2019 Alaska Statewide Trails Conference

Transcription

1 2019 Alaska Statewide Trails Conference Keynote Speaker - Lisa Maloney A thirty-year resident of Alaska and avid outdoorswoman, Lisa Maloney is the author of three guidebooks, including the just-released "Day Hiking Southcentral Alaska" and the award-winning "Moon Alaska." She's also worked as an outdoors columnist at The Anchorage Press and the Anchorage Daily News, served a stint as senior editor at Alaska magazine, and covered a nationwide hiking/backpacking beat for About.com. Her work includes: "Moon Alaska" "Day Hiking Southcentral Alaska" "50 Hikes Around Anchorage" lisa@maloneywrites.com

2 Breakout Session Presenters Chris Beck Chris is a land use planner with more than 30 years of experience in community planning, recreation and tourism, and economic development, working in Alaska and around the western US. A few years back he earned master's degrees in City Planning and in Landscape Architecture from the University of California at Berkeley. In 2002, he cofounded Agnew::Beck Consulting, and now is doing his best to retire from what has grown to be a successful 20+ person consulting business. Continuing Agnew::Beck projects include work on climate change adaptation in Western Alaska, and regional and community plans in Cordova and Fairbanks. Much of his time in the last year has gone into the Alaska Trails Initiative. As part of that project he spent most of January and February doing 'recreation research' in Taiwan, Australia and New Zealand, and has returned with an over zealous desire to share what he'd seen and learned. Erik Boraas Erik is a life long Alaskan, born and raised in Soldotna. He has worked as a wilderness ranger, fisherman, and archeologist. He has traveled extensively around the world and adventured all over Alaska. He settled in Juneau and spent a season as the field coordinator for Trail Mix, Inc., a trail building non-profit. He acceded to executive director in Erik is a board member of Alaska Trails. Ryan Branciforte With over 20 years in the conservation/outdoor technology field, Ryan helps lead OuterSpatial, a cloud-based platform designed to help park agencies and nonprofit organizations publish their recreation information to your visitors via the web and mobile devices. Ryan has always had a passion for using technology to do good conservation work and get people outside. After starting his career with the National Park Service over 20 years ago, he was fortunate to spend the majority of his career working for public agencies and non-profits focused on preserving land and getting people outside. See more at OuterSpatial s website:

3 Lynne Brandon Lynne was hired as Sitka Trail Works, Inc. s, (STW), Executive Director in September of Prior to joining STW, Lynne was City and Borough of Sitka Parks and Recreation Manager for fourteen years. Other positions Lynne has held in Sitka include work as an Alaska State Park Ranger, for the Forest Service, National Park Service and running her own pottery business while her two sons, Gavin and Kevin, were little. While at the City, Lynne collaborated with Deborah Lyons, former executive director of STW, on all trail projects on City lands including all phases of the Cross Trail, Thimbleberry-Heart Lake trail, Sawmill Creek road and Indian River road separated multiuse paths and Herring Cove trail. During her career, she is proud of helping to develop the Cross Trail, Starrigavan trail system, the Turnaround skate park, the Kimsham Athletic Fields and improving greenspace and landscaping around many of Sitka s parks and public buildings. Lynne has a Bachelor of Science degree, in Park and Outdoor Recreation Management, from Colorado State University. Outside of work, Lynne loves spending time with family, fitness, dance, artwork, gardening, wild beaches, hiking to mountain tops and snorkeling in tropical water. Christine Byl Christine Byl, co-owner of Interior Trails, is a writer and a trail builder of 24 years. After 12 seasons working on federal trail crews in Glacier NP, Chugach NF and Denali NP, in 2008 Christine and her husband Gabe Travis founded Interior Trails, specializing in sustainable trail design, layout, construction, consulting and training in Alaska. Christine's first book, Dirt Work: An Education in the Woods is about trail crews, tools, wilderness, and labor, and was selected by Backpacker Magazine as one of 20 Great Books for the Trail. She lives on a few acres of tundra north of Denali National Park and spends as much time as possible in wild places by foot, bike, ski, boat and dog. For more information on Interior Trails, visit Eric Clarke Eric started working on trails 29 years ago when he discovered that he could get paid to hike, work, and play in the woods. A graduate of UC Santa Cruz, he migrated up to Alaska, due to a road trip as a kid that exposed him to Alaska. He has worked as a crew member with the Chugach National Forest, lead crews with Alaska State Parks, paid and volunteer, in trail construction and maintenance, and has done layout, design and construction with Alaska State Parks Marine Recreation Projects of last century. Eric currently is the Trail Coordinator for Kachemak Bay State Park roaming trails, working with volunteers to keep trails open and assisting with partners on new trail projects.

