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Executive Director's Letter
ACTING EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR’S LETTER
Greetings,
For me, this summer brought both the unexpected and the exciting, with the opportunity to work in a new capacity as CDTC’s Acting Executive Director during E.D. Teresa Martinez’s sabbatical. Much like the land all around us, we all must observe times for activity and time for rest, and after leading CDTC through its first decade and championing the CDT for even longer, Teresa’s sabbatical was a great reminder that much like the land, once we have put forth new growth, rest can follow.
Nothing made the growth of CDTC over the past ten years more apparent than the launch of CDTC’s new Strategic Visioning Survey meant to help inform the next phase of our work with the input of the wider trail community. Our trail community has achieved so much together! Since CDTC’s last strategic plan in 2018, the organization has accomplished many of the goals we hoped to achieve - including regionalizing CDTC staff, implementing community stewardship events, and building a foundation for grassroots advocacy and action. As we head into our second decade of work, I am so excited to hear more about the priorities and perspectives of the CDT community to help guide the next phase of CDT stewardship.
While we gear up for the next phase of CDTC’s stewardship through strategic visioning, the work is already happening on the ground in full force! We have welcomed new team members all along the trail, including Development Manager Jill Yoder, Muddy Pass Intern Jake Warnica, and VISTA Outreach Coordinator Claire Cutler, who are already out in communities connecting with members, partners, and volunteers. Field coordinators Haley and Michael have traveled hundreds of miles this summer already, facilitating trail adopter trainings, organizing community stewardship events, and working alongside volunteers and partners to continue to provide the on-the-ground stewardship of the CDT that is at the heart of community-led conservation. Year after year, I am struck by what a privilege it is to work with communities along the Divide who have welcomed these new faces not only into their communities, but to their dinner tables, backyard barbeques, movie nights, and even their disc-golf games, fully embracing these new members of our trail community.
Alongside the incredible work happening this summer, we also have a lot to celebrate! From a family-friendly hike in Chama for Latino Conservation Week, to community stewardship events in Steamboat Springs, to Pride on the Divide wildflower hike on the ridgelines of Leadville, it has been great to see so many new and familiar faces on the trail. And to see the many different shared stories, memories, and experiences that are being made on the CDT this summer, continues to show in new ways that the CDT Experience is not one that be uniformly prescribed, but instead is as dynamic and diverse as the landscapes the trail travels and the people who travel it. As someone who has not always seen myself represented in the outdoors, witnessing the joy that comes from the CDT for people of all different backgrounds, experience levels, and perspectives is a reminder that working on the CDT is not just about a trail, but about building a legacy of community care that steward our land, waters, wildlife, and the people who enjoy them.
As I sit in Helena writing this piece, southbounders are making their way through the state’s capitol, absorbing the grandeur of the Rocky Mountain Front, soaking in the hominess of Last Chance Gulch downtown, and gearing up for the next leg of the trail. And I can’t help but appreciate the contributions that have got the trail to where it is today. The impact of Teresa’s decade of work at the helm of CDTC, the diligent dedication of hundreds volunteers and agency staff who have worked tirelessly season after season to maintain the trail, the welcoming stewardship of locals at the gateways of the CDT, and the contribution from the entirety of our trail community who each add their own thread to the fabric that makes the CDT so unique. And I am so grateful that for a short time, I was able to step in to help weave that story together.
L Fisher (they/them) Acting Executive Director
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR’S LETTER
Dear CDTC friends,
Greetings from Northern New Mexico– homelands of the Jicarilla Apache and Tewa People– where we anxiously await the arrival of the Monsoon. Besides the need for rain, it is plain hot here in New Mexico, and we all could use a steady cycle of moisture to cool off and reduce the risk of large fire events. So, while we wait for the much-needed rain, here’s what we have been up to along the CDT!
Field projects will continue for the next two months, and we encourage you to check the schedule for the remaining projects and join us! CDTC field crews, led by Haley Gamertsfelder and Michael McDaniel, have hosted projects and trainings with new and old partners, and they are doing some amazing trail work! We’ve been partnering with many of the Gateway Communities along the trail for community stewardship events and Pride on the Divide hikes on the CDT, which we launched in June and will continue throughout the year. We’ve been tabling at events across Colorado, including events in Walden and Kremmling. CDTC also hosted a hike in Cuba, NM that welcomed nearly 80 youth out on the Trail! The Youth Hiking Programs have begun for the second summer, continuing with the Pueblo of Acoma. We’ve partnered with the Zuni Pueblo Youth Enrichment Program (YEP) to pilot a program on the Zuni Pueblo, and the programs are gaining interest from many other communities along the Trail! We also launched our strategic visioning process with a Community Feedback Survey in July. This process will help guide our work for the next five to ten years, and we look forward to sharing the results with the CDT community.
Although the organization has been moving at a rapid pace, I was able to take some much-needed rest and enjoyed a six-week sabbatical from late June through July. When folks learned of my sabbatical everyone asked, “Where are you going? What are you doing?” Maybe people were expecting me to have some big adventure planned or some far away destination to visit, but they were always surprised to hear that I was staying home. I planned to be unscheduled and unplanned during my time off. For the first time, I wasn’t working or traveling, and some of my closest friends and family took the opportunity to visit me. Plus, this little corner of New Mexico has so much to see and do, and I had time to set deep roots into the Land of Enchantment. I explored my own back yard and took time with favorite two-legged and four-legged companions. I enjoyed hiking on some of my favorite places on the CDT and ate some of the best food anywhere in the world– usually out of my own kitchen. I shared deep laughter and connection with good company. When my sabbatical came to an end, I am happy to say I was ready to come back to work and dig into the next chapter of CDTC’s story.
I am grateful to the entire CDTC Team– especially L Fisher who stepped in as Acting Executive Director–for being rock stars and who I had no doubt could carry on without me! It was a great experience for me and for everyone at CDTC to know our organization has the depth and talent necessary to weather even temporary transitions, and I know will help us as we move forward into our next decade of work.
During this time, the biggest lesson was the importance of slowing down. It’s something my mother used to always tell me to do. I was reminded of the importance of finding time to be present with the ones I love, and that I can trust that the foundation the CDTC Community is built on is strong enough to weather whatever may come. I also learned the importance of an afternoon especially the days when it’s too hot to do much else!
After eleven years of going full steam ahead, it was a blessing to step back and away and take a well-deserved break. I am so grateful that what we are building at CDTC allows for this important balance of work and life. I remain grateful for the privilege to be part of the team that works in service of the communities and landscapes of the Continental Divide.
Thanks for taking the time to read this issue of Passages and for your ongoing and deep commitment to our work. I look forward to hearing from you over the coming months as we delve deeper into our strategic visioning efforts, and I hope to see you on the trail soon!
