State of the Land Trust

PROTECTING SCENIC OPEN SPACE AND WORKING LANDS FOREVER

Bear Yuba Land Trust has conserved over 26,000 acres and built or maintained 50+ miles of trails in the Bear and Yuba watersheds of California’s Sierra Nevada foothills and mountains. Erin will talk about how BYLT conserves lands and provides access to nature across our region including recent updates and emerging plans.

“I feel lucky that I get to work every day to protect places for people to explore and wildlife to thrive.” Erin Tarr

Erin joined BYLT as Stewardship Program Manager 2011, advanced to Co-Executive Director in 2018, and has served as Executive Director since 2021.

Erin was raised in Cedar Falls, Iowa and upon high school graduation moved to the mountains in Colorado, a place she had fallen in love with through frequent family vacations during her childhood. Eventually she moved to Northern California and completed her Bachelor’s Degree in Environmental Studies and Biology at California State University, Sacramento. Erin began her career with the California Department of Fish and Game as a researcher on the rivers, she then took a position with The Nature Conservancy at Cosumnes River Preserve before being hired as a Sierra Nevada AmeriCorps Partnership (SNAP) member at Placer Land Trust in Auburn. Her passion for land conservation and access to nature drives her vision for BYLT. 

Erin also serves as the President of the Sierra Cascade Land Trust Council,  a network of 19 land trusts acting as a collective voice in this diverse region to support the pace, scale and permanence of land conservation to protect the natural, historic and agricultural resources for generations to come.