Staff

Jim Wilcox, Executive Director & Geomorphic Restoration Specialist
Jim Wilcox has 30 years of direct experience in all phases of watershed analysis and geomorphic restoration. He is currently a watershed restoration specialist with Plumas Corporation where he serves as senior geomorphic restoration project manager. Jim is responsible for design specifications and construction supervision. He has been responsible for the implementation and effectiveness monitoring of over 45 restoration projects in the Feather River as well as other Sierra Nevada and Cascade watersheds encompassing more than 51 miles of stream channel and 4,500+ acres of associated riparian areas in a wide variety of channel types and settings. He has been a guest lecturer at numerous short course seminars and co-instructor of the ‘Geomorphic Restoration and Watershed Assessment’ course through San Francisco State University as well as presentations at numerous fisheries, ecological and restoration society conferences. In 2010, Jim received the National Wetlands Award for Conservation and Restoration.

Gia Martynn, Chief Administrative Officer
Gia has been with Plumas Corporation since 2005, and served as the Watershed Coordinator for the Feather River Coordinated Resource Management partnership through 2013. As Watershed Coordinator and CAO she manages all project grants, oversees the watershed education and outreach program, and assists with the organization’s monitoring program. Gia worked for the U.S. Forest Service on the Sequoia National Forest from 1990-1997, serving as the Forest Spotted Owl Coordinator, Assistant District Wildlife Biologist, District Range Manager, and Forest Air Quality Coordinator. She took a hiatus from her career for eight years to be home with her two children and volunteered for various civic and educational organizations. Gia has a Bachelor of Science in Natural Resources Management from California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo.

Scott Corey, Administrative Assistant
Scott joined Plumas Corporation in 2021.
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Leslie Mink, Project Manager & Storm Water Pollution Prevention Planner
Leslie has 24 years experience working in aquatic/riparian monitoring and restoration. She has worked for Plumas Corporation for 13 years. Prior to that, she built and managed aquaculture ponds in the early eighties as a Peace Corps volunteer in Africa, then designed and constructed habitat improvement projects as the Fisheries Biologist for the Plumas National Forest. With Plumas Corporation, she has written and administered grants, implemented project and watershed monitoring, and now primarily manages project implementation, while also acting as the stormwater manager. Leslie has a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Studies and a Master of Science degree in Zoology from the University of Maine.

Jeanie Hinds, Feather River Monitoring Coordinator and Project Manager
Jeanie joined Plumas Corp in 2016 as an intern and was hired as a permanent part-time employee in 2017. A UC Davis alumni, she has a B.S. in Evolution and Ecology, and completed some graduate work in Environmental Systems at UC Merced. She has an extensive background in water resources management, environmental planning, and ecological research. Working both in the public and private sector, including two water districts, she has conducted surface and groundwater monitoring, and developed a Groundwater Management Plan for the Turlock Basin. Her work with Plumas Corp includes project planning, grant writing, and monitoring.

Terri Rust, Sierra Meadows Monitoring Coordinator and Project Manager
Terri worked as a seasonal Project Manager for Plumas Corporation back in 2010 assisting with restoration project designs and monitoring. In 2018 she took a permanent position continuing as a project manager and coordinating the Sierra Hydrology Monitoring Program. Terri moved to Plumas County in 2008 and has been involved with natural resources and watershed health as an instructor at Feather River College, independent contractor for Feather River Land Trust, project manager for the Feather River Resource Conservation District, and an employee for the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service. Prior to moving to the Sierras, Terri spent 18 years sampling the world’s oceans and managing a research lab at the University of Hawaii. She has a B.S. in Geology from Duke University and a M.S. in Chemical Oceanography from the University of Hawaii.

Janet Hatfield, Southern Sierra Project Manager
Janet spent 14 years of her early career working for the Federal government across the west and Alaska where the majority of her positions centered around Wildland Fire Management. In 2007, she traded in her red bag for deeper roots in the eastern Sierra Nevada where she and her husband built their home. Soon after, she went to work for a local non-profit in Mammoth Lakes working on a myriad of water management projects and issues in the region. From there, Janet was introduced to meadow restoration and brought with her fire and fuels knowledge to help broaden what watershed restoration could look like in the Sierra Nevada. In 2019 Janet made the transition to Plumas Corporation where she will work as the Southern Sierra Project Manager. Janet holds a Bachelors in Forestry, Fire Science from Colorado State University and a post graduate certificate in GIS from Penn State.

