CATEGORY 1 - COMMERCIAL AND COMMODITY INTERESTS | John Reams | Naturita | Energy/Minerals | John Reams is currently enrolled in an aviation sciences program at Mountain States University. He founded and manages Reams Construction Company, a general contracting firm specializing in commercial and industrial heavy construction in business for over 30 years. He also founded and manages Tomcat Mining Corporation, an underground contract mining firm specializing in metal/non-metal extraction. He has served on a Southwest RAC subgroup and as a volunteer fireman and EMT for 27 years. He also acted as the president of the Fire District Board for 10 years. He serves on the Montrose County Airport Advisory Board, as president of the Western Small Miners Association, and is a member of the Montrose County Transportation Committee. | | Thomas "Buck" McGee | Montrose | Off-Highway Vehicles/ Lands/Rights-of-Way | Born in Portales, New Mexico and raised on a cattle ranch, Mr. McGee attended high school at New Mexico Military Institute in Roswell. He spent three years in the U.S. Army, returned home, and earned a BBA from Eastern New Mexico University in Portales. Mr. McGee was first employed with the New Mexico Department of Transportation as a Condemnation Appraiser and has conducted residential, commercial, and agricultural appraisals in New Mexico, Arizona, and California. After 35 years in appraisal work, he retired and moved to Colorado to ride ATVs, fish, camp, and ski. On the SWRAC, Mr. McGee’s main interests include retaining and improving motorized recreation trails on federal lands and the Wild Horse and Burro Program. | Eric Sanford | Montrose | Energy/Minerals | Eric Sanford is the Operations and Land Manager for SG Interests I, Ltd., working to develop natural gas resources in Gunnison and Mesa counties. His position provides him with a breadth of experiences, from field visits to regulator hearings and permitting. Eric moved to Durango in 1999, where he practiced law as a criminal trial attorney and with a firm specializing in oil and gas issues. After nine years in Durango, Eric moved to Ridgway to take a job with the oil and gas industry in Montrose. Eric enjoys cycling, hiking, camping, and travelling. In fact, he wishes that he could be doing one of those things right now. | | Kathy Welt, Chair | Hotchkiss | Energy/Minerals | Kathy Welt is the current Chair and a former co-chair of the SWRAC, serving since 2002. She has been involved in environmental/reclamation permitting and compliance with the coal mining industry for over 25 years. Welt currently serves as Senior Environmental Engineer with Mountain Coal Company, LLC at the West Elk Mine near Somerset. In addition, she dedicates time to the Tri-River Area CSU Extension advisory board, Western Colorado Hospice advisory board, and 4-H and FFA youth programs, as well as representing Delta County on the Club 20 Board of Directors and Region 10 on the Club 20 Executive Committee. Raised on the concept of multiple use, Welt shares her belief that our public lands should be managed and remain available for all responsible uses—from wildlife habitat and livestock grazing to recreation and mineral extraction—with the key words being “managed” and “responsible.” She and her husband lead busy lives raising three sons on their cattle ranch near Hotchkiss. Welt occasionally escapes her hectic schedule by hiking, taking scenic photographs, and riding ATVs. | | Al Heaton | Cortez | Federal Grazing |
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CATEGORY 2 - ENVIRONMENTAL AND HISTORICAL INTERESTS | Andrew Gulliford, PhD, Vice-Chair | Durango | Environmental | Andrew Gulliford is serving his second appointment to the BLM SWRAC. He is a professor of Southwest Studies and History at Fort Lewis College in Durango, teaching popular courses in wilderness and environmental history. Dr. Gulliford is the author of America’s Country Schools, Sacred Objects and Sacred Places: Preserving Tribal Traditions, and Boomtown Blues: Colorado Oil Shale, winner of the Colorado Book Award. He also edited Preserving Western History, voted one of the best books about the Southwest by the Tucson-Pima County Library. He writes for Inside/Outside Southwest and a monthly column for the Durango Herald titled “Gulliford’s Travels.” His essays also appear in the “Writers on the Range” column of High Country News. Dr. Gulliford received the National Individual Volunteer Award from the USFS for wilderness education and a certificate of recognition from the Secretary of Agriculture for “outstanding contributions to America’s natural and cultural resources.” The governor appointed Dr. Gulliford to two terms on the National Register of Historic Places Review Board for Colorado. He has led tours across the West by canoe, raft, horseback, van, cruise ship, train, and jet for the Smithsonian Institution, National