Living sustainably in the Putah/Cache Bioregion requires a balance between the human and natural uses of the regional landscape. Our interests are to protect, restore and enhance the aquatic, riparian, and terrestrial environmental values in this bioregion, while maintaining a sustainable human landscape involving agriculture and other traditional uses. The needs of all of the residents in the bioregion are important. Policy decisions in this region must address the needs of both the human and the non-human occupants in these watersheds.

With good science and data, publicly developed and shared, and sensitivity to the varied viewpoints of the region's stakeholders, we can address our goals for maintaining the viability of the ecological and economic systems that sustain our people.

The Putah-Cache region is home to the bald eagles, otters, mountain lions, and black bears that draw people to the wildlands. It is also the home of Swainson's Hawks, robins, and meadowlarks found in both agricultural and urban regions. Streams and riparian corridors provide important biological linkages and thousands of acres of oak woodlands, chaparral, and native grasslands in the interior Coastal Range mountains, and seasonal wetlands and vernal pools host dozens of sensitive plant and wildlife species.

The Capay Valley Hiking Club (yolohiker.org) has been a longstanding Tuleyome Program. The club provides guided outings to the backcountry of the Putah and Cache Creek Watersheds. When you sign up to be a Yolo Hiker you will receive regular invitations via email on all guided hikes in the area.

The Putah-Cache region offers tremendous opportunities for both passive and active environmental recreation, from birding in the Yolo Bypass State Wildlife Area, to rafting on the Cache Creek State Wild & Scenic River. Many under-served youth throughout Yolo County are unaware of these opportunities or unable to participate due to financial constraints. Working in conjuction with the Colling's West Sacramento Teen Center, Tuleyome offers Yolo County teens a summer outdoor program that will integrate and build on the center's existing programs teaching social skills and providing youth with alternatives to drugs and crime. We are building self-esteem, instilling leadership qualities and developing an appreciation for the environment in which we live.

Tuleyome was founded in 2002 as a volunteer advocacy-oriented nonprofit organization that is focused on protecting both the wild and agricultural heritages of the Putah-Cache bioregion, including all or parts of Yolo, Lake, Napa, Colusa, and Solano counties in northwestern California. Tuleyome works to these ends by:

• Identifying, protecting, and restoring the watersheds' environmental resources
• Developing opportunities for public enjoyment of the watersheds, compatible with resource protection
• Instilling a greater public appreciation of the natural and environmental resources within the watersheds, and
• Promoting a long-term sustainable agricultural base in the region

We conduct our business through strategic planning, research, education, collaboration, advocacy, and charitable projects. Our vision is rooted in conservation biology.

President - Bob Schneider

Bob has been a long time conservationist. He first came to Davis in 1966 to attend the University and later graduated with a B.S. degree in Geology. He worked on the establishment of the Redwood National Park and fought Forest Highway 100 that would have bisected Sierra wilderness with a road from Fresno to Mammoth. He co-founded the California Wilderness Coalition (CWC) in 1976. Bob received the Conservationist of the Year award from the Sierra Club Mother Lode Chapter in 1993, and the John Zierold volunteer lobbyist award from Sierra Club California in 1997. He recently served as the California Wild Heritage Campaign Director and the Interim Director for the CWC. He has a particular interest in oak woodlands and water issues

Secretary - Andrew Fulks

Andrew has been a constant advocate for appreciation of the Putah and Cache Creek watersheds. He is the founder of Yolohiker.org, a local trails advocacy, hiking, and outings webpage. He is also the co-founder of the Capay Valley Hiking Club, an ad-hoc group of hikers that meet twice a month to hike in the watershed. Andrew is presently the Putah Creek Riparian Reserve Manager for UC Davis, managing 6 miles of stream and several hundred acres. His interest in in open space preservation and public access.

Treasurer - Jim Eaton

While Jim was a geology student at UC Davis in the late 1960s, he spent most of his time working on wilderness preservation with the campus group Active Conservation Tactics. He left graduate school to work for the local chapter of the Sierra Club and later co-founded the California Wilderness Coalition (CWC). After spending four years as the California-Hawaii representative of The Wilderness Society, he served as CWC's executive director for 17 years. He also is a co-founder of The Wildlands Project, an organization dedicated to restoring the native biodiversity of North America. Returning to his roots as a volunteer activist, he currently is concentrating on protecting wilderness in the Cache Creek and Putah Creek watersheds when he is not out hiking with his canine companion Coso.

Board Member - Victoria Brandon

Victoria Brandon has lived in Lake County, exploring the local scene and hiking the local trails, since 1981. Her activist career began shortly after the 2000 election, when she began writing letters to politicians and others on behalf of various environmental causes, primarily at the behest of the Sierra Club. She was elected to the Club's Redwood Chapter Lake Group executive committee in 2004, and has been Group Chair since January 2005, mobilizing support for the Wilderness Bill, the Cache Creek Wild & Scenic campaign, and numerous other local conservation issues. She's also the secretary of the Chi Council for the Clear Lake Hitch, a participant in the Cache Creek Watershed Forum, a member of the Coalition for Responsible Agriculture, and the Lake County Peace Action newsletter editor.

