EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR’S LETTER

Spring Forward

Dear CDTC friends, It’s almost impossible to believe that spring is upon us. It seems like just yesterday we were wrapping up 2022 and looking forward to 2023. Now all of a sudden, the first thru-hikers are already heading north, field staff is on board, and CDTC is getting ready for the first volunteer projects.

Planning is in full swing for events across the CDT during the next six months. Although it may not be much different than years past, this year seems like it’s rockin’ and rollin’ like never before. We are beginning to experience the benefits and success of the foundation, and the pace of progress is rapidly increasing. It’s hard to believe that by the time May comes around, we will be one year past our tenth anniversary and five months into one of the CDTC’s busiest years ever!

Fifteen volunteer projects are planned along the Trail this field season, including local community daylong stewardship efforts, Adopt a Trail Trainings, and some exciting work with Latino Outdoors and Denver Environmental Learning for Kids. Exciting work has begun on a documentary project with the UNM-Taos Film Center focused on Indigenous voices. The New Mexicobased CDT Youth Hiking Program enters its second year providing support to local Native and Indigenous youth from the Acoma Pueblo, and now the Zuni Pueblo, to connect to the CDT and their homelands. In Colorado, we will be working with a larger coalition of folks to look at strengthening partnerships and connections to the Colorado 14’rs accessed from the CDT. We are always looking forward, and this year we are embarking on our next strategic visioning effort, which you will hear more about in the coming months!

CDTC welcomed new faces to the team this year: Shandiin Nez, Southern NM Policy Fellow; Audra Labert, Communications Manager; Zack Bumgarner, GIS Specialist; Field Coordinators Michael McDaniel and Haley Gammertsfelder, and Danny Knoll, Administrative Assistant. They add a lot of new energy and excitement to the CDTC Team, and that energy helps us look forward. We are also grateful for all the contributions of our previous team members, including Lauren Hendricks, Allie Ghaman, Morgan Anderson, Kylie Yang, and Jackie Horne.

We said goodbye to CDTC Board Member Barney “Scout” Mann, who completed his service on CDTC’s Board on December 31, 2022. Barney and his wife Sandy “Frodo” Mann are going back to hosting hikers in their home in San Diego along the PCT, amongst the many other endeavors and adventures they have planned. We also said “farewell for now” to Board Member Tom Phillips, who is very involved in his local community of Las Cruces, NM. Tom accepted a position as Board Chair of the

Dona Ana County Water Commission in Southern NM, but he is staying on the Trail Lands and Conservation Committee. In their places, we welcomed Sharon Buccino of Wyoming and Kevin Webber of Colorado as CDTC Board Members in March.

We offered a bittersweet farewell to one of the most influential people along the entire CDT, if not National Trails System, Nita Larronde. Nita, or MamaLoha as she was affectionately known, was the proprietor of the Toaster House in Pie Town, NM. Thanks to people like Nita, the foundations of a supportive community for the CDT and CDT travelers are alive and well.

My realization when sitting down to write this letter: It is springtime along the Continental Divide and within the CDTC. Along with the farewells, we welcome new life into this community and these places that are like none other on the planet. We witness the return of the birds–old friends making their spring journeys north along the CDT–and the resident bears and creatures waking up from long winter naps. We delight in opportunities to see familiar faces, like Tom “Radar” Baker in Southern New Mexico, Jeffrey Sharp of the Hachita Bike Ranch, and CDTC Southern Terminus Shuttle Drivers Tim Sharp, Cal Ewing, Doug Spray, We delight in opportunities to see familiar faces, like Tom “Radar” Baker in Southern New Mexico, Jeffrey Sharp of the Hachita Bike Ranch, and CDTC Southern Terminus Shuttle Drivers Tim Sharp, Cal Ewing, and Doug Spray.

Spring is the time to experience new growth and relationships. We are preparing to spring into a new decade with the enthusiasm and energy required to withstand the challenges, opportunities, and adventures ahead. I wish you all a beautiful spring and look forward to seeing you all on the Trail in the coming months.

Thank you for all you do on behalf of the Continental Divide National Scenic Trail!

Teresa Ana Martinez (she/hers/ella) Executive Director Continental Divide Trail Coalition