Geographic Society, National Trust for Historic Preservation, and Colorado Historical Society. Gulliford regularly donates tours to raise money for the Durango Adult Education Center, American Red Cross, Western Colorado Congress, Westerners International, Fort Lewis College Foundation, and Great Old Broads for Wilderness. | | Dan Morse | Crested Butte | Environmental | Dan Morse is Executive Director for the High Country Citizens’ Alliance. He joined the SWRAC in the fall of 2006 and is now serving his second term. Morse has worked with BLM RACs in Utah and Nevada where he contracted as a land use planner on resource management plans for several BLM offices. In his current role, Morse works with partners on a variety of land use issues in and around the Gunnison Basin, including national forest planning, travel management plans, natural gas development, and mining. As a native Coloradan who has lived in several western Colorado communities, Morse thinks that maintaining the quality and integrity of Colorado’s remaining wildlands is critical for the quality of life of current and future residents. In his position with High Country Citizens’ Alliance, he works to find solutions that maintain and improve our forests and BLM lands while allowing for their reasonable use and enjoyment. Morse lives in Crested Butte with his wife Kimberly, where he avidly pursues recreation interests that include skiing, hiking, biking, boating, and fly fishing. He is also a commercial pilot and flight instructor. | Peter Mueller | Telluride | Environmental | Peter Mueller serves as director of the North San Juan Mountain Project for The Nature Conservancy. His responsibilities include coordinating the efforts of the Dolores River Restoration Partnership to restore native riparian health along the Dolores River, from McPhee Reservoir to its confluence with the Colorado River. Prior to joining the Conservancy, Peter was a teacher and administrator in the Colorado public schools. Peter is currently involved with revision of the joint BLM-Forest Service land management plan for the San Juan Public Lands Center, working to determine the best methods for protecting the Dolores River below McPhee. He has also agreed to serve as a liaison between the Southwest RAC and the Southwest RAC subgroup for the Uncompahgre Resource Management Plan. | Andrea Robinsong | Hotchkiss | Environmental | Andrea Robinsong believes that she has served on the SWRAC since 1996. She has resided within the jurisdiction of the SWRAC since 1979, spending her first twelve Colorado years near Telluride, then four years at Goodman Point northwest of Cortez and three years in Montrose. She is now settled into her adobe home near Hotchkiss. As a 30+ year rambler, wrangler, rider, birder, skier, backpacker, naturalist, river rat, Forest Service timber marker and occasional 4-wheeler, Robinsong has spent a great deal of time exploring public lands in the SWRAC territory. Her observation of changes indicating widespread deterioration of the biological health of local BLM and National Forest lands has led her to become an active public land advocate. Robinsong appreciates the opportunity that serving on the SWRAC has provided to work collaboratively with stakeholders to advise the BLM regarding management of our public lands. | | Wallace White | Durango | Dispersed Recreation | Wallace White is a second term La Plata County Commissioner. He has raised llamas for the past 30 years, packing with them throughout Colorado. Wally and his llamas assisted in constructing the Colorado Trail by hauling supplies to trail crews working in the San Juan National Forest. He has leased llamas to the Forest Service for use on trail maintenance and taught classes for wilderness rangers. A strong advocate of Leave No Trace principles, Wally believes that llamas are an excellent low impact animal for backcountry use. He served on the Hermosa Creek Working Group, working to find effective multiple use solutions for the largest designated roadless area in Colorado. Raised in Colorado, Wally graduated from CSU with a degree in finance and obtained a degree in International Trade from the Thunderbird School of Global Management. Having lived in the Yampa Valley, Aspen, Crested Butte, and Durango, Wally is familiar with the Western Slope and the many pressures facing our natural resources today. He is a member of Colorado Counties, Inc, the Public Lands Steering Committee, the Land Use and Natural Resources Steering Committee, and the Agriculture, Wildlife, and Rural Affairs Steering Committee. Wally also serves on the Colorado Emergency Planning Commission and the Colorado Commission on Indian Affairs. |
