Butters Canyon Concervancy Butters Canyon Conservancy
Formerly Butters Land Trust

Protecting the Headwaters of Oakland's Peralta Creek

Board Members

David Barron, President

A real estate attorney, David is a proponent of the voluntary preservation model embodied by land trusts. He was looking for volunteer opportunities, and he was surprised and pleased to find a land trust so close to his home in Montclair. Dave brings his legal expertise in negotiating real estate transactions to the Board. He has been cycling the Oakland and Berkeley hills for most of his life, and loves to ski, especially with his two children. He is also a Director and former Chair of the Board of Habitat for Humanity East Bay/Silicon Valley, and a member of the Oakland Rotary Club.

Carol Bernau, Secretary

Carol is a human resources and organizational consultant (with degrees in anthropology and organizational development) has been a homeowner near Peralta Creek for many years. Carol was instrumental in organizing neighborhood opposition to a housing development that would have threatened the health of the creek and has worked closely with Friends of the Last Wild Canyon to this end. She has also worked with the City of Oakland, and many environmental groups to preserve this area for future generations. A grassroots organizer, Carol has been an active spokesperson for Butters Canyon for over 10 years. She enjoys daily walks in the Canyon with her husband and yellow lab. "Think globally, act locally" has become her mantra.

Sue Duckles, Treasurer

Sue Duckles, a biomedical scientist, grew up with Butters Canyon in her backyard. In 1951 Sue�s father built a house for his family on Rubin Drive, a house now occupied by Sue�s sister, Cherie Donahue. With the neighborhood �gang�, Sue and her sisters spent weekends and summers exploring their surroundings or playing football or hide-and-go-seek. Sue pursued her interest in science, ultimately becoming a Professor at the University of California, Irvine. In 2002, she returned to Rubin Drive with her husband, Larry Duckles. Semi-retired from academic pursuits, Sue can be seen on the west side of the canyon converting her previously ivy-covered hillside to a native plants garden, walking her black standard poodle Sierra, or pulling up invasive weeds in Butters Canyon and Redwood Park.

Dolores Apton

A middle school math teacher, she represents Butters Land Trust to the cycling community of the Bay Area-the largest user group of Butters Canyon outside the neighborhood. A cycling enthusiast for over thirty years, she maintains contacts with the Grizzly Peak Cyclists and other clubs in the Bay Area and organizes rides through the Canyon that draw cyclists from communities throughout the Bay Area. Dolores has been organizing Butters Canyon participation in Oakland EarthDay and Creek to Bay Day for the past five years. She lives in the Oakland Hills.<

Eric Ironson

A real estate holdings expert with degrees in broadcast communications and music business management; Eric has managed multiple record stores and has been a disc jockey for the last 22 years. He has been a board member for the last three years and has been a homeowner near Peralta Creek for seven years. Love for Butters Canyon started many years ago, as a lifetime resident of Oakland. Eric was fortunate to spend most of his life in St. James Canyon with Trestle Glen Creek running through his backyard in his former Piedmont home. The garden he grew up in was designed by Thomas Church and his love for gardening and landscaping was developed at a young age-anchoring his passion for securing a green environment for generations to come. The real estate holdings manager/disc jockey can be found walking his miniature poodle Sabrina through the Canyon when he is not golfing or skiing.

Maria Sabatini

Maria Sabatini is an Oakland Fire Department Arson Investigator, with experience in the Department�s fire-safe vegetation management programs. She graduated from Mills College and holds a Master�s Degree in Public Administration. Butters Canyon is close to her home and heart. An avid birder and hiker, Maria can often be found outdoors with her binoculars and notebook.

Devin and Bobbi Lounds (husband and wife team)

Devin and Bobbi moved to the Butters Canyon neighborhood in 2010. Devin, an avid cyclist, found their current house while riding his bike. Both nature lovers, they instantly fell in love with Butters Canyon. Devin works for Salesforce and has worked as a management consultant for 15 years. Bobbi has a degree in Health Education and is a stay at home mom/expert school volunteer. Devin and Bobbi have three children, Emily, Aden, and Jake.

Robert Faber (Emeritus)

Mr. Faber is a transportation engineer with over 30 years of experience in the design of transportation facilities. He has been a homeowner in the neighborhood since 1992. Bob can often be observed walking his black lab, Charlie on Butters Drive in the Canyon. He has a special interest in preserving plants from growing up working at Faber Floral Company (Florist since 1870).

Jim Wolford (Emeritus)

Mr. Wolford is a founding member who was involved in early planning for the creation of the Land Trust. An 11-year Canyon resident, he is a computational physicist with a keen interest in alternative energy sources and California native plants.

Paul Dries (In Memoriam)

A mechanical engineer background and a strong interest in environmental issues kept Paul tuned into renewable energy and energy conservation. This passion kept him involved and living in the neighborhood since 1982. He became involved in the effort to down zone the area in order to reduce land speculation and preserve the character and green value of the neighborhood. Through his effort, he met many in the community who were active in preserving Butters Canyon. In 2004, Paul joined the Canyon board and became Treasurer. He implemented a new accounting system with Quick Books and also brought in Gift Works to improve communications with donors and enable donation analysis. Paul enjoyed running, biking, and walking Scrufty, the family dog in Butters Canyon and Joaquin Miller Park. Paul passed away in 2015. We miss him, and always will.

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