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– Weekend Edition – VOLUME 174 • ISSUE 46 | $1.00
mtdemocrat.com
FRIDAY, JUNE 6, 2025
Courtesy photo
Mountain Democrat photos by Shelly Thorene
EID General Manager Jim Abercrombie retires this month after 16 years on the job.
Students from Golden Sierra High School watch a heel boom log loader place a log on a truck while on the WoodED Pathways tour in conjunction with Sierra Cascade Logging Conference’s visit to Blodgett Forest in Georgetown. Activities on the tour included classroom lectures, tree planting, fuels management using a masticator, observing controlled burns and tree falling log loading.
Jim Abercrombie WoodED Pathways program calls it a day Jack Carrerow
Mountain Democrat correspondent
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Water has been a part of Jim Abercrombie’s life since he graduated from Santa Clara University. “I went there to learn how a water system works and then I went back to college to learn how to pay for it,” Abercrombie joked. Born and raised in Fresno, Abercrombie has been general manager of the El Dorado Irrigation District since 2009. He previously worked with PG&E and the Amador Water District. For Abercrombie, running EID has been much smoother than what previous general mangers faced. In the early 2000s meetings could be contentious to the point of having the
police called. “My goal is to try and anticipate questions and to always get to a 5-0 vote on board actions,” Abercrombie said, adding it was a change in philosophy by the district in the mid 2000s that the system should be integrated so that it benefits all users. “We’ve also made sure that our users don’t get sudden rate hikes by making sure that needed project costs are spread out over 30 years,” he explained. While Abercrombie describes his time at EID as a “great ride,” his life during this time did encounter a few bumps. In 2017, he was diagnosed with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. A chronic and ultimately fatal disease
leads students on forestry journey Shelly Thorene Staff writer
S
ierra Cascade Logging Conference Inc. based in Redding, local loggers and other professionals recently met with students from three local high schools at the Blodgett Research Center in Georgetown during a half-day conference dubbed WoodED Pathways in hopes of sparking their interest in the forest management industry. The day began in the classroom at the University of California Berkeley College of Natural Resources Center for Forestry and was followed by seven stops on the tour. Topics included regeneration, forests and fire, timber falling, skidding, log loading, fuels management and wildlife. Rick Satomi with the UC Cooperative Extension Farm Advisors Office and Blodgett staff member Tim Mollet of Georgetown staffed the fuels management stop where Mollett drove a John Deere masticating machine to demonstrate the removal of overgrown brush. “There is an extreme workforce issue across the country,” Satomi said, explaining more people are needed for essential services, climate mitigation and
■ See ABERCROMBIE , page A8
■ See BLODGETT, page A8
Golden Sierra High School student Abigail Watkins sits in the cab of a skidder during the logging tour portion of WoodEd Pathway. Watkins said she could see herself operating heavy equipment and plans to attend Columbia College’s Forestry & Natural Resources program.
Our EGG hatches plan to grow El Dorado County’s economy Chris Woodard Staff writer
Courtesy photo
Lexi Boeger, left, and Lauren Hernandez want to build a collaborative program that boosts El Dorado County’s economy.
A new nonprofit called Our EGG has launched with a mission to strengthen economic development across El Dorado County through collaboration and community engagement. Co-founded by lifelong county residents Lauren Hernandez and Lexi Boeger, Our EGG — Economic Germinator and Germination — aims to create self-sustaining opportunities for current and future generations. “Our EGG is really the place to bring people together, to break down silos
and address challenges and leverage opportunities in a way that is really an ecosystem approach,” Hernandez said. “So that’s with traditional and non-traditional individuals who may not always work together directly, but we all have to kind of bring it all together.” Boeger explained the organization’s broader vision: a hope to bridge together gaps that currently exist. “We’re kind of the water in the air that will connect all of these disparate groups and individuals to push us toward economic resilience,” she said. ■ See EGG, page A8