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CATEGORY 3 - STATE & LOCAL GOVERNMENT, INDIAN TRIBES, PUBLIC AT LARGE | Jim Cochran | Gunnison | Public at Large | Jim is the Wildlife Conservation Coordinator for Gunnison County. He assists the Board of County Commissioners with threatened and endangered species, species of special concern, and other wildlife issues with an emphasis on the Gunnison Sage-grouse. He is serving his second term as a SWRAC member. Jim and his wife Jaci also own and operate Wildcat Ranch, near Powderhorn, Colorado. They raise hay and Highland cattle, marketing their product locally. Born and raised in the San Luis Valley of Colorado, Jim graduated from Colorado State University with a B.S. in Wildlife Research and a M.S. in Fisheries Science. He has worked across the continent, beginning his career in Colorado, moving to New Hampshire and retiring from the Alaska Department of Fish and Game in 1997. His background in wildlife and agriculture allows Jim to recognize the importance of well planned and sustainable multiple uses of our public lands. | Barbara Hawke | Montrose | Public at Large | Barbara Hawke was appointed to the SWRAC in August 2010 and to the Uncompahgre RMP RAC Subgroup several months later. Barbara is a wildlands program coordinator, working with the Dolores River Coalition and The Wilderness Society. She spent many years working with neighborhood groups on community development projects, affordable housing, and urban parks in the Midwest. A love of Colorado brought Barbara west to work for The Nature Conservancy, and then Black Canyon Land Trust in Montrose. During this time, she served on several open space committees and nonprofit boards, including the Boulder County Parks and Open Space Advisory Committee and Friends of the River Uncompahgre. Barbara’s interests range from natural history to the relationship between people and undeveloped land. She feels that it is important to preserve traditional ways of life in the west, by preserving public and private land for ranching, farming, quiet recreation, healthy ecological systems, cultural use by native peoples, and other sustainable uses. Her background is unusually diverse, and she is equally comfortable with spreadsheets and rare lichens. Happiest when spending time outdoors, Barbara hopes that her skills will support efforts to sustain our valuable public lands. | Renzo DelPiccolo | Montrose | State Employee | | Renzo DelPiccolo has a bachelor’s degree in wildlife biology from Colorado State University. He is an area wildlife manager in Montrose for the Colorado Division of Wildlife (CDOW). He has extensive post-graduate training in range management, forest management, wildlife management, law enforcement, botany, and education of students and educators. He is serving as the Department of Natural Resources cooperating agency representative for the Uncompahgre Field Office Resource Management Plan. He is the southwest representative on the Colorado Wolverine Reintroduction committee. He is working with energy companies and the BLM on mitigation measures and stipulations, and is working with the BLM and Ute Water Company on a multi-organization trade and transfer-of-use for the Jerry Creek Reservoirs and the Mogensen Fishing Area. He is negotiating game damage claims with a variety of landowners and livestock operators. His background includes extensive involvement with Law Enforcement training, investigations, and operations. | Ken Emory | Montrose | Public at Large | Prior to calling western Colorado home, Ken Emory made Colorado his recreation destination for over 20 years. When he retired seven years ago, Ken moved to the Montrose area. He enjoys four-wheeling and exploring the region's beauty and history. Ken claims that he is busier now than when he worked for a living. In addition to serving his second term on the SWRAC, Ken is involved with regional land use in several other capacities. He is a member of the Public Lands Partnership and the Public Access Group, which strives to open areas illegally closed by private parties. Ken also volunteers at the Montrose Public Lands Center front desk and serves as the western district Land Use Officer for the Colorado Association of 4WD Clubs, Western Slope 4 Wheelers Club, and Montrose Rod and Gun Club. As a SWRAC member, Ken feels that it is important to keep areas open for motorized recreation. Public land issues and road and trail maintenance are of special interest to him. | Lynn Padgett | Ridgway | Elected Official | | Lynn Padgett is a Ouray County Commissioner and an active member of the Ridgway and Ouray County communities. She has served on many local public lands organizations, including the Ridgeway-Ouray Community Council, the Public Lands Partnership, the Uncompahgre Plateau Project, and the Black Canyon Land Trust. Her professional background is as a geologist and wetlands scientist, and she has researched and recreated on public lands in southwestern Colorado for more than 18 years. |
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