Land-trust leader leaving

Jamison Watts recently announced that he is stepping down as the executive director of the Northern California Regional Land Trust (NCRLT), a position he has held for the past six years.

During Watts’ tenure, the NCRLT’s budget “grew by nearly 600 percent, and its acres protected more than tripled from approximately 4,800 to over 15,100” through the creation of conservation easements on agricultural property, according to a recent NCRLT press release. Watts also helped co-found the Buy Fresh Buy Local North Valley program.

He will begin his new job as executive director of the Marin Agricultural Land Trust in January.

“I have had the privilege of being a part of this exceptional organization for more than six years,” said Watts (pictured). “It has been especially rewarding to work with the ranching and farming families who have been taking care of the land for generations and who have helped me make this region such a unique and extraordinary place.”