4 Amalie Couvillion As a consultant with The Foraker Group, Amalie Couvillion teaches nonprofits how to strengthen their organizations by connecting with their supporters and donors. She believes that donor-centered fund development is the best way to allow people who care to make a big difference in the world. Prior to joining Foraker Amalie enjoyed a 17-year career at The Nature Conservancy where she played several roles, starting as a scientist and (happily) ending up as a fundraiser. Amalie earned a Master s degree in Environmental Management from Duke University and a Bachelor s in Geography from UCLA. She graduated from high school in Athens, Greece, and studied in Munich, Germany, for two years of college. Amy Dalton Amy Dalton, a small business owner and former public school educator has found a way to express her passion for Alaska s public lands and wild spaces as the new executive director of the Alaska Mountain and Wilderness Huts Association. She started her work with Alaska Huts as a board member in She then returned to the organization as an Outreach Coordinator, forging partnerships with other non-profits and educational groups to provide opportunities aligned with the Huts mission. As a former Coloradan and avid world traveler, Dalton has experienced a wide range of hut-to-hut adventures. Ira Edwards Ira Edwards moved to Palmer with his family in the early 80s. He quickly teamed up with the neighbor kids to hike the Butte and bike all the old trails all summer long. 36 years later, Edwards still loves trails and gets out as often as possible. He has helped design and construct over 100 miles of trails in Alaska and also served on the ORTAB. In 2010, Edwards was crushed by a leaning tree while clearing trail hazards after a windstorm. Now in a wheelchair, he spends a great amount of his time helping others with disabilities and advocating for making trails accessible for all. Note that he doesn t desire flat paved trails (they are kinda nice sometimes) but he hopes that all trails will at least allow him to attempt to ride them with his handcycles.

5 Ricky Gease Ricky Gease is the Director of Alaska State Parks and Outdoor Recreation. Prior to this position, he served in various non-profit executive management positions for twenty years, including as the Executive Director of the Kenai River Sportfishing Association and the Kenai Convention and Visitors Bureau, as well as the museum manager of the Kenai Visitors and Cultural Center. He also served as a Park Ranger at Kenai Fjords National Park for six years. He holds Master s and Bachelor s Degrees from Stanford University in Biology, and a Certificate in Non-profit Executive Management from The Foraker Group through UAA. He has extensive service on various boards and commissions relating to natural and cultural resource management. He and his wife Bunny Swan reside in Kenai. Mark Gronewald Mark Gronewald got his start in the trail world as a US Forest Service trail crew member in 1977, then spent 20 years as a wildland firefighter and backcountry ski guide. As the owner of Wildfire Designs Bicycles, he was an early pioneer and manufacturer of fat-tired snow bikes. He is the founder of Valley Mountain Bike Alliance (now Valley Mountain Bikers and Hikers) and has volunteered on numerous trail projects in the Mat Su Valley. From 2005 to 2013, Mark worked as a trail crew leader and trails specialist for Alaska State Parks and the Mat-Su Borough. He has operated Trailwerx, a private trails construction firm since Joe Hall Joe has been working on trails for the better part of the past ten years. After growing up in the malaise of suburban Detroit and working nothing but dead end jobs, he energized himself by joining a backcountry crew in Escalante, Utah. He is now the trails manager for Chugach State Park. Joe s main focus is providing sustainable solutions for trails in Chugach State Park while getting young folks and volunteers out working on trails.

