Who We Are
The scientists, board, and partners behind 25 years of Great Basin conservation across Nevada, Utah, Arizona, and Idaho.
The scientists, board, and partners behind 25 years of Great Basin conservation across Nevada, Utah, Arizona, and Idaho.
Our Mission & Vision
Restoring the dynamic, diverse, and resilient landscapes of the arid and semi-arid West.
Our Team
ENLC's team blends full-time field science staff with the people who keep the organization running.
Board of Trustees
ENLC's Board of Trustees provides governance and oversight for the organization.
25 Years of Roots
2026 marks ENLC's 25th anniversary.
Partners & Supporters
ENLC's work happens through partnership, not in isolation.
Our Mission & Vision
Eastern Nevada Landscape Coalition maintains full-time ecologists, botanists, range scientists, and wildlife biologists with extensive GIS and backcountry skills. Though headquartered in eastern Nevada, our team works throughout the Great Basin, Mojave, and Intermountain West. We have conducted wildlife, vegetation, and environmental surveys, plus weed treatments and other restoration projects, across more than 10 million acres of public and private land in Nevada, Utah, Arizona, and Idaho.
Mission Statement:
"Eastern Nevada Landscape Coalition is dedicated to restoring the dynamic, diverse, and resilient landscapes of the arid and semi-arid West for present and future generations through education, research, advocacy, partnerships, and the implementation of on-the-ground projects."
Vision Statement:
"We envision a future where the ecosystems of the arid and semi-arid West thrive. Functioning, diverse ecosystems."
Our Values
ENLC's work is guided by three core values:
- Science-Based Conservation
- Collaborative Leadership
- Landscape-Scale Impact
ENLC staff and an agency partner work together at a survey site
Our Team
ENLC's team blends full-time field science staff with the people who keep the organization running.
Field Science Staff
John Watt, Executive Director
John is rejoining ENLC for a second tenure as Executive Director. He brings experience in mineral compliance inspections, grant writing, seasonal program management, elk hunt tours, and fishing-boat captaining in Alaska.
Kelsey Danielson, Ecologist
Kelsey joined ENLC in February 2023. She holds a bachelor's degree in biology and a master's in environmental science from Christopher Newport University, where her graduate research on the lesser long-nosed bat contributed to the species' de-listing. Before ENLC, she spent six years as a biological science technician at Great Basin National Park, studying bats, plants, and burned landscapes.
Hans Hallman, Botanist
Hans joined ENLC as Botanist in 2023, returning after an earlier stint as a seasonal technician on ENLC's Emergency Stabilization and Rehabilitation program from 2007 to 2009. He holds a bachelor's degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and a master's in botany-floristics from the University of Wyoming, where he collected more than 7,500 plant specimens. Hans is a certified arborist and continues his botanical work in ENLC's Gregory Gust Herbarium.
Lara Derasary, Natural Resource Specialist
Lara joined ENLC in 2006, focused on wildland fire rehabilitation. She holds a BA from UC Berkeley and an MSc in earth sciences from James Cook University in Australia. The 2005 Southern Nevada Complex Fires brought her to Ely, where she has focused on post-fire assessment and treatment design ever since.
John Haddock, Natural Resource Specialist
John joined ENLC in March 2024, focused on aquatics and riparian restoration. He holds a bachelor's degree in natural resources-fisheries conservation from Oregon State University and previously worked as an Environmental Specialist with Nevada Gold Mines. His work supports Lahontan cutthroat trout and other species in the O'Neil and Humboldt Basins.
Ties Thompson, Elko Field Coordinator
Ties joined ENLC in September 2023. She earned a biology degree from Washburn University and has worked as a field biologist across Kansas, Iowa, Texas, and Oregon, studying species from prairie chickens to sage grouse. Ties holds MSHA safety certification and focuses on team safety in the field.
