PORTLAND, Oregon. (March 6) — Western Rivers Conservancy (WRC), which buys and
conserves land across the American West, announced this week that its Board of
Directors has named Nelson Mathews President of WRC. Mathews was appointed
Interim President in July 2024 and, prior to that, served as Vice President and
head of WRC’s lands team for five years. He brings over three decades of
experience in conservation real estate, a deep love of rivers and a passion for
WRC’s mission to the role. Mathews stepped into the Interim position after
former President and Co-Founder Sue Doroff retired in June 2024.
“Nelson has led the Western Rivers Conservancy Lands Team,
and now the organization, with vision, steadiness and his own unshakable
commitment to saving the great rivers of the West,” said WRC Board Chair
Carter MacNichol. “It’s rare to find someone who has Nelson’s ideal combination
of conservation real estate expertise, leadership abilities and a personal, life-long
connection to rivers. He is exactly the right person to lead WRC forward.”
Mathews first joined WRC in 2018.
During his time as Vice President, he oversaw the purchase, funding and permanent
conservation of lands along rivers like the Yakima and Okanogan in Washington;
the Big Hole in Montana; the John Day in Oregon; McDermitt Creek in Oregon and
Nevada; Tarryall Creek and the Rio Grande in Colorado; and the Little Sur,
Sacramento, South Fork Kern and Estero de San Antonio at Dillon Beach in
California.
Prior to joining WRC, Mathews
managed the Trust for Public Land’s land and river conservation real estate efforts
in California and the Pacific Northwest. During his 27-year tenure with the
organization, he worked to conserve thousands of acres of land with
recreational, historic and environmental significance.
Mathews is a member of the
California Bar and earned his law degree from UCLA. He serves on the board of
directors for the American River Touring Association (ARTA) and on the board of
trustees for the High Desert Museum in Bend, Oregon. A lifelong fly angler, Mathews
deepened his passion for rivers while working as a whitewater guide in the
Sierra Foothills in the 1980s.
“Rivers have always been a
profound part of my life, and I can think of nothing more meaningful than leading
Western Rivers Conservancy on its mission to conserve them,” said Mathews.
“Thanks to the great work of presidents Sue Doroff and Phil Wallin before me, I’m
inheriting an incredible staff, a passionate and committed board, superb partners
and an invaluable network of individual supporters across the West. Together we’re
poised to have an even broader, deeper impact on the great rivers of the West.”
Mathews succeeds former President Sue
Doroff, who co-founded WRC and served as President for more than a decade. During
her tenure at WRC, the organization conserved hundreds of thousands of acres
along streams including the Klamath (CA), Hoh (WA), John Day (OR), Yampa (CO), Salmon
(ID), Madison (MT), Gunnison (CO), Sandy (OR), Eel (CA) and Illinois (OR). Mathews
builds upon this legacy and carries forward WRC’s highly successful model of
buying and conserving riverlands for the benefit of fish, wildlife and people.
