MRT names co-directors

JUDI UTHUS/Special to The Acorn WELCOME--Debbie Bruschaber, left, and Jo Kitz have been named co-directors of the Mountains Restoration Trust.

Local environmentalists Jo Kitz and Debbie Bruschaber have been named acting directors of the Mountains Restoration Trust. They replace former executive director Steve Harris, who resigned in March after spending 27 years with MRT.

The programs, projects and goals for the public land trust will remain unchanged, MRT officials said.

Kitz came to the MRT in 1989 after 17 years of activism in the Santa Monica Mountains.

In 1989, she organized Save the Mountain Park, a coalition of 54 volunteer organizations that successfully lobbied Congress for funding for the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area.

In 1994, Kitz was named a fellow of the California Native Plant Society for her contributions to the preservation and enjoyment of California flora. She was a founding member of the California Exotic Pest Plant Council, now known as CalIPC. In 2004, former Assemblywoman Fran Pavley honored her as "Woman of the Year" in the 41st District.

As program director at the MRT, Kitz led the management and protection of agency land holdings in the Cold Creek Preserve. She has also leads Commemorative Oaks, an oakwoodland restoration project at Malibu Creek State Park that has planted more than 3,000 oak trees and encourages the return of native plants to support the young trees.

Bruschaber has spent more than 25 years in the real estate industry, and her work has included natural resource protection, land acquisition for master-planned developments, and the financing, appraisal and construction of land development projects.

For the past 16 years, Bruschaber has focused on water-quality improvement, habitat restoration and open-space acquisition. During eight of those years she was a project manager at the MRT where she worked to develop Headwaters Corner at Calabasas, a 12-acre interpretive site containing significant environmental and cultural resources.

Last year she headed the restoration of Dry Canyon Creek at Headwaters Corner, a job that returned more than 900 feet of the stream to its natural state.

Bruschaber is president of the Calabasas Historical Society and Historic Preservation Commissioner for the city of Calabasas.

The MRT was established in 1981 by the State Coastal Conservancy. A not-for-profit 501c3 land trust, MRT works in partnership with the community, government agencies and elected officials to preserve, protect and enhance the natural resources of the Santa Monica Mountains.

The MRT has placed conservation easements on more than 2,000 undeveloped acres in the mountains.

Public programs and restoration activities are held in the MRT's 1,200-acre Cold Creek Preserve, at Headwaters Corner in Calabasas and at various other locations.

The organization offers weekend educational programs, special events and volunteer and community service opportunities.