Estes Valley Land Trust (EVLT) is pleased to welcome Erica Goad as the organization’s first full-time Stewardship Coordinator. She began her position on Monday, December 2nd, and she has a very busy agenda ahead.
When EVLT accepts the donation of a conservation easement on a property, it makes a commitment to ensure that the property will be sustained forever in the manner specified by the terms of the Deed of Conservation Easement. Reporting to Executive Director Mary Banken, Erica’s primary responsibilities will be the execution and oversight of all the activities required to meet these land stewardship obligations. 
Her tasks will include working with 100 volunteer monitors to ensure the completion of annual monitoring, including developing and maintaining baseline documentation and recording the basic parameter and conservation values of 160 properties. She will be working with landowners of the conserved properties in order to accomplish preservation, and she will provide supporting documentation and tracking for all cases of easement violations, reserved rights reviews, and amendment requests that are under consideration.
Erica comes to EVLT with an impressive educational background and applicable work experience. She completed extensive coursework in Namibia, Africa, graduating cum laude from Whitman College, Walla Walla, Washington, with an undergraduate degree in Biology and Environmental Studies. She received a Master’s degree in Ecology from Colorado State University in August 2013. Most recently she was a Conservation Coordinator for the Colorado office of The Nature Conservancy, responsible for easement monitoring site visits. Erica’s experience also includes work and research in environmental conservation, wildlife research, renewable electricity standards, mountain pine beetle research, riparian restoration, and climate study. She held a year-long position in the National Park Service, was a Colorado Truman Scholar, and has extensive mapping and documentation experience with GPS and GIS systems technology.
In Erica’s own words, she is attracted to the Stewardship Coordinator position at EVLT because, “I am committed to conservation in Colorado and see particular value in promoting private land conservation efforts, since private lands are often the most biologically productive landscapes and are crucial for promoting regional biodiversity and connectivity.”
Erica values working together with people to protect the remaining wild and open landscapes in Colorado. She is a resident of Estes Park and is personally involved in conserving landscapes adjacent to Rocky Mountain National Park and preserving natural heritage in this community.
As we welcome Erica to the EVLT team, please stop by the office and personally introduce yourself. She is eager to meet you, and you will enjoy getting to know her.