Rooted in community. Built through lived experience.
We are your neighbors—local ranchers, homesteaders, farmers, parents, pet owners, livestock caretakers, researchers, and community advocates. Our roots are in El Dorado County, where our work began through firsthand experience living alongside wildlife.
Today, Carnivore Project serves communities across the Sierra Nevada foothills and Northern California. Although our reach has expanded, our perspective remains grounded in the same realities: balancing daily life, land stewardship, working lands, public safety, and the presence of large carnivores on the landscape.
We advocate for residents who have experienced wildlife conflicts while promoting the long-term conservation and responsible understanding of mountain lions, black bears, and gray wolves. Through community reports, field research, mapping, public resources, and local knowledge, we turn shared experiences into practical tools that support safer coexistence.
Project Leadership
Carnivore Project is governed by its two-member volunteer Board of Directors and led by the organization’s two founders.
Haley Molzahn
President · Executive Director · Lead ResearcherHaley graduated from Humboldt State University in 2018 with a B.S. in Wildlife Conservation & Management, specializing in carnivore management and conflict mitigation. Her field experience includes camera-trapping ocelots in Ecuador, trapping foxes in Arizona, and working with various other species in California, with a focus on large carnivore ecology and human-wildlife interactions.
Originally from Foresthill, California, Haley was an active 4-H livestock raiser who cared for just about anything and everything you can show at the fair—experience that continues to shape her approach to wildlife conflict today.
She now lives in Cool, California, with her husband, their two young sons, and their retired working German Shepherd. Haley has lived on both sides of the issue—raising and protecting livestock while also working to conserve predators—and brings that balanced, practical perspective to Carnivore Project.
Marie Summers
Map Director · Secretary · TreasurerMarie Summers moved to El Dorado County with her husband and four children in pursuit of a slower, more intentional way of life—planting roots, spending more time outdoors, and raising her family close to nature.
She is a founder of Carnivore Project and the creator of the original sightings map, which served as the foundation for what the organization has grown into today. Her work transformed scattered community reports into a centralized, accessible tool and laid the groundwork for the project’s mapping and data-collection efforts.
Marie brings a strong background in community advocacy, including local efforts focused on safe routes to school and securing permanent protection for a beloved city park. Her attention to detail and investigative mindset are further shaped by her work as a volunteer genetic genealogist, where research and pattern recognition are key.
Through Carnivore Project, Marie leads mapping efforts and supports organizational operations, helping turn community-reported data into accessible, real-time tools for the public.
Supporting Staff
Carnivore Project’s supporting staff contribute advocacy, ranching knowledge, community relationships, GIS analysis, and firsthand experience to the organization’s work.
Marie Brooks
Brooks Family Member · Community and Human-Wildlife Safety AdvocateMarie Brooks is the grandmother of Taylen and Wyatt Brooks and has deep roots in El Dorado County, where she raised her three sons while working as a real estate agent. Her long-standing ties to the community continue to shape her role within Carnivore Project today.
Now residing in Texas, Marie remains an active member of the project, using her established relationships and local knowledge to build trust and strengthen connections among community members, landowners, and conservation efforts.
Her involvement reflects the importance of community voices in shaping conservation and coexistence, particularly when it comes to human safety around wildlife and ensuring that people who live on the land are part of the conversation.
Maria Neilsen
Ranching Advisor · Ranching AdvocateMaria Neilsen helps manage a large commercial cattle ranch in El Dorado County alongside her husband, daughter, and extended family. Spanning more than 10,000 acres, the Neilsen Family Ranch has operated in the region for six generations, carrying forward a deep legacy of land stewardship, animal husbandry, and working-ranch knowledge.
Maria brings practical, real-world experience to Carnivore Project. She helps ensure that ranchers’ perspectives and needs are represented in conversations around wildlife management and coexistence, bridging conservation efforts and working lands through insight into livestock operations, conflict prevention, and the realities of ranching in carnivore habitat.
Maria provided the financial support that made the 2024 Carnivore Project pilot launch possible, covering equipment, programs, and all travel costs associated with the pilot project.
Brittany Goins
GIS AnalystBrittany Goins is a GIS specialist and lifelong resident of El Dorado County, with a strong connection to her local mountain community.
She graduated from Sacramento State in 2025 with a Bachelor of Arts in Geography, with concentrations in Physical Geography and Geographic Information Systems. She was inducted into Gamma Theta Upsilon, the International Geographical Honor Society, and received the department citation for academic achievement in recognition of her senior project.
Using Carnivore Project data, Brittany developed the 2024 spatial analysis of mountain lion sightings in El Dorado County. Her research applied a machine-learning modeling approach to examine the likelihood of reported sighting occurrence based on known report locations and regional environmental variables.
Brittany continues to support Carnivore Project by applying GIS and spatial analysis to better understand patterns in reported carnivore activity across the region.
Malcolm Brooks
Brooks Family Spokesperson · Author and JournalistMalcolm Brooks is an accomplished author and journalist with a strong background in storytelling and research. As the Brooks Family spokesperson, he contributes to Carnivore Project by identifying key stakeholders and providing insight into state and national wildlife policy, management frameworks, and relevant data sources.
You can explore more of his writing on Substack, including his piece Cat Country, which reflects on mountain lions and the 2024 incident involving his family.
Community participation makes this work possible.
Learn more about our objectives, contribute wildlife observations, volunteer with the project, or contact us with questions about our work.