Emeritus Members

 Patrick Congdon - Jamestown
Patrick Congdon worked in the field of Parks and Open Space for 34 years. Prior to his retirement in 2010, he held the position of General Manager with the Santa Clara County Open Space Authority. He also was a Volunteer Fire Captain with Santa Cruz County Fire for 20 years. He is currently a Tuolumne County Master Gardener, President of the Mother Lode Chapter of Mended Hearts, Volunteer for the Bureau of Land Management at Red Hills ACEC, and lives with his wife in Jamestown, Tuolumne County.

Bob Hartmann, Doctor - Pine Grove

Amanda Bohl - Sacramento
Amanda grew up in Ione enjoying the open spaces and easy access to the natural world. Currently a stay-at-home mom, Amanda previously worked for the American Land Conservancy, managing conservation projects, and for Resources Law Group, where she helped administer grant programs. She received her B. A. in International Studies from Southern Oregon University, and her M. S. in Community Development from the University of California, Davis. Amanda enjoys hiking, cycling, knitting, and traveling. 

Bronwyn Hogan - Wildlife Biologist - Jackson
Bronwyn works for the US Fish and Wildlife Service, focusing on bats (along with other taxa).  She is also interested in landscape-scale conservation, including maintaining working agricultural and range lands.   She has a B.S. in Wildlife and Fisheries Biology from the University of California, Davis, and an M.S. in Biology from California State University, Sacramento.  Prior to the USFWS, Bronwyn worked for the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (formerly Fish and Game), the US Forest Service, and as a private consulting biologist.  She has two grown sons, one working on a cattle and horse ranch in Montana and one studying chemistry and English in Minnesota.

Dan Port -Ione
Dan and his wife Susan operate Wintersport Farm near Ione. Susan’s family (Winter) has been farming in the area since 1867 and their 180-acre farm has been in the family for almost 100 years. For years, the farm was a dairy like many others in the Ione and Jackson Valleys but Susan’s father sold the dairy in 1970 because of pressure from milk processors to get big or get out.

In 1980, Susan and Dan began growing melons for their roadside stand and farmers’ markets. Over the next 20 years, the farm was their sole source of income and grew to become a diversified enterprise that included the production and sales of melons, vegetables, strawberries, bush beans, pumpkins, Christmas trees, beef cattle, and hay.

In the late 1990s, Susan returned to the teaching profession to provide for the college expenses of their two children, Jeff and Carina. Susan is a Reading Specialist teaching at Jackson Junior High School. Jeff graduated from Stanford University with a History major and is currently working for the Peninsula Open Space Trust. Carina is a student in Wildlife Conservation Biology at U. C. Davis.

For many years Dan was a Board member of the Community Alliance with Family Farmers (CAFF) a farmer/environmentalist organization that promotes small farms and sustainable agriculture.

Susan and Dan believe that Mother Lode Land Trust provides a means of saving the foothill way of life from developers who would be happy to see Amador and Calaveras counties look like Sacramento as long as they can make a buck. They want to preserve the working landscapes of farms, ranches, and sensibly logged forests along with the public lands which make the foothills a great place to live.

Carlan Meyer - Placerville
Carlan V. Meyer was born in Placerville, CA on July 4th, 1940. He grew up in the Placerville area and graduated from El Dorado High School in 1958. Carlan went on to attend American River College where he received his AA degree and a certificate in Real Estate. After American River, Carlan transferred to Sacramento State University where he received his Bachelor of Science degree in Economics.

Carlan has been married to his beautiful wife Susan for 48 years and they have a son, Michael, and twin daughters, Monica and Veronica. In 1973 the Meyer family purchased a ranch on Highway 49/Coloma Road where, to this day, they grow apples, peaches, and pears and raise Polled Herefords.

In 2003 Carlan retired from the El Dorado County Assessor’s office where he worked for 38 years. He has also recently retired from 34 years with the Placerville volunteer fire department and is also a past member of the American Institute of Real Estate Appraisers and Certified State Appraiser.

Currently, Carlan is a member of the Native Sons of the Golden West; Director/past President of the El Dorado County Farm Bureau; El Dorado County 4-H leader for 38 years; President of the EL Dorado County Junior Livestock Auction; Secretary/Director of the Placerville Fruit Growers Incorporated for 38 years; Director/Chairman of the El Dorado County Resource Conservation District; and Director of the Placerville Grange.

Carlan works as a consulting appraiser and is a new advisory member on the Board of the Mother Lode Land Trust.