About Us
Our Mission
California Monkey Watch exists to protect the memory, the habitat and the future of the California golden monkey, and to build the public and political support needed to return the species to its native range in the Sierra Nevada foothills.
Our History
California Monkey Watch began in the spring of 1997 around a kitchen table in Auburn. A group of seven neighbors, including two cattle ranchers, a retired high school biology teacher and a local historian, had been comparing notes on the old mining-camp accounts of "camp robber" monkeys. They were struck by how completely the animal had vanished, not only from the hills, but from public memory.
What started as a reading group quickly became a mission. By 1999 the group had organized its first oak planting day. In 2003 it launched the Monkey Watch volunteer program, which has since trained more than six hundred residents to document and report possible sightings. Over the years, California Monkey Watch has grown into a respected voice on foothill conservation, regularly participating in public comment on land use, wildfire recovery and wildlife corridor planning.
What We Believe
- No native species should be forgotten. Extirpation is not the same as extinction, and recovery begins with remembering.
- Habitat comes first. A species can only return to a landscape that is ready to support it.
- Communities are partners, not obstacles. Ranchers, landowners and foothill residents are the most important allies any recovery effort can have.
- Patience is a conservation tool. Real recovery is measured in decades, not news cycles.
Board of Directors
| Name | Position | Background |
|---|---|---|
| Harold Pruitt | Board Chair | Retired high school biology teacher; founding member |
| Linda Okafor | Vice Chair | Oak woodland restoration consultant |
| Dale Whitcomb | Treasurer | Cattle rancher, Placer County; founding member |
| Rosa Delgado-Huang | Secretary | Local historian and archivist |
| Thomas Reyes | Member at Large | Wildlife photographer |
Staff
Margaret Ellison, Executive Director
Kevin Marsh, Volunteer & Field Coordinator
Janelle Price, Education Program Manager
California Monkey Watch is supported almost entirely by volunteers. Our small staff works out of the Auburn field office.