President, Mike Miles is a registered professional forester employed by Humboldt and Mendocino Redwood Companies where he has worked in several roles since 2008 including currently as Forest Manager for Humboldt Redwood’s northern operations. Mike has worked in forestry and natural resource management, primarily along the north coast, throughout his career. Mike is also currently serving on the State Board of Forestry and Fire Protection. He was drawn to the NRLT Board by its mission and the energy it puts towards the preservation of local working farms, ranches, forests, and a cultural identity rooted in these lands. He is a 1993 UC Santa Cruz graduate with a degree in environmental studies who enjoys spending his free time outdoors with family and friends as well as reading and writing.
1st Vice President, Ann King Smith retired from Redwood National and State Parks where she was responsible for managing archeological sites, historic structures and contemporary Native American sites - she also acted as the liaison between the parks and local Native American tribal governments. Ann served on the executive committee of the local Sierra Club, and was a Arcata Planning Commissioner for a number of years. She spends time at her cabin located in a historic walnut orchard on the Dailey Ranch above the New River in Trinity County. One of her greatest pleasures is sculling on Humboldt Bay.
2nd Vice President, Greg Blomstrom is a founding member and senior associate of Baldwin, Blomstrom, Wilkinson & Associates. He has 30 years experience in the practice of forestry. Greg has been involved in forest inventory, forest management planning, environmental document preparation, timber sale layout and timber sale administration. He has published articles on forest planning in the Journal of Forestry and Evergreen and is the recipient of the Northwest Regional Award for excellence in Indian Forestry awarded by the Intertribal Timber Council. Greg has extensive experience in writing environmental documents including acting as the main author of the "Weaverville Community Fuel Reduction PTEIR."
Secretary, Rees Hughes grew up in the flatlands of rural Kansas but has lived in Humboldt County for the past twenty-five years. After a career in higher education, Rees has most recently co-edited the two volume Pacific Crest Trailside Reader and has taken an active role in the development of the Trail Stewards program to promote volunteer involvement in the maintenance of local trails. He joined the Board because he believes that NRLT offers a model for finding the common ground between preservation, protection, and sustainable and economically viable land use.
Treasurer, Blake Alexandre is the owner and operator of Alexandre Dairy and EcoDairy Organic Farm on 2,500 acres in Del Norte County, California. He is currently a member of the California Farm Bureau, Western United Dairymen, Northwest Milk Marketing Association, Ducks Unlimited, California Waterfowl Association, California Cattlemen's Association, and the Milk Producer Council.
Clare Bugenig was born in Eureka and was raised in Ferndale on a beef and sheep ranch. He received an AA from College of the Redwoods in Agriculture Business and proceeded to Cal Poly to graduate with a BA in Agriculture Management. His work experience includes working in the Agriculture lending business for Farm Credit and Bank of Loleta from 1979-2002. Clare returned to his family beef business in 1989 and currently runs 200 cows and 200 yearlings. He also manages his family’s timber operation in Blocksburg, where they work on a sustained yield program. His volunteer work includes being on the Humboldt County Fair Board (for 30 years), Humboldt County Cattlemen’s Association Board, Humboldt County Farm Bureau Board, and College of the Redwoods’ Agriculture Advisory Council.
Yvonne Everett is Professor of Environmental & Natural Resources Planning at Humboldt State University. Her research interests include natural resources policy and planning and participatory and collaborative research methods in land use and hazard management. She earned her PhD at the University of California, Berkeley with an emphasis in Landscape Ecology.
Gary Flosi graduated from Humboldt State University in 1975 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Wildlife Management. He spent the next 37 years working for the State of California. His career started with the California Conservation Corps. The last 25 years were spent working for the California Department of Fish and Wildlife in the Fisheries Restoration Grants Program. Gary is now retired and enjoys fishing, gardening and woodworking.
Thomas Hjerpe is a attorney at the Law Offices of Hjerpe & Collins LLC with offices in Eureka and Arcata. He practices Estate Planning, Bankruptcy and Social Security Disability. Thomas came to Humboldt County in 1986 to attend Humboldt State University, graduating with a BA in English and a BA in Art. He went to law school at McGeorge School of Law in Sacramento, returning to Humboldt immediately after. He has been practicing law in our community since 1994. In the late 1990s, Thomas served as a board member with North Coast Advocacy Services in Eureka which ran Senior Legal Services and the Ombudsman program. Since then, Thomas has served as a board member with Consumer Credit Counseling Service in Arcata, including 3 years as President of the Board.
Alyson Hunter moved to Humboldt in 1988 after graduating from high school in suburban Los Angeles. By the time she graduated from Humboldt State University in 1993 with a BA in Social Science and Geography, she knew she wanted to stay in the area. In 1997 she began an entry-level planning job with Humboldt County, moving up the ranks over the ensuing 11 years. She worked briefly in the private sector at LACO Associates and at Caltrans for 4 years in Transportation Planning. In 2013, missing environmental and land use planning, she accepted a postilion as Senior Planner at the City of Arcata. Alyson is always looking for ways to improve her community through her work and volunteerism. With a interest in historic preservation, she is particularly interested in the Graham-Long barn rehabilitation at Freshwater Farms Reserve. She is passionate about contributing to the County’s rural health and lifestyle by assisting working ranch families in succession planning and providing tools to maintain family ranches. She loves the beautiful rural landscape of Humboldt and neighboring counties and is on the board to help facilitate not only the protection of these lands, but the protection of the lifestyle that contributes to our way of life.
Pete Jackson is a licensed land surveyor and a professional forester and has been employed by Green Diamond Resource Company (formerly Simpson Timber Co.) for the last 17 years where his most recent role is that of Log Sales and Marketing Manager. Pete also serves on the Blue Lake Fire Protection District Board of Directors, the Mountain Western Log Scaling and Grading Bureau Board of Directors, and for the last three years has administered the high school Future Farmers of America (FFA) forestry contest at the Redwood Region Logging Conference. Pete graduated from HSU with a BS in Forestry and achieved the American FFA Degree in 1995. He is the 5th generation of his family to call Humboldt County home and grew up on his family’s ranch just east of Blue Lake which focused on timber, cattle, and now horse boarding. Pete is married and has three children.
Peter Jermyn was born in rural Pennsylvania and raised in a farming community. During his childhood he watched the conversion of farmland to shopping centers and housing and witnessed the destruction of a way of life in the process. After getting a university education, Peter moved to Humboldt County where he has been developing small businesses ever since. He has been a longtime member of the Arcata Economic Development Corporation and has served on numerous boards over the decades. Peter believes that a strong agricultural community is a value to all the residents of our region.
Robert Vogt currently works for the Humboldt County Public Works Department as a Senior Environmental Analyst, where he is involved in several projects: the Eel River Basin groundwater Working Group, the Elk River Stewardship program, and the establishment of McKay Community Forest. He has 20 years of local experience working for resource based companies, and with the U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management in Montana (1987-1990). Robert has a B.S. degree in Environmental Resources Engineering (1994) and B.S. degree in Range Management (1987), both from Humboldt State University. Robert lives in McKinleyville with his wife and their three children. As an active parent he has been involved with Boy Scouts, 4-H, HBHC Horse Shows, and sports teams involving soccer, basketball, golf, and football.
