BOISE, Idaho — The Idaho Coalition of Land Trusts (ICOLT) is pleased to welcome Monica Church as its new program and operations manager.
Church brings extensive experience in education, organizational leadership, policymaking and partnership-building.
“ICOLT is delighted to have Monica joining our organization,” said Charli Williams, president of ICOLT’s board of directors and executive director of Lemhi Regional Land Trust. “Her deep Idaho roots, passion for conservation and diverse experience make her the perfect fit for helping ICOLT and our members to grow our presence and visibility across the state.”
Church was born and raised in Boise, and looks forward to helping protect the state she loves.
“Having open spaces benefits all of us,” Church said. “Protecting natural areas — whether for recreation or agrarian use — these are not partisan issues. These are generational issues, and they're Idaho issues.”
As a longtime board member for the Sawtooth Society, Church has worked directly with landowners and conservation groups to ensure Public Law 92-400 — which created the Sawtooth National Recreation Area — is understood and upheld.
She also serves on the Andrus Center’s board of governors and previously served as executive director of the Frank Church Institute at Boise State University, where she gained experience in nonprofit operations, board management and fundraising.
Church spent 20 years in education, including 15 years in Idaho public schools, and has a strong background in coalition-building and community engagement. She currently serves as a state representative for District 19 and sits on the Legislature’s Resources and Conservation Committee, giving her a firsthand understanding of the issues affecting Idaho’s landscape.
Church also has a personal connection to conservation. She is the granddaughter of former Idaho Gov. Cecil Andrus and former U.S. Sen. Frank Church, both influential figures in Idaho’s history of public lands and conservation.
“The throughline is the relationship to Idaho's land and protecting wild and scenic spaces,” said Church, who grew up fly-fishing, bird hunting, and exploring Idaho’s open spaces. “It's an identity. I don't know any different.”
In her new role with ICOLT, Church will work with the coalition’s member organizations to strengthen collaboration, support land trust operations, build relationships with landowners and policymakers, and help elevate voluntary private land conservation in statewide conversations.
“Working with folks in the conservation world, especially in a public-private relationship like this, is just kind of a dream,” Church said. “I’m really excited about meeting not only the members, but meeting property owners who are engaged in this conversation with their communities, with their families, and then with the land trusts.”
As Idaho communities face growth, changing land-use pressures and shifts in conservation funding, Church sees land conservation as increasingly important.
“Protecting the jobs, the communities, and the economy that exist because of our relationships to the land is something that we have to do together — especially in Idaho where we are seeing so many people move here because it is so great,” Church said. “Land was the first and will be the last greatest resource. It is our wealth, individually and as a nation.”
Church succeeds Justin Buckley, who previously served as ICOLT’s program and operations manager and has since joined Future Roots as its operations manager. Buckley helped advance ICOLT’s work and strengthen connections among Idaho’s land trusts and conservation partners during his tenure with the coalition.
Church lives in Boise with her husband, Chad, and their daughter, Casey. She and her family are avid cyclists and skiers.
About the Idaho Coalition of Land Trusts
The Idaho Coalition of Land Trusts (ICOLT) is a nonprofit network of land trusts and conservation organizations dedicated to protecting private lands.
Land trusts are nonprofit organizations that work with willing landowners to conserve land that is important to communities. Most often, they do this through voluntary agreements that allow families to retain ownership while ensuring the land remains available for uses such as farming, ranching, forestry, wildlife habitat and recreation.
Learn more at idaholandtrusts.org.
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Media Contacts:
Charli Williams
President of the Board of Directors, Idaho Coalition of Land Trusts
Executive Director, Lemhi Regional Land Trust
(208) 756-8879 | charli@lemhilandtrust.org
Monica Church
Program & Operations Manager, Idaho Coalition of Land Trusts