Board President Dennis Murphy
Dennis had a 32-year career as a hydrologist for the Bureau of Land Management, including assessing a wide variety of issues including oil and gas activities, powerline and pipeline rights of way, livestock grazing, hard rock mining, and recreation activities. Read more…
Board Member Amanda Clements
Amanda has been developing a small, nature-interpretation business. She and husband Tony spend their free time in the great outdoors, enjoying the local mountains, deserts, and rivers when they’re not busy tending the garden, pets, and their own patch of pinyon-juniper woodland and cactus here in the Uncompahgre Watershed. Read more…
Board Secretary: Mary Menz
A career writer since 1986, Mary is the author of Common Wildflowers of the San Juan Mountains (2019). She earned Colorado Native Plant Master® certification in 2014 and is on the teaching team for CSU Extension’s Western Slope NPM courses. Read more…
Board Treasurer Scott Williams
Scott is retired from a 32-year career in law, all in California, which included founding a law firm in 1974. He specialized in trusts and estates, land use and environmental law, and local government law, including representation of municipalities and local special districts, citizen groups, and private developers. Read more…
Board Member Phil Harrold
Phil first discovered the Uncompahgre River as a summer intern working for the U.S. Geological Survey, Water Resources Division, in 1976 and 1977. . He remembers the hot springs of the region most vividly and, as a flatlander by birth, the jagged peaks of the San Juan front.
Board Member Arlen Huggins
Arlen and his wife Vicki moved to Ridgway (Loghill) in 2014, shortly after he retired as a research meteorologist and she as a school counselor. The move was inspired by a small Huggins family reunion on Loghill in 2010, when Arlen and Vicki fell in love with the beauty, quiet and hiking opportunities of the region.
Board Member Michael Johnson
Michael and his wife, Vicki, divide their time between homes in Ouray and in Evergreen, Colorado with two dogs and, on occasion, their grand-cat. Michael’s ties to Ouray go back to his grandparents who moved to the Camp Bird Mine in 1936. Read more…
Board Member Carl Mackey
Carl and his spouse, Sheri, moved to Ridgway full time after answering the question, “If not now, when?” They have had friends living in Ouray County and have owned property in the county for many years. Carl completed a 30-plus year career as a restoration ecologist on the Rocky Mountain Arsenal hazardous waste cleanup, and Sheri was ready for a career change, so they decided to move to Loghill in December 2021. Read more…
Board Member Jay Montgomery
Jay joined the Boulder, Colorado law firm of Moses, Wittemyer, Harrison and Woodruff, P.C. in 1980 with a law degree from the University of Colorado (1980) and a bachelor of arts degree from the Athenaeum of Ohio (1973). Jay is mostly retired and has returned with his wife Kathy to Ouray County, where they lived before relocating to Boulder in the late 1970s to attend law school and to begin his water law practice. Read more…
Board Vice President Gary Roberts
After living in some of the most beautiful areas in the West, Gary and his wife chose a ranch between Ridgway and Ouray as the final stop. The area has outdoor activities, scenery, community, great folks and only one stoplight. The ranch (some locals call it The Wolfpaw Ranch) requires a lot of time, as the couple saved it from development and it had been somewhat neglected over the years. Read more…
Staff
UWP Executive Director Tanya Ishikawa
Tanya was promoted to executive director after six years as communications director, leading efforts that annually increased UWP’s funding including Ridgway RiverFest, budget requests to local governments, and grants from foundations and state agencies. She also grew the number of email subscribers, event participants, and volunteers. In September 2022, she graduated from the Water Leaders program, a professional development program organized by Water Education Colorado. In addition to fundraising, Tanya will continue to work in mine remediation and riparian restoration projects alongside UWP Technical Coordinator Ashley Bembenek, as well as organize cleanups, tree plantings, weed removal, water quality monitoring, and various events. She will also support board members with board development.
UWP Technical Coordinator Ashley Bembenek
Ashley is the principal scientist and owner of Alpine Environmental Consultants, a firm that specializes is watershed planning. Ashley graduated with honors from Montana State University with a degree in environmental science that focused on soil and water. She has 13 years professional experience and has worked in western Colorado for the past nine years to help organizations understand water quality and prioritize projects to improve water quality and watershed health. Ashley loves to ski, mountain bike, climb, and is slowly learning to kayak.
Fundraising & Administrative Assistant Coordinator Pamela Cannalte
After decades of working for both technical and creative corporations all over the U.S., including Alaska, she has returned to writing and substitute teaching in the Ouray and Ridgway, Colorado school districts. Her background includes 26+ years in public relations, television sales, advertising (including direct response), and administration. She has published five children’s books and is working on several novels, and also has a passion for photography and the outdoors. Pamela is involved in her community, her favorite being RiverFest Assistant Coordinator to Tanya Ishikawa for Uncompahgre Watershed Partnership, which is dedicated to preserving our environment. She and her husband live just outside of Ridgway with their two golden retrievers, Bear and Grace.
UWP Sustainable Recreation Coordinator
Position open. UWP is seeking a part-time contractor to lead sustainable recreation activities including coordinating a volunteer committee. Hours: 10-20 hours/month; $20 per hour.
Employment Opportunities
UWP is planning to post two RFPs in early 2023, seeking a hydrological consultant for a long-term, part-time contract and a strategic facilitator for a six-month contract. Please stay tuned.
If you have questions, please contact us at info@uncompahgrewatershed.org.
The Uncompahgre Watershed Partnership is an equal opportunity employer.
