Nature Conservancy Director Leaving for Work as Bird Guide
Jill Davison, the first director of the Rancho Mission Viejo Land Conservancy, has resigned.
Davison worked at the 2,500-acre wilderness park for more than three years and was responsible for starting programs that included guided nature walks, stargazing sessions and counts of butterfly and mushroom species.
Davison said Friday she is moving near a wilderness preserve in southeastern Oregon, where she will start her own business as a bird guide.
“It’s something I’ve wanted to do for a while,” she said. “This was just the right time for me to move.”
Officials with Santa Margarita Co., which donated the land for the conservancy and continues to help run the preserve, said the nature programs will continue.
“Everything will remain on track,” spokeswoman Diane Gaynor said. “But we’re very sorry to see Jill go. . . . She put in the time and energy that was needed to make that program popular.”
The company will retain Davison as a consultant through July while it seeks a successor.
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