Rio Grande Headwaters Land Trust - San Luis Valley, Colorado

About Our Organization
RiGHT is made up dedicated staff, Board of Directors and consultants who put hundreds of hours into the land trust each year.

Click here for RiGHT Background Information

At our 5th Anniversary Party

L to R: Michelle LeBlanc, Ralph Curtis, Christine Canaly, Cathy McNeil, Pete Magee, Nancy Butler, Linda Schoonhoven, Roger Perry, Susan Pierce (holding daughter Lhasa).

Staff

Nancy Butler, Director
Nancy has been with RiGHT for four and a half years and has successfully completed numerous conservation easements for RiGHT including the Upper Wrights Ranch in 2003, the Dunn Ranch in 2005 as well as the King Ranch Phase I in 2005. Nancy came from ten years of experience in other non profits including Earthlaw, the Diana Price Fish Cancer Foundation and the Peace Corps. She is responsible for all operations of the land trust, including project development, fundraising, office and board management.

Aaron Welch, Assistant Project Manager

Aaron Welch is a recent graduate of Yale University’s School of Forestry and Environmental Studies where he earned a master’s degree in environmental science. He is excited to be back in Colorado after two years on the East Coast and another couple of years in the Dominican Republic where he served as an agroforestry extentionist with the Peace Corps. As a Colorado Conservation Trust Fellow he will be working part time with RiGHT. Aaron can imagine no better place to work for conservation and is thrilled to call the Valley home.

Aaron Derwingson, Stewardship Director

Aaron joins RiGHT after recently completing a Master of Community and Regional Planning degree from the University of Oregon where he worked extensively on issues related to community-based collaboration, local food systems, and sustainable development. Aaron is returning to Colorado, having attended the University of Colorado as an undergraduate, where he developed a passion for the outdoors, open space, and for conservation biology. As a Colorado Conservation Trust Fellow, Aaron will spend his time with RiGHT working on a variety of projects including land protection and stewardship, the Rio Grande Initiative, education, development, and outreach.

Board of Directors

President - Peggy Blenden: Peggy and her family have lived in the San Luis Valley since 1995. Peggy's background is in wildlife biology and she has worked with the Rosebud Sioux Tribe in South Dakota and on the Izembeck National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska. In the Valley Peggy home schooled her sons for part of their grade and middle school educations. Peggy also serves on the Monte Vista Crane Festival Committee.

Vice President - Ralph Curtis:
Ralph has served on the Board of Directors since 2001 and is recently retired as the General Manager of the Rio Grande Water Conservation District and has served as President of both the Colorado Water Congress and the Colorado Association of Soil Conservation Districts. Raised on an irrigated livestock ranch in Saguache, Ralph also possesses technical, hands-on experience in managing land and water in order to keep it productive.

Secretary - Cathy McNeil:
Cathy is also one of the founders of RiGHT. She is the co-owner and co-manager of McNeil Ranch, a working fourth generation cattle ranch in Monte Vista, which has numerous conservation easements on it held by Ducks Unlimited, the NRCS and American Farmland Trust. The McNeil's were named "Outstanding Conservationists of 1999 - Ranch Division" by the Colorado Association of Soil Conservation Districts; "Steward of the Land" National Award in 2001 from American Farmland Trust; won the 2001 "National Wetlands Award - Landowner Division" from the Environmental Law Institute and the 2005 "Leopold Award" for conservation. Cathy received her Bachelor's Degree in Geology from Western State College of Colorado and currently serves on the Rio Grande Conservation District Board, the Rio Grande Watershed Association of Conservation Districts and is a founding board member of the Friends of the San Luis Valley National Wildlife Refuges.

Treasurer - Pete Atkins A rancher for over 30 years in the SLV, Pete and his wife Terisa own and operate the historic Rock Creek Ranch, now renamed to the Atkin’s family’s name, Shadow Ranch. Their cattle operation runs a Salers-cross herd and is protected by a Conservation Easement held by the American Farmland Trust. Pete is a graduate of University of Colorado in Political Science, was the Past President of SLV Cattlemen’s Association and served on the Colorado Division of Wildlife’s Wildlife Management Public Education Advisory Council. Both he and Terisa were active in local 4H activities with their daughters, one of whom is studying agriculture at CSU and aspires to a future in ranching. Pete is currently the Vice President of the Rio Grande and Piedra Canal Company and an important voice for agriculture on RiGHT’s Board.

