John Gill : Land and Wildlife

A passion for the land runs through John's blood, a family tradition. Descended from covered wagon pioneers, John is the fourth generation born in Oregon. Childhood adventures took place on properties his family developed specifically to connect urbanites with land, nature, and open space: Camp Tamarack and two dude ranches. After earning his degree in Finance with a focus on real estate at the University of Oregon, he followed the family path into ranch recreation. During his 25 year career running Rock Springs Guest Ranch, he oversaw a staff of up to 50, a herd of 70 horses, and was the steward of twelve thousand acres of private and public lands. He provided thousands of families from all over the world with the opportunity to watch a bald eagle fish, to breathe sage scented air from the back of a horse, and to fall asleep to the staccato cries of coyotes. While managing his family's assets, he bought and sold hundreds of acres adjacent to the ranch, successfully filing for numerous partitions, conditional use permits, and lot line adjustments. Through this, he learned a great deal about agricultural land use laws in Oregon and Land Conservation and Development Commission regulations, as well as a strong understanding of easements, deed restrictions, and zoning overlays. During his nine years on the Tumalo Irrigation District board, five of which he served as chairman, John visited Washington DC several times to lobby for funding to pipe their leaky system of canals.