Crown Point resident Trish Boaz, executive director of the San Dieguito River Valley Conservancy, gets to go to work every day doing what she loves: advocating for the environment.
Frequently biking to the conservancy’s offices at 3030 Bunker Hill Drive in Pacific Beach, Boaz joined the conservancy as executive director in April 2013.
Since then, she has reinforced the conservancy’s position as a regional leader in conservation, education and recreation programs through its partnerships, including the San Dieguito River Park Joint Powers Authority, Friends of the San Dieguito River Valley, The Nature Conservancy, Volcan Mountain Foundation, The Anza Borrego Foundation, Coastkeeper, The San Diego Foundation, The Del Mar Foundation and the Rancho Santa Fe Foundation.
The conservancy is dedicated to completing the 70-mile Coast to Crest Trail, stretching from North Beach in Del Mar to Volcan Mountain in Julian, as well as connecting people with nature through its Citizen Science Monitoring Program and other nature education opportunities and outreach events.
The conservancy created the RiverBanks Program that works with local banks and financial institutions offering team building and corporate “giving back” opportunities within the San Dieguito River Park. Union Bank was the first RiverBank, contributing $2,500 to the conservancy. Other business partners include SDG&E, Southern California Edison, Walmart, Snooze, an AM Eatery and Whole Foods Del Mar.
During her first year, the conservancy was awarded more than $118,000 in grants from private donors for the Birdwing Open Air Classroom at the San Dieguito Lagoon, habitat restoration projects at Del Dios Gorge and Crest Canyon from the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service and for the conservancy’s Citizen Science Monitoring Program from the Palomar Audubon Society, Patagonia, Garmin and the Sierra Club North County Chapter.
Prior to taking the lead at the conservancy, Boaz was chief of the Resource Management Division of the county’s Department of Parks and Recreation for more than seven years until she retired from County service in March 2013.
In addition:
• She oversaw the implementation of the Multiple Species Conservation Program (MSCP).
•?Under her leadership, the county completed resource management plans (RMPs) for every county MSCP preserve. These RMPs provide guidance for land stewardship, species and cultural resource monitoring and ongoing habitat management.
• She coordinated the county’s acquisition of more than 7,100 acres of open-space lands, leveraging $44 million of county general funds with $47 million of private, federal, state and regional funds.
• She managed the award-winning county trails program, which resulted in the dedication and construction of vital trail linkages, including portions of the Coast to Crest and other trials in the San Dieguito River Park.
Before working at the Parks and Recreation Department, Boaz was the environmental resource manager in the county Department of Planning and Development Services.
She also served as the longtime land-use and environmental policy advisor to former San Diego County District 3 Supervisor Pam Slater-Price.
From 1984 to 1995, Boaz honed her knowledge of San Diego land-use and environmental issues under the mentorship of San Diego land-use and environmental law attorney Jim Dawe.
Boaz grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area, hiking and camping with her parents, four sisters and three brothers. Her outdoor adventures have included experiencing the freezing waters of the Gros Ventre River in the Grand Tetons, altitude sickness on Mt. Lassen, daring climbs on Half Dome, geyser burns in Yellowstone, near drowning at Half Moon Bay and June Lake and a train derailment on the White Pass Trail in Alaska.
In addition to her passion for the environment, Boaz serves as a volunteer crisis interventionist with the city police department.