Linda Schoonhoven:
Linda is the co-owner and co-manager of Two Creek Ranches, a working ranch south of Monte Vista. Two Creek Ranches is under conservation easement held by American Farmland Trust. Linda has practiced Holistic Management on her 1,900 acre ranch and was nominated for 2003 Conservationist of the Year by the Rio Grande Conservation District and is the 2005 Lessee of the Year for stewardship of State Trust Lands for the state of Colorado. Linda is currently an Instructor for Colorado College in Environmental Science on Sustainable Agriculture from Theory to Practice. Linda grew up on a ranch in Evergreen, Colorado, graduated with a Bachelors of Arts degree in Humanities from Colorado College, worked for United Airlines for 34 years as a flight attendant and has lived on her ranch in the San Luis Valley since 1995.

Cathy Morin A cook, researcher, fire fighter, pastured poultry farmer, boater, and hunter, Cathy stays tied to the land and deeply believes that conserving our land and water preserves our culture, heritage, and economy. She received her PhD in Nutrition from Colorado State University. Cathy has volunteered for Valley non-profits for over nine years and brings 15 years of experience in program development, project management, and grant writing. She received Volunteer of the Year from the Boys & Girls club in 1999 and from SLV Mental Health Center in 2004. Cathy was a board member of the SLV Ecosystem Council for five years and has worked on coalitions to provide non-motorized backcountry skiing areas, maintain open space in Alamosa, and improve access to healthcare. She led efforts to organize a successful, local Farm Producer tour. She is currently on the Board of Directors for the Rio Grande Headwaters Restoration Task Force and is a Co-Chair for SLV Rural Philanthropy Days, and chair of the Philanthropy Day Training Committee, to help Valley non-profits effectively link to Colorado Foundations.

Jim Rhett Jim enjoyed 32 years with the Department of the Interior's USGS and BLM. His public land management experience spans hydrological and environmental fieldwork. His last, and in his opinion, best job, was managing BLM public land in the San Luis Valley. In addition, he had a rewarding role in managing the Rio Grande National Forest under a "Service First" agreement between the BLM and the Forest Service. The bulk of his career was spent analyzing environmental impacts of multiple use to public land. He also aided the preparation of documents for the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). NEPA brought him into direct contact with the broad range of public land issues and even more importantly, with the people who use and care for public land. This experience widened his scope of public land resources and values. Jim says he is very fortunate to have spent so much time on BLM public land and National Forests experiencing its beauty and gaining its knowledge.

Steve Russell Steve retired from the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) in July 2005. The last 16 years of his career were spent as district conservationist in Monte Vista serving Rio Grande, Mineral, and Hinsdale counties. He has worked extensively with all aspects of water, from snow sampling for river forecasts to irrigation system design in Grand Junction, Cortez, and Monte Vista always with an emphasis on irrigation water management. He has training in Holistic Resource Management and has had heavy involvement in range management, grazing systems, and spring developments. Steve is particularly interested in stream bank restoration. During his tenure, the Monte Vista field office became very active with river projects and has installed more river projects than any other NRCS office in the state. Steve has been involved in several Wetland Reserve Program easements and one Grassland Reserve Program easement. He is currently the co-chairman of the Rio Grande Headwaters Restoration Project and vice president on the affiliated Colorado Rio Grande Restoration Foundation. Steve has been involved with RiGHT on the technical committee almost from the inception.

Consultants

Jeanne "Gigi" Darricades:
Gigi is an attorney in Alamosa and has been working on conservation easement transactions since 1999. She represents both landowners (in deals not involving RiGHT) and is RiGHT's legal counsel. Her depth of knowledge has made her a leading conservation easement attorney in Colorado and an invaluable resource for us.

Rio de la Vista:
Rio is assisting RiGHT in conservation easement transactions. She has numerous years experience doing the same for American Farmland Trust and as a realtor - working with landowners in the Rock Creek Heritage Project, south of Monte Vista. Rio brings a wealth of advice with her regarding water and wetlands and is also the coordinator for the San Luis Valley Wetlands Focus Area Committee. Rio's degree is in journalism and she is co-author of the "eco-novel" called, "The Oglin: A Hero's Journey Across Africa...Towards the Tomorrows".

RiGHT RiGHT also wishes to acknowledge Rio de la Vista and Jane Bernard for the use of their photographs on this website.