Board Member - Glenn Holstein

Dr. Glen Holstein received his PhD in Botany from U.C. Davis and is a Senior Scientist with Zentner and Zentner, a local biological consulting company. He has published peer reviewed research on California Prairie in Madroño, the journal of the California Botanical Society. Glen is Chapter Botanist for the Sacramento Valley Chapter of the California Native Plant Society , represents that Chapter at Habitat 2020 and was the California Prairie spokesman at its Wildflower Weekend in April , 2005 . He is also on the Board of Tuleyome, a non-profit organization working to protect the Cache Creek watershed and other areas in Yolo County, and on the steering committee of Yolo County's new NCCP

Board Member - Carol Kunze

A former attorney, Carol is Executive Director of Berryessa Trails and Conservation, a Napa County non-profit that focuses on trail development as a means of providing access to nature, and conservation projects.

She is involved in the Napa County Sierra Club, the San Francisco Bay Area Ridge Trail Council, serves as chair of the Trails and Recreation Committee of the Blue Ridge Berryessa Natural Area Conservation Partnership, is on the Napa County Parks and Open Space Advisory Committee and is on the board of the Watershed Information Center & Conservancy. Beyond trails and nature-based recreation, her particular interests are in restoring native habitat and combating invasive species.

Board Member - Helen McCloskey

Helen Hooper McCloskey, a fourth generation Californian, farms in the Capay Valley of Yolo County. Helen is a long-time political activist focusing on environmental and animal welfare issues, as well as issues of social justice. Helen's advocacy skills were honed in Washingon D.C, where she worked in the late seventies for Congressman Pete McCloskey (to whom she is married) as his press secretary and environmental legislative assistant. Helen has over the years tackled issues ranging from educating new immigrant groups on how to become more visible through political action, to advocating on behalf of Assemblywoman Lois Wolk's AB 1328, to designate Cache Creek as a State Wild and Scenic river. She is pictured here with her favorite people.

Board Member - Sarah Motley Fischer

Raised in Davis, Sarah has degrees from UC Berkeley and Harvard Divinity School.  She has been an ordained Episcopal priest for over 25 years, working in Massachusetts and New Jersey before returning to California ten years ago.  Sarah was an Artist-in-Bioregional-Residence with the UC Davis Putah-Cache Bioregional Project in 1998-1999.

Her professional work involves higher education chaplaincy and Hispanic ministry.  Since 2001, she has been a founder and leader in Care for God’s Creation, an interfaith environmental stewardship community, and Celebration of Abraham, an interfaith community that holds annual gatherings and other events.  In 2006, she was recognized with the Thong Ny Huynh Memorial Award for Community Education and Awareness by the City of Davis.

She is married to J. Christopher Fischer and has three children.

Board Member - Chad Roberts

Dr. Chad Roberts is a conservation scientist and a conservation activist. He was the Conservation Chair of the Redwood Region Audubon Society (northwestern California) for fifteen years, and currently serves as the Conservation Chair for the Yolo Audubon Society. He earned a Ph.D. in ecology from UC Davis in 1976 studying oak woodland birds, and has been involved with oak woodland research and decision-making for three decades. Dr. Roberts is certified as a Senior Ecologist by the Ecological Society of America and as a Professional Wetland Scientist by the Society of Wetland Scientists' Professional Certification Program. He works as an environmental consultant and planner, primarily for public agencies.

Board Member - Anne Schneider

Anne Schneider is a partner in the Sacramento law firm of Ellison, Schneider & Harris where she manages the firm's water practice. Anne specializes in the field of water law, with a practice which focuses on water rights issues as they pertain to the protection of existing rights and the establishment and acquisition of appropriative, riparian and groundwater rights. Anne has previously served on the Boards of Directors of the California Wilderness Coalition, the Sequoia Fund, and the Yosemite Association. She is an avid cyclist, Cache Creek kayaker, and fly-fisher.

Executive Director - Debra Chase

Debra Chase brings to the Tuleyome team complimentary skills from over 25 years of executive administration in the non-profit and business community. She offers her expertise in organizational development, community relations, fundraising, marketing and strategic planning. She has been an avid volunteer and supporter of various organizations that provide for the preservation of our environment and promote healthy communities. She resides on a small farm in Colusa County with her husband Dave and their many animal friends.

• Tuleyome currently does not have any positions available.

   

  Tuleyome Is An Equal Opportunity Employer.

  If you are interested in an internship or employment with Tuleyome please contact Debra Chase.

Mailing Address:
Tuleyome, Inc.
607 North Street
Woodland, CA 95695

Email: Tuleyome Information

Phone:
(530) 350-2599