Paul Kehmeier’s job is to help ditch companies and individuals put together funding packages to improve their irrigation systems. Paul grew up on his family’s farm on the Surface Creek Mesa north of Delta, where he currently farms when he has time. He holds a master’s degree in range science.

David brings his experience protecting natural and working lands to Colorado West Land Trust’s inventory of conservation easements. With a background in river and upland ecological restoration, he leads the organization’s Restoration and Resiliency Building Program — working with landowners and partners to protect landowner resources and restore degraded ecological systems. David received a B.S. from Montana State University and worked as a seasonal field biologist for some years before returning to school to study coastal stream restoration at Humboldt State University. Since then, he worked in a variety of freshwater habitats in the Great Basin and Pacific Northwest, as well as charitable natural resource conservation projects in South Asia, Mexico, and the American West. Prior to moving to Western Colorado in 2015, David gained experience managing conservation easements and restoring native species’ habitat for a land trust in southern California. David recognizes the vital contribution that communities have concerning the stewardship of natural resources and actively supports the organizations that protect natural resources and communities close to his heart, including Colorado Native Plant Society, One Riverfront, and Two Rivers Wildfire Council. A passionate family man and avid recreationist, David loves to lead (and follow!) his family on explorations of the American West andbeyond — by bike, hike, ski, boat, and book.

Alyssa is a land steward with Colorado West Land Trust. She lives in Hotchkiss where she protects and enhances conservation values in partnership with landowners of conserved farms and ranches on the Western Slope. Her work focuses on stewardship, water, soil, land access, and succession planning. Previously, she worked for the Colorado State Conservation Board, collected stream quality data for the BLM, and coordinated trail projects at Paonia River Park. She currently serves on the board of the National Young Farmers Coalition, volunteers with HopeWest Hospice, and is a DJ at KVNF Community Radio. Since 2016, Alyssa has called Western Colorado home, where she works, wanders, canoes, reads, and gardens with her husband, Ben, their pup, and a myriad of pals. She cherishes these landscapes and feels privileged to work alongside the farmers and ranchers who steward them (and keep her well-fed).

Chrissy is a first-generation rancher and is passionate about regenerative agriculture and education. She and her husband, Dave, have owned Badger Creek Ranch, www.badgercreekranch.com, for a little over 10 years. They offer custom grazing and raise their own livestock and sell grass fed and finished beef, lamb, pork, and eggs. They also run a nonprofit, https://bcrcommunity.org/. The nonprofit sponsors their retreats, educational workshops, and their internship program.

Kyler combines his passion for local food systems, collaborative facilitation and regenerative stewardship at Quivira Coalition. In his role as grants manager he supports the operations, fundraising, and programmatic teams with cross-functional and simple systems for securing and managing grants. Originally hailing from the mountains of northwest Montana, Kyler joins the team with a background in multi-stakeholder projects working toward equitable food and land access in the Pacific Northwest and Southwest. He is trained as a participatory facilitator and strategic planner, which he employs in service to community-informed, place-sourced projects and initiatives through Aligned Action, LLC. In his leisure time you’ll find him stewarding parts of the Mancos Valley in Colorado, sharing food, stories, music and adventures with his wife, two children, friends, and family.