Who We Are

How We Work

The Coastal Ranches Conservancy was formed in 2003 by a small group of Gaviota ranch owners who had worked for many years to protect and improve natural resources on the Gaviota Coast. Many of the Coastal Ranches Conservancy board members are property owners and/or managers of Gaviota Coast ranchlands. This gives us a unique perspective on how land owners can play a positive role in conservation and restoration of the private lands they steward. We leave it to others to fight the battles over development of lands at the urban boundary. Our role is to work in collaboration with both private and public property owners to help them protect and restore the animal and plant life that makes the Gaviota Coast so unique.

Board of Directors

Kim Kimbell – President

Kim has long been an advocate for the Gaviota Coast, most recently as chair of the GAVPAC. As a member of the Dean’s Counsel at the Bren School, UCSB, a member of the Board of Directors of the Community Environmental Council since 1992, former Chairman of the Gaviota Study Group, and Chair of the Hollister Ranch Conservancy for many years, Kim is deeply involved in a wide range of conservation efforts focusing on the Gaviota Coast. Kim is a founding partner in the law firm of Allen and Kimbell.

David Hill – Vice President

David was a property owner on the Gaviota Coast for almost 30 years. He has been a board member of the Coastal Ranches Conservancy since 2004. He has degrees in biology, ocean technology, and medicine. He retired in 2007 from practicing Podiatric Medicine with Sansum Clinic.

Doug Campbell – Treasurer

Doug has served on the Coastal Ranches Conservancy board since 2007 and has been working to implement more sustainable cattle grazing on local ranches. Doug has been a property owner on the Gaviota Coast for 45 years and helped start the Carrizo Plain Conservancy.

Mark Chaconas – Secretary

Mark is a 30-year resident of the community and over this time period he has worked closely with local, state and federal agencies. He has also managed operations for one of the largest cattle ranches on the Gaviota Coast.

Michael Bell

Michael is the co-founder and CEO of the Wild America Fund, a conservation initiative launched in October 2025 to accelerate the pace, scale, and sophistication of biodiversity-focused land transactions across the United States. Prior to founding the Wild America Fund, Michael spent 26 yeas at The Nature Conservancy, most recently as the Director of Protection for California, and before that as the Director of Oceans for California.

Meighan Dietenhofer

Meighan is a biologist who has worked in private environmental consulting and county government for over 20 years. She holds a degree in biology and attended the Bren School of Environmental Science and Management at UCSB, obtaining a Master’s Degree in Water Resources Management. Meighan was born and raised in the Santa Ynez Valley and is familiar with conservation issues throughout the Santa Barbara area.

John Deily

John is the founder of Deily Law Firm APLC, and has a busy law practice specializing in trust and estate litigation, administration, and planning. John has owned property on the Gaviota Coast since the late 1970’s and is very interested in environmental and conservation issues.

Candice Meneghin – Executive Director

Candice is a biodiversity conservationist with Nature Conservation training from Cape Peninsular University of Technology in Cape Town, South Africa, and a Juris Doctorate from Colleges of Law Ventura & Santa Barbara. She sits on the board of Friends of the Santa Clara River, Save Open Space and Agricultural Resources (SOAR Ventura County), and as an appointed director representing the environmental community on the Fillmore and Piru Basins Groundwater Sustainability Agency. With twenty years of conservation and environmental advocacy under her belt, she has worked for CalTrout, with the Resource Conservation District of the Santa Monica Mountains, and consulted on steelhead restoration and stakeholder engagement programs, and as an advisor on environmental affairs for District 2 Ventura County Supervisor, Linda Parks. 

Emeritus Directors

Adam Rhodes – Emeritus

As a longtime property owner on the Gaviota Coast, Adam has been involved in the Hollister Ranch Cattle Cooperative, served on the Hollister Ranch Owners Association Board, and is an avid horseman. Adam has been willing to step into leadership positions when others hesitated. 

Andy Mills – Emeritus

Andy has been until recently the California Rangeland Trust’s Stewardship Director; helping ranchers throughout the state establish conservation easements on their ranches. Andy is a past trustee for the Land Trust for Santa Barbara County and a long time director of the Santa Barbara County Cattlemen’s Association.

Michael Benedict – Emeritus

Michael has been involved in ranching and land use issues in SB County for over 50 years. He was a pioneer in developing vineyards and producing wines in the Santa Ynez Valley. He is a former 4th district SB County Planning Commissioner, a botanist, and an agricultural management advisor.