6 Lee Hart Lee Hart is the founder of Confluence, a growing statewide coalition of outdoor recreation industry stakeholders dedicated to championing economic diversification and rural economic development through outdoor recreation adventure. Lee brings more than a decade of experience and connections from the outdoor, snow sports, bike and adventure travel industries to her work with Confluence. She is particularly fond of singletrack trails for mountain biking and is the founder of the Chugach Fat Bike Bash. Trena Haugen Trena Haugen fell in love and moved to Anchorage, AK in She and her husband transitioned to Healy in 2008 and started a family. For the last 10 years, they have been raising their son, Gene, in the front and back country of the Denali area. They enjoy every outdoor adventure there is whenever we can.hiking, skiing, snow machining, fishing, and biking. In January, she joined the Denali Borough team working the administration side of things and is excited to delve into the newly created Parks and Recreation department being developed into the boroughs office. She is excited about the first feature trail and the momentum to build an impressive Denali Borough trail plan. Brentwood Hig Higman Hig (Bretwood Higman) grew up in Seldovia, Alaska, received a BA in geology from Carleton College in Northfield MN in 1999, and a PhD in geology while studying tsunamis at the University of Washington, Seattle, in With his wife Erin McKittrick he has walked, skied, and packrafted about 8,000 miles in Alaska's wilderness. Since receiving his PhD and returning to live in Seldovia, he has been executive director of Ground Truth Trekking, a 501c3 nonprofit. He has also worked as a geologist and data analyst for Nuka Research and Planning, which focuses on characterizing and reducing the risk posed by oil spills. He has two children, Katmai and Lituya.

7 Wes Hoskins A decade ago Wes left his career as an electrician to seek out work that felt more purposeful. He joined a wilderness stewardship organization in Nevada. Working with talented staff and volunteers he helped grow the stewardship program from 18 projects a summer to over 40. Working to secure grants from public and private foundations, as well as federal cost-share agreements from agency partners, he grew the program into a resource for federal land managers to use for much-needed and underfunded trail work. As manager of the program, Wes maintained a bird s eye view from the office, but still enjoyed many days camping with the crew and connecting to the projects, people, and details of trail work. Since moving to Alaska, Wes has been fortunate to work in several roles with regional and local non-profits that have allowed him to continue sharpening his skills from organizational development and oversight at the board level, to supporter and donor engagement. But what truly inspires him is connecting with people outside. Wes lives in Palmer with his wife Alli and daughter Reesa. Plus two tropical birds. Tanya Iden Tanya loves helping Alaskans articulate shared strengths and values and find solutions that maintain our economic, environmental, and cultural integrity for future generations. She has worked for over ten years at Agnew Beck Consulting as senior planner, managing associate, and now principal and part owner of the company, to help Alaskan communities and organizations thrive. Tanya s interest in supporting healthy lifestyles draws her to health and human services projects and strategic initiatives that encourage healthy communities. Tanya led the Agnew Beck team to develop the Vision Zero Marketing & Messaging Campaign Plan. The Vision Zero Marketing & Messaging Campaign Plan is a key component of the City s effort to eliminate traffic fatalities and severe injuries while increasing safe, healthy, equitable mobility. The Plan outlines a pathway to sustain a broad-based messaging and marketing campaign that: (1) motivates road users to act in safer, more responsible ways on the road and (2) cultivates collaborative, solutions-based system change among public agencies and community partners. Eileen Kazura Eileen Kazura is the Risk Management Coordinator for Alaska Geographic, and manages youth and young adult teams serving across the state of Alaska. She has been involved with youth and young adult engagement through conservation work 6 years. She desires to help young people develop critical thinking skills and strong work ethic through trail and restoration projects, and enjoys celebrating each person s unique connection to the non-human world, with the ultimate goal of youth co-leadership in programmatic decision making. She lives in Anchorage with her partner.