The People Who Keep the Organization Running
- Alysa Bailey Administrative Assistant
- Leah Cripps Bookkeeper
The ENLC staff team at the Ely office or in the field
Board of Trustees
ENLC's Board of Trustees provides governance and oversight for the organization:
- Bob Koch, Chairperson
- Laurie Carson, Vice Chairperson
- Jerry Martin, Treasurer
- Carol Ferguson, Secretary
- John Hiatt, Past Chairperson
- Bill Wilson, Board Member
- Doug Busselman, Board Member
- Ronda Hornbeck, Board Member
- Bill Wolf, Board Member
#1
Bob Koch, Board Chairperson
Bob holds a bachelor's degree in economics and a master's in public administration from California State University, Chico. He spent 33 years with the City of Chico in senior management roles, including Assistant City Manager and Human Resources Director, before retiring in 2005. He also serves on two Chico-area historic preservation boards and formerly served on the City of Chico Airport Commission.
Bob previously worked as a grant writing contractor with Tempra Board & Associates, where he was principally responsible for ENLC's grant research and writing, including the Edwards Creek restoration project, program assistance grants for eastern Nevada's Cooperative Weed Management Areas, and funding for ENLC's Annual Winter Weed Conference (now the Invasive Species Conference). A high school forestry class and a love of fly fishing first drew Bob to environmental issues, but he credits his grant work for ENLC and his trips to eastern Nevada with cultivating his lasting commitment to Great Basin conservation.
Portrait of ENLC Board Chairperson Bob Koch
25 Years of Roots
Eastern Nevada Landscape Coalition grew out of a 2000 initiative led by the Ely BLM District Manager and was formalized in March 2001, when about 100 people gathered in Reno, Nevada to build the organization. ENLC earned 501(c) status from the IRS in 2002 and incorporated in Nevada that same year. The organization operated under the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation until standing on its own in 2003.
In 2005, ENLC received the US Forest Service Centennial Award. In 2010, ENLC launched the Great Basin Kids Camp to introduce young people to the region's ecosystems. In 2018, ENLC secured a $1,542,602 five-year Seeds of Success contract with the BLM and a $348,213 agreement with the US Fish and Wildlife Service for noxious and invasive plant management in Elko.
ENLC turned 20 on May 15, 2021. In 2022, ENLC launched its Basin and Range National Monument Acoustic Bat Inventory with a $401,247.76 BLM award. In 2024, ENLC continued that work with a $222,544.26 Intermountain West Joint Venture landscape restoration project and a $94,974.71 statewide small mammal survey with the Nevada Department of Wildlife.
2026 marks ENLC's 25th anniversary. As John Watt, ENLC's Executive Director, put it heading into year 25: "Year 25 isn't the finish line, it's a launching pad."
Partners & Supporters
ENLC's work happens through partnership, not in isolation.
Agency Partners
- Bureau of Land Management
- US Forest Service (USDA)
- Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS, USDA)
- Nevada Department of Agriculture
- Nevada Department of Wildlife
Conservation Partners
- National Fish and Wildlife Foundation
- The Nature Conservancy
- Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation
- Friends of Nevada Wilderness
Corporate & Community Partners
- Nevada Gold Mines
- KGHM Robinson Mine
- Newmont
- Nutrien Solutions
- Wilbur-Ellis Agribusiness
- Corteva AgriScience
- Mount Wheeler Power
- Robison Engineering Company
- Arevia Power
- Carter Cattle Company
- First National Bank of Ely
- White Pine Chamber of Commerce
- White Pine Tourism & Recreation
Plus the ranches and local businesses of eastern Nevada.
Nine Cooperative Weed Management Areas
- Newark/Long Valley
- Pahranagat Valley
- Railroad Valley
- Snake Valley
- Spring Valley
- Steptoe/Butte Valley
- Upper Meadow Valley
- White River Valley
- Southern Nevada
ENLC's team, board, and partners have spent 25 years restoring the Great Basin, and there is more ground to cover. Become a Member to help fund the next 25 years of on-the-ground work.
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