Teresa Arrate, Watershed Project Manager
Teresa joined Plumas Corporation at the end of 2019. Growing up Teresa spent a lot of time in the Sierras hiking and camping with her family, developing her love for nature and living outdoors. In addition to recreating in the Sierras and beyond, with seven seasons of field experience (vegetation and wildlife surveys) in the Great Basin, the Mojave, the Rocky Mountain Front Range, the Sierras, and southern Cascades, Teresa gained a strong familiarity with conservation, restoration, and ecological land management in the west. Teresa holds a Bachelor of Science in Biology from the University of Nevada, Reno and a Master of Science in Conservation Biology and Sustainable Development at the University of Wisconsin, Madison.

Hannah Hepner, Plumas County Fire Safe Council Coordinator
Hannah was hired by the Plumas County Fire Safe Council via Plumas Corp in 2016. She received her Bachelors of Science in Forestry and Natural Resources from UC Berkeley, where she focused her Honors research on Fire Ecology. Subsequently Hannah gained experience with fuels assessment and prescribed burning with the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization of Australia. She then turned her focus to sustainable agriculture and food security, acquiring a Certificate in Landscape Design and completing the Sierra Intensive Farmer Training program. Currently Hannah coordinates the activities of the Fire Safe Council, including grant writing and administration, outreach, and project development.

Matt West, Plumas County Fire Safe Council Project Manager
Matt was hired by the Plumas County Fire Safe Council in April of 2019. He received his Bachelors of Science in Biology with a concentration in ecology from San Francisco State University. Prior to the Fire Safe Council, he worked for the Forest Service for 5 seasons as a Wildlife Bio Tech where he has helped oversee hazardous fuels reductions in over 1800 acres of our forest. He is also a Captain on Quincy Volunteer Fire Department and has been on several OES calls providing structure protection during wildland fire events. Currently, Matt oversees the preparation, implementation, and inspections of Fire Safe Council hazardous fuels reduction projects on federal lands throughout Plumas County.

Beth Rouse, Outreach Assistant
Bethany joined Plumas Corporation in the Fall of 2020. She grew up in Quincy, CA and has a strong connection to the Sierra Nevada mountains as a home, source of inspiration and endless opportunities for recreation. She enjoys connecting with the public to gain a better understanding of natural resource management from a landowner and stakeholder’s perspective. Bethany holds a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Science and Management from Humboldt State University and in her free time she enjoys rock climbing, going on hikes with her dog, watercolor painting, backpacking and photography.

Mike McCourt, Senior/Disabled Defensible Space Program Manager
Mike joined Plumas Corporation and the Plumas Fire Safe Council in May 2014. He came to this position with over 30 years of experience from the U.S. Forest Service on various National Forests in Northern California. Starting his career on the Klamath National Forest in 1976 as a temporary firefighter and finishing his career as a District Assistant Fire Management Officer on the Plumas National Forest in 2006. During this time he held positions as a firefighter, Hotshot Foreman, Fire Prevention Technician, Fire Engine Captain, and Fuels Management Officer. After retiring from the Forest Service he contracted with the Forest Service to provide oversight on prescribed burning. He also worked during fire emergencies for the Forest Service doing District dispatching during lightning storms and worked as District Duty Officer during periods of high fire danger. For the last six years he has volunteered with Achieve Tahoe as a ski instructor working with people with disabilities to enable them to enjoy independence through winter sport activities.

Gary Parque, Community Chipping Program Coordinator
Gary joined Plumas Corporation and the Plumas Fire Safe Council in early 2017 to establish an ongoing chipping program. He has been involved with forestry, firefighting, fuels, and has been a wrangler and cook for outfitters, and an artist since 1972.

418 N Mill Creek Rd | PO Box 3880, Quincy, CA 95971
(530)283-3739

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