8 Nolan Klouda As Executive Director, Nolan provides overall leadership for the University of Alaska Center for Economic Development, as well as support for other programs of the UAA Business Enterprise Institute. Prior to taking his current role in 2014, Nolan served as Associate Director. He has been a strategic advisor to tribal governments, municipal governments, non-profits, Alaska Native Corporations and private business groups, assisting them in realizing their economic goals. Nolan s areas of professional interest include feasibility analysis, rural economic development, entrepreneurship and innovation policy, and engagement between the public and private sectors. He is a Certified Economic Developer (CEcD) through the International Economic Development Council, is a board member for the University Economic Development Association, and serves on the Municipality of Anchorage Budget Advisory Commission. Nolan was named to Alaska s Top 40 Under 40 in He holds a Master of Public Administration from the University of Kansas and a Bachelor of Arts, History and Political Science from Gustavus Adolphus College. Gunnar Knapp Gunnar Knapp is Professor Emeritus of Economics at the Institute of Social and Economic Research (ISER) at the University of Alaska Anchorage (USA), where he worked for 35 years after receiving his Ph.D. in Economics from Yale University in Prior to his retirement in 2016, Dr. Knapp served three years as Director of ISER. Throughout his career Dr. Knapp was continuously engaged with research on the Alaska economy, and for many years he taught a popular UAA course on The Economy of Alaska. Dr. Knapp is also an internationally-recognized interest on the seafood industry, particularly for his work on Alaska fisheries management, Alaska salmon markets, and the implications of salmon aquaculture for wild fisheries. Dr. Knapp and his wife live in Anchorage and have three grown children. The Knapp family are all avid cross-country skiers, runners, bikers, hikers and users of Anchorage and Alaska trails and parks.

9 Kristen Morozowski Kristen Mrozowski is returning for her second year as the Trails Technician for Alaska Trails. Through the Alaska Trail Stewards program, she coordinates and trains volunteers while leading trail work events on state and federal lands throughout southcentral Alaska. In the heat of the summer, Kristen will also be the project site manager for the twenty-four youth laborers and four crew leaders of the Youth Employment in Parks program in Anchorage parks. Prior to joining Steve at Alaska Trails, Kristen spent six years working with conservation corps crews throughout the Lower 48 and Alaska, and a season leading a trail crew at Kachemak Bay State Park in Homer. She brings a background in risk management and a passion for teaching both youth and adults. She is working to develop those aspects of the Alaska Trails Stewards program and to help build a skilled and efficient volunteer work force. Kristen believes that trail work empowers people, and strives to make that opportunity accessible to all. She learned a lot last season, but her favorite type of work is still moving boulders. Maeve Nevins Lavtar Maeve Nevins-Lavtar is a Senior Park Planner with the Municipality of Anchorage Parks and Recreation Department. Since 2012, she has been the project manager on several complex, large-scale trail projects including rehabilitation of the Tony Knowles Coastal Trail, the Lanie Fleischer Chester Creek Trail, the Campbell Creek Trail and the replacement of 9 pedestrian trail bridges. Currently, she is managing the new Chester Creek Urban Singletrack project and Anchorage s first bike park project at the South Anchorage Sports Park. Her experience also extends to the design and development of single-track mountain bike trails, playgrounds and other recreation facilities. Maeve received her B.S. in Landscape Architecture from Colorado State University. She is active in the community as a volunteer youth mountain bike coach, steep skiing coach and was recently an international delegate with the Tragedy Assistance Program for Military Survivors (TAPS).

10 Beth Nordlund Beth is a third generation Alaskan park user. Born in Anchorage, she lost her first tooth at Russian Jack Springs Park. Beth was raised in Juneau and earned a double-major in Environmental Studies and Political Science from Baylor University, and a Master s in Public Administration from The George Washington University. Beth was the first staff hired for the Anchorage Park Foundation in Starting from scratch, she has helped shape the work plan and she enjoys working with volunteers to help them obtain grants, promote projects, build projects, and celebrate community achievements. One of Beth s proudest accomplishments is helping to create and fund the Youth Employment in Parks program, which won the prestigious Partners in Conservation Award from the US Department of the Interior. Her community awards include Anchorage ATHENA Society and Top 40 Under 40. Beth lives with her husband Jim and child Ella next to a great sledding hill at Balto Seppala Park. Andrew Ooms Andrew Ooms is a Senior Engineer with Kittelson & Associates, Inc. in Anchorage, where he works on a wide variety of transportation engineering and planning projects throughout the state. Safety and active transportation are his primary interests and he is committed to bringing the best national practices to Alaska to improve safety and efficiency for all road users. He has extensive non-motorized project experience including implementing bike lanes in Anchorage, Juneau, and Fairbanks; developing bicycle signal phases in Portland; and assessing community-wide pedestrian conditions throughout Alaska. Beyond the day job, Andrew tries to pass on his passion for biking and the outdoors with his young children. Meg Pritchard Meg Pritchard is the Alaska Trails Fellow through the Alaska Fellows Program. Originally from Charlottesville, VA, Meg recently graduated from Yale University with a degree in English and graduate-level work at the School of Forestry. A runner and hiker, Meg first arrived in Alaska this past summer to guide multi-day backpacking and kayaking trips for high schoolers based in Anchorage. As a longtime outdoor enthusiast, she has been thrilled to work with the Alaska Trails Initiative this spring.

