Includes:
Modoc, Lassen, Plumas, Sierra Nevada, Placer, El Dorado, Amador, Calaveras, Alpine, Mono, Tuolumne, Mariposa, Inyo, and the eastern parts of Madera, Fresno, Tulare, and Kern counties.
Jonathan Fusaro - Regional Director
Jonathan’s day job is a biologist for the California Department of Transportation and he worked for the California Department of Fish and Wildlife in the eastern Sierras for 11 years. He has an intimate understanding of the challenges we face in defending our rights to hunt, fish, and recreate on our public lands. Access to public lands to hunt, fish, and recreate has always been important to him since he was a child. He was born and raised in the smallest state, Rhode Island. At the end of his road, he had access to 1,200+ acres of public land to explore and hunt. In the summers, he frequently visited the White Mountains of New Hampshire to hike the alpine trails hut to hut. His passion for exploring public lands and wildlife drew him out west. He obtained his Bachelor’s degree in wildlife biology at the University of Montana. It was a tough decision to leave Montana, but researching bighorn sheep in the eastern Sierra Nevada of California lured him out. The Sierras have remained his home for 13 years. However, he has taken multiple hiatuses from California to explore new public lands, hunt, and research wildlife. He worked as an elk biologist in Kentucky, a fisheries biologist in the Bering Sea, a hunting guide in the Ruby Mountains of Nevada, and an environmental consultant in the Powder River Basin of Wyoming. He decided to further his knowledge and skills in wildlife management by obtaining his Master’s degree in wildlife biology at Utah State University. His field work and thesis centered on survey techniques for black bears in the eastern Sierra. When he’s not off hunting big game, upland birds waterfowl, and small game, he and his wife are out exploring the mountains with their horses and dogs, cooking wild game, rock hounding, mushroom hunting, playing Frisbee golf, floating the Owens River, ice skating on alpine lakes, and whatever else sounds like good times on our public lands. He also enjoys mentoring hunters and sharing with people what he has learned during his career as a wildlife biologist.
Stephen Pfeiler - Regional Policy Lead
Stephen lives in Bishop, California with his wife and his hunting partner/bird dog, Wren. He currently works as an Associate Biologist for the California Department of Transportation where he helps the agency avoid impacts to sensitive habitats/species, enhance wildlife connectivity, and navigate various state and federal environmental laws. He holds a Master of Science degree in wildlife biology from Utah State University where his research focused on population ecology of desert bighorn sheep and desert mule deer populations in southeastern California. Being born and raised in the eastern sierra, he began his career as a sportsman at a very young age. He's an avid hunter, fly fisherman, backcountry skier, and archer. He sees the BHA community as an invaluable source of like-minded individuals to be the voice that stands up for hunting rights, especially in the state of California.