2/25/2022 After more than 21 years with DLC, I have made the difficult decision to retire by the end of 2022.
I began my career with DLC in 2000 after working as a resident of Castle Rock helping protect what is now known as the Woodlands Bowl Open Space, in Castle Rock, which is still one of my favorite conserved properties. Until 2010, I was the only employee at DLC. When I started with DLC in 2000, we had preserved a total of 5,700 acres of land in Douglas County. Today we are a nationally accredited and state certified land trust, having preserved over 26,757 acres, also adding conserved properties in Elbert and Jefferson Counties to our portfolio. After over 21 years with this great organization, it is time for me to pass the torch to the next Executive Director.
I’ll be leaving DLC by the end of the year, but not before I can ensure a smooth transition to a new executive Director. DLC’s Succession Planning Committee and I have spent more than a year planning for this transition, and I feel that DLC is very well-positioned for the future.
One of my favorite parts of this job is the opportunity to work with generous landowners (I now consider many of these landowners as good friends) who have voluntarily worked with DLC to preserve their land, and the ability to visit these beautiful protected properties and engage with each landowner every year. Knowing that these lands that we work so hard to protect will be here for many generations to come for all to enjoy, and that the wildlife in this region will have a home that will never be developed, and the beautiful buttes and mesas in this region will never change, is what gives me peace of mind.
Thank you all for helping to build DLC into the great organization that it is today. It has been an honor to work with so many generous landowners, partners, volunteers, board members, and staff who are passionately committed to preserving this beautiful place that we live in. I look forward to seeing you all at DLC events in the future.
Patti Hostetler
Douglas Land Conservancy
Executive Director