11 Pierce Schwalb Pierce first hopped on a bike in the swamplands of Central Florida, where two wheels proved to be useful dodging gators. When he wasn t recreating alongside reptiles, he was following his passion for achieving sustainability; studying and applying techniques to help people reduce their carbon footprint. Most recently, he planned for and promoted alternative fuel vehicles in Northern California. Although a newcomer to Anchorage, he has already fallen in love with this vibrant, self-reliant city. As the Director of Bike Anchorage, he loves supporting and growing the engaged cycling community that calls this city home. Mike Shields Mike Shields started working on trails in 1960 at Olympic National Park, in the days of axes, misery-whips, and 90-lb loads in a Trapper Nelson pack. A graduate of the University of Idaho, in his NPS career he s been a Crew Leader, Ranger, Roads Foreman, Maintenance Mechanic, Trails Foreman, and Facility Manager, but primarily and always a trailman, and has worked trails in Olympic, Big Bend, Canyonlands, Natural Bridges, North Cascades, Kings Canyon, Rocky Mountain, and Denali. Two of those parks (Canyonlands, North Cascades) were brand new and he helped invent the trail systems in both. He became adept at timber felling, log and rock construction, mule packing, rigging, using explosives as a precision tool, disposing of unstable explosives, suspension bridge and tram design, and contract administration. Since his retirement as Denali s Chief of Maintenance in late 1996 he has been a small contractor providing training, trail layout, and technical consulting services from Alaska to West Texas and California to Ohio. In 2010 he received American Trails State Trail Worker Award (Alaska) for his efforts at training and mentoring younger folks, and in 2015 the Professional Trail Builders Assn R.H. Bell Lifetime Achievement Award for excellence in trail design and construction.

12 Colin Singleton Colin Singleton is a Professional Civil Engineer with CRW Engineering Group, working on a variety of projects across the state. A lifelong Alaskan, he grew up riding, running, and skiing the trails in and around Anchorage, and has spent the past four years working on the AMATS Anchorage Bicycle, Pedestrian, and Trails Plan Implementations. As a regular bike commuter and transportation engineer, Colin has been part of the growing discussion on how to improve active transportation in Anchorage. He has participated in trainings on the NACTO Urban Bikeway Design Guide and Global Street Design Guide, and currently chairs the ITE Alaska Active Transportation Committee. Colin also assists the Bike Anchorage Advocacy Committee, providing information about national best practices for bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure design. Lia Slemons Lia Slemons is the Trails Coordinator for the Kenai Mountains-Turnagain Arm National Heritage Area, a nonprofit that leverages volunteer contributions with federal funding. The restoration and preservation of historic trails and sites are a primary goal of KMTA, while telling some of their stories along the way! Lia has enjoyed learning the history of communities from Bird to Seward while having a greater reason to run more trails along the Kenai. She and her husband and two daughters also enjoy camping, biking, fishing, skiing and berry picking throughout Southcentral Alaska. Lia holds a Ph.D. in oceanography, coaches Girls on the Run, and bakes sourdough. For more information on KMTA, visit Blaine Smith Blaine Smith started doing trail work in 1976 as a Boy Scout working with Chugach State Park Rangers to reopen the Turnagain Arm Trail.From that point on he has maintained an active interest in trails, becoming the trails manager for Chugach State Park, a job from which he retired in Since then he has occupied his time by working and volunteering for the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, Chugach State Park, Alaska Trails and the Student Conservation Association.

