Volcan Foundation Names Two Directors

By Bobbi Zane

The Volcan Mountain Preserve Foundation has named two new directors.

David Younkman, new senior project director, comes to the foundation with

25 years of experience in conservation, fundraising and marketing at the state, national and international levels. He has worked for the Western Natural Resource Center, UCLA’s Ocean Discovery Center and served at vice president and director of resources for the Nature Conservancy’s Latin American and Caribbean programs.

Joining Younkman on the foundation staff is Jeanette Hartman, associate director, who has 15 years of experience working in the environmental field, conducting projects in the US, Morocco, and on Baffin Island in the eastern Canadian arctic.

The two new directors joined the foundation in February, replacing long-time director Susan Cary, who moved out of the area late last year.

They intend to continue work started by Cary to raise funds for property acquisition of additional land on the mountain. “We have accumulated approximately $1.3 million in private donations and grants and have targeted approximately 200 acres of Rutherford property north of Ferguson Flat on Volcan Mountain,” the directors told the San Diego Foundation recently. “We are applying for $12 million of Proposition 50 funds to be matched by the county for acquisition of the remaining 1300 acres of the Rutherford property.”

The foundation will host its 14th annual benefit dinner dance and silent auction this year in a different venue, Warner Springs Ranch. The group’s major community-based fund-raising activity traditionally auctions off some handsome prizes. Auction items will include a week in a Paris townhouse, a week at Rancho La Puerto, and artwork by internationally recognized local artists such as James Hubbell.

Tickets are $50 per person for dinner, dance and silent auction. They are $25 per person for silent auction and dance only. Sponsor tickets range from $250 to $1000. For details or to make reservations, call the foundation at (760) 765-2300. Resort lodging is handled separately by Warner Hot Springs Resort at (760) 782-4237.

The mission of the Volcan Mountain Preserve Foundation is to preserve and protect Volcan Mountain, the majestic 5,000-foot high, 15-mile long ridge, with the town of Julian nestled at its feet. The foundation got its start in 1988 when a group of local residents opposed construction of 250 homes on the ridgeline of Volcan Mountain. Today, 17 years later, approximately 15,000 acres have been acquired for conservation. The foundation is currently expanding its vision to include ecotours, research, and education.