stewardship, and Advocacy.
The Amargosa River Basin is at a crossroads. Our beloved desert river and the springs, wetlands, and communities that depend on it face increasing pressure from extractive industries, groundwater overdraft, climate change, and short-sighted land use decisions. At the same time, we are witnessing a surge of public interest, policy potential, and grassroots energy in support of lasting protections for this region. These are the conditions under which real change becomes possible, but only if we rise to meet the moment.
To do so, the Conservancy must have focused attention on advocacy issues and deploy resources to achieve our goals. Goals like defending public lands; standing with rural and Tribal communities; building coalitions and fighting for policy that protects water, land, and life in the desert. It means being agile, strategic, and fearless.
As Campaigns Director, I will lead our advocacy initiatives, pushing forward urgent campaigns like the protection of the Ash Meadows, Death Valley, and the Amargosa Wild & Scenic River through opposing dangerous mining proposals, securing new land and water safeguards, and mobilizing the grassroots movement we’ve cultivated over the past two decades. I’ll continue working closely with our staff, board, and partners to ensure the organization’s mission is carried forward with strength and clarity.
Our more recent additions to the staff, Scott Williams and Morrigan DeVito will continue to run our landscape restoration and native plant conservation programs, while also maintaining much of our public-facing work through social media and communications with our members. And our interim Executive Director Ashley Lee, and eventually our permanent Executive Director when hired, will oversee the operations of our advocacy and stewardship programs, providing strategic vision and growing our programs to meet the conservation needs in the Amargosa River Basin.
This moment calls for adaptation. All life in the desert knows this. Up and down the Amargosa River, survival and resilience are earned through responsiveness, by bending without breaking, conserving energy for the right moment, and trusting that transformation is not only possible, but essential. We as an organization are no different. We are evolving so we can thrive, so we can meet the challenges of today and shape the possibilities of tomorrow.
I want to express my deep gratitude for every donation, every kind word, and every vote of confidence during my tenure as Executive Director. These last four years have been the richest, most rewarding, and most vibrant of not only my professional career, but of my life. I’m thrilled to continue advocating for this special place with the Amargosa Conservancy. And I’m excited about the new leadership that is emerging to guide this organization forward.
Let us continue to fight together, arm in arm, for the future of this one and only Amargosa River.
Onward,
Mason Voehl
Campaigns Director, Amargosa Conservancy