Via News Release - The Foothill Conservancy this week announced the election of two new members to its board of directors. Charles R. "Bob" Leitzell of Mokelumne Hill and Dan Port of Ione were elected to the Foothill Conservancy Board of Directors last Thursday. They will serve two-year terms as directors of the local nonprofit conservation organization. Two incumbent Conservancy directors, founding members Pete Bell and Katherine Evatt of Volcano, were reelected to the board. Chris Wright, Conservancy executive director announced the elections in a news release last week. Leitzell is a self-employed consulting traffic engineer and the retired public works director of Calaveras County. Port is a farmer and rancher active in local agricultural land protection and conservation. He owns Winterport Farm outside Ione with his wife, Susan. Port is president of the Mother Lode Land Trust, a director of the Amador Resource Conservation District, and a member of the Amador County Agricultural Advisory Committee. He is a member of the Farm Bureau and a founding director and member of the Community Alliance with Family Farmers. Bell is current Foothill Conservancy vice-president. He is a self-employed sound engineer and hydroelectric relicensing consultant. Evatt is current president of Foothill Conservancy. She recently retired as marketing publications manager for CalSTRS. The newly elected Conservancy directors join the other Foothill Conservancy directors, Susan Bragstad of Amador City, Pamela Hill of Mokelumne Hill, Jane O'Riordan of Fiddletown, Gwen Starrett of Plymouth and Laurie Webb of Sutter Creek. The Conservancy's departing directors are Jerry Cassesi of Jackson Valley and Rick Torgerson of West Point.