Chuck was one of the founding members of this Water Committee. From the beginning he helped set up our first website and handled all things HTML. He was also our map builder and the direct conduit to the GIS Committee, with which he helped us maintain a continuous partnership. Chuck was also a member of the GIS Committee. The first map Chuck produced was for our Conservation Scorecard, which got all the water agencies talking.

I first realized Chuck’s genius after asking him to replicate a map which was shown to us during a presentation by Linda Gonzales from the Tongva Tribe. Linda spoke to us of the Tongva Tribe, their connection to water and shared with us this simple but lovely map of some Tribal villages.

I loved the map and I asked Linda for permission to replicate and put on our website. Of course, I relegated that task to Chuck. The map which Chuck made was much more detailed, and not only did he include every village within LA County, he also created a map of Orange County with all the Tribal Villages.

These maps are all on our website. This was done approximately 15 years ago! I have been so proud of these maps, because I get emails all the time from other Native Americans asking if their village is on our maps.

Chuck’s innovative genius didn’t stop there, he created interactive maps, a Central Valley Indigenous Tribe map, and his last piece was a map of all water districts/agencies within LA & Orange Counties.

Chuck created the maps for the Angeles Chapter Schedule of Activities for many years and worked with the Chapter in many different ways. He received the Sally & Les Reid Conservation Award in 2024, he was so very pleased to be honored. SALLY AND LES REID CONSERVATION AWARD recognizes an individual who has served Sierra Club California in the area of conservation. The award is named for two of our most distinguished and effective activists.

We were all blessed to work with Chuck and he is missed. We want to thank Kathy and the rest of his family for sharing him with us all those years.

View Chuck’s work HERE.

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By Charming Evelyn

Charming chairs the Sierra Club Angeles Chapter Water Committee