Bureau of Reclamation Commissioner Brenda Burman named Ernest A. Conant Director of the Mid-Pacific Region. Conant has nearly 40 years of water law experience and previously served as senior partner of Young Wooldridge, LLP.
“Ernest has been at the forefront of California water for nearly four decades, advocating for water for both agriculture and municipalities,” said Commissioner Burman. “His experience with California water will serve our Mid-Pacific Region well as we continue to develop new, innovative strategies to meet the needs of water users.”
As director of Reclamation’s Mid-Pacific Region, Conant will manage one of the nation's largest and most complex water projects, the Central Valley Project, as well as Oregon's Klamath Project; Nevada's Newlands, Humboldt, Washoe and Truckee Storage projects; and California's Cachuma, Orland, Santa Maria, Solano and Ventura River projects.
Most recently, Conant served as chair of the Water/Special Districts/Environmental Law Practice Group for Young Wooldridge where he was involved in negotiating major water agreements and has led water banking and other storage initiatives.
Conant, whose family has been farming in California for six generations, was born in the northern California city of Marysville. He earned his Bachelor of Science degree in 1975 from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, where he was named Outstanding Senior by the School of Agriculture and Natural Resources. In 1984-86, he participated in the Class XV California Agricultural Leadership Program. He earned his Juris Doctorate from Pepperdine University in 1979.