13 Kim Sollien For nearly 20 years, Kim has worked for non-profit organizations in the Mat-Su Borough. In 2018, Kim joined the Mat-Su Trails and Parks Foundation as Development Director. Prior to joining the Foundation, she spent eight years with Great Land Trust as the Mat-Su Program Director where she helped conserve over 11,000 acres of land in the Mat-Su. Prior to that, she worked for Chickaloon Native Village as their Director of Health and Social Services, Planner and as Sustainable Foods Coordinator where she helped start an elder lunch program and wrote grants to support many of the tribes programs. Kim has served on The Nature Conservancy Board of Directors, Mat-Su Basin Salmon Habitat Partnership Steering Committee, Mat-Su 2050 committee, the Mat-Su Borough Parks, Recreation and Trails Board, and as President of Fishhook Community Council. Kim holds a Master of Arts from Alaska Pacific University in Sustainable Community Design and a Bachelor of Social Work from University of Southern Maine. Kim lives in Sutton with her good husky, Ghani. Gabe Travis Gabe Travis, co-owner of Interior Trails, has been a professional trail builder since Gabe has led trail crews in Glacier National Park, Chugach National Forest, and Denali NP; in 2008 Gabe and his wife, Christine Byl, began Interior Trails to address the need for specialized trail expertise in Alaska. In addition to design and layout, assessment and prescription, and hand and mechanized construction for clients statewide, Gabe has taught introductory and technical trails courses for the past 12 years. An avid skier, biker, and runner, Gabe is also a visual artist who brings his eye for design and detail to the trail layout and construction process. He lives in a yurt north of Denali National Park. For more information on Interior Trails, visit Jon Underwood Jon Underwood has had a life-long fascination with trails as a biker, skier, runner, walker, and ATV rider. In 2006 Jon started Happy Trails, Inc. to provide trail design and construction in Alaska. Since then he has designed and built trails all over the state, having so much fun he is astonished when it is sometimes profitable. Jon is President of the Professional Trail Builders Association. Find Happy Trails on Facebook or to see more.

14 Roy Wahl Roy Wahl is retired and was in the computer and communications security fields for 30 plus years. He has enjoyed cross country skiing and hiking in the Hatchers Pass area for the last 35 years. Roy served on the Mat-Su/Copper Valley State Park Citizen Advisory Board for 7 years, some of which as chair. He is working on funding for an ADA Trail in the Government Peak Recreation Area in the Mat-Su Borough. Wende Wilber Wende Wilber, AICP PTP, is Principal Planner with Kittelson & Associates and has been working on multimodal roadway projects for the Municipality of Anchorage and DOT&PF for over two decades. She is well-versed in the cultural, land use, engineering, and financial opportunities and challenges related to transportation safety along our roadways. Wende managed the recently completed Municipality of Anchorage Vision Zero Action Plan and is working on a Vision Zero Plan for Palm Beach County in Florida. She is a pedestrian at heart and loves to walk in her neighborhood, on the trails, or as a means to explore a new city. Joni Wilm

15 Joni Wilm is a Senior Transportation Planner Bicycle and Pedestrian Coordinator for the Anchorage Metropolitan Area Transportation Solutions (AMATS). Joni has 12+ years of experience leading complex projects in the fields of urban design, landuse planning and transportation planning. Known for her decisive project management style, team building and diplomacy skills and the ability to foster key relationships, Joni has successfully led many high profile and contentious projects to completion. Joni s current projects include: lead project manager for AMATS Non-motorized Plan, AMATS Complete Streets Policy, AMATS Street Typologies Map, Spenard Corridor Plan (Anchorage's first Transit Oriented Development Plan), AMATS Transportation Alternatives Program, BikeLife Anchorage Publication, AMATS Public Participation Plan, AMATS Bicycle and Pedestrian Safety Awareness Campaign and the Bicycle and Pedestrian PSA program. Jared Zimmerman Jared has worked on the trail crew at Denali National Park since During that time he has learned a lot from some amazing crew leaders and challenging working conditions. Since 2009, he s planned and designed many of the park s trail improvements, both in designated wilderness and in accessible areas around the frontcountry. When he s not working on trails, he enjoys hiking, biking, skiing and mushing on them with his young family.