ABOUT
WHO WE ARE
La Veta Trails is a 501(c)3 nonprofit founded in 2015 to develop and maintain parks and trails systems in Huerfano County that connect people of all ages and abilities to the outdoors, inspire volunteerism, and contribute to the health and economic vitality of the region.
See our 2022 Annual Report.
What We Do
COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT
La Veta Trails would not be what is it without the involvement of hundreds of people in Huerfano County who volunteer, attend events, and donate.
VOLUNTEER STEWARDS
We partner with local, state, and federal government organizations and school districts to maintain, improve, and keep clean our parks and trails.
YOUTH STEWARDS
We offer opportunities for youth to work outside and get hands-on training on leadership development, care and maintenance of trails and trail structures, and Leave No Trace.
EVENTS
We host Earth Day clean-up events, Earth Day Bingo, and Earth Day 5K Fun Walk/Run/Bike at Lathrop State Park (coming in 2023!), and other events through the year.
SKILLS AND LEADERSHIP
We offer First Aid/CPR and Crosscut Saw certification through our partnership with the U.S. Forest Service and Crew Leader training through Volunteers for Outdoor Colorado.
PARKS AND TRAIL BUILDING
We support our partners through grant writing, planning and construction, and community fundraising to demonstrate community support for parks, trails, and recreational amenities.
COMING IN 2023
The Spanish Peaks Region Trail and Recreation Guide that will showcase parks, trails, recreational amenities, and business sponsors.
OUR BOARD
Marilyn Russell
Marilyn is retired from the University of Southern Maine where she served as a Public Policy Research Associate, leading projects focused on improving the effectiveness of services for young children.
She has facilitated the development of strategic and outcome monitoring plans, conducted evaluation studies, delivered training, and developed human resource policies for numerous agencies. Marilyn has been an outdoor enthusiast since childhood camping trips with her family and through Girl Scouts. As an avid walker and loves to flyfish.
Judy Fisher
Judy has a bachelor’s degree in history and a master’s degree in School Counseling, and is recently retired from La Veta High School. She has been a part of the La Veta community since 1983, and moved to La Veta full time in 2011 after retiring from the Denver Public Schools and the Denver School for Science and Technology.
Prior to her career in education, she owned a successful business distributing national and international newspapers, including The New York Times and the Wall Street Journal. She served as Secretary/Treasurer and Vice President on the board of the American Association of Independent News Distributors from 1992-1999, when, after 27 years, she sold the business. Judy is a founding member of Citizens for Huerfano County and serves on the CHC board as Secretary/Treasurer. She has a strong interest in the history and ecology of Southern Colorado, and has hiked and walked extensively in the area. She is also a gardener, home cook, and avid reader, and participates in a variety of community volunteer activities. Serving on the La Veta Trails board provides an opportunity to develop all of her interests, most especially building opportunities for community youth to become involved in physical and environmental activities in our community.
Ross Hallihan
Ross Hallihan is the Earth Science Teacher at Huerfano RE-1School District. He is the Lead Teacher for the School Outdoor Club.
Ross is the lead person for La Veta Trails for the Spanish Peaks Wilderness Area maintenance work. He has earned his Volunteer Outdoor Colorado Crew Leader Certificate, First Aid/CPR, and Crosscut B Sawyer Certificate.
David Gonzalez
David A. Gonzalez is the Business Development Manager at Planet (www.planet.com), the world's leading provider of global, daily satellite imagery and insights. His skills include GIS and remote sensing background. David loves mountain and gravel biking, hiking, and skiing.
He has a Bachelor’s Degree in Geographic Information Systems from the University of Colorado at Boulder.
Mark White
Mark spent the first part of his career as a commercial Risk Manager for large corporations throughout the United States. The then started and ran an Investment Company where he spent the next 15 years building and buying commercial real estate with a focus on the restaurant industry.
He realized life should not be all about work and began to explore nature and spent the next several years traveling to mountains throughout the world before discovering La Veta, a place he knew instantly would be home. Combining his love for nature and his business acumen, he joined the La Veta Trails Board of Directors in the hope of creating a venue where he and others may share in the outdoor recreation pleasures of this remarkable area. Mark earned the Volunteer Outdoor Colorado Crew Leader Certificate, Volunteer Outdoor Colorado Crew Leader Trainer Certificate, and U.S. Forest Service Crosscut Saw Certificate “B” Sawyer.
Gary Weston
Gary started marathon running at age 17 and qualified for the Collegiate National Championship all four years. He has run 76 marathons/ultra-marathons, finishing 72nd in the Boston Marathon and 40th in the Chicago Marathon in 1985.
In 1996, he won the Colorado state 50 Km Champion and state record holder. Gary taught high school math in Wisconsin and Colorado for 30 yrs. He coached XC and Distance Track for over 40 yrs and served as the race director in Colorado for over 25 running events. He was voted Colorado Boys XC Coach of the year and in 2006 was honored at the National Coaches Convention as one of eight finalists for National Boys XC Coach of the Year. More recently, he has qualified this year for the 2020 AG Duathlon World Championships in Almere, Netherlands. Gary currently serves as the Colorado Coordinator for the USA Triathlon Combined Event to be held Aug. 17th in Colorado Springs, one of ten such events to be held in the U.S. this year. Gary’s goal is to help make running and cycling become part of area resident’s everyday lifestyle and help increase the opportunities for anyone to do it. Term expires April 2022.