About - FDRD - Friends of the Dillon Ranger District

Your donation to FDRD supports the local, National Forest.

Friends of the Dillon Ranger District (FDRD) is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization that preserves the local, National Forest through volunteer projects, education + collaborative partnerships.

With more than 60 volunteer projects on our National Forest each year, FDRD volunteers contribute thousands of hours maintaining and improving trails, planting trees, pulling invasive weeds and educating visitors about the local, National Forest.

Staff & Board

Goals/Accomplishments

FDRD Mission

Friends of the Dillon Ranger District (FDRD)’s Mission is to partner with the White River National Forest’s Dillon Ranger District in Summit County to provide opportunities for the community to play a more active role in the sustainable management of the local forest and to enhance the experiences of all who recreate here by:

Conducting high quality projects to build and maintain trails, plant new trees, promote watershed restoration and perform other services to sustain the Dillon Ranger District
Developing and maintaining collaborative partnerships between the Forest Service and a diverse group of local organizations, stakeholders, individuals and users of the National Forest land
Creating excellent educational programs for our visitors, residents and youth to promote, protect and preserve our National Forest

FDRD Team

Doozie MartinExecutive Director

Doozie, who grew up in Kansas City, followed his Midwest roots to graduate school at the University of Missouri. Upon the completion of the program, he followed his love of the forest and the mountains to the high country of Summit County where he stumbled upon Friends of the Dillon Ranger District. He’s now entering his ninth season of forest stewardship with the strong volunteer community that resides in Summit County. When he’s not rubbing shoulders with volunteers in this devoted mountain community, he can be found hiking with his dog, Titus, riding his bike, camping in the woods and strummin’ on his ol’ 6-string. He hopes to make your acquaintance on an upcoming forest health project on a trail near you!

Get in touch: doozie@fdrd.org
Pronouns: he/him/his

Lizzie MorrisonPrograms Manager

Lizzie first joined the FDRD team in 2019. She is excited for her new role as program manager. She transplanted to Colorado from the Midwest about 8 years ago. After graduating from college with a degree in Environmental Science, she looked west for outdoor conservation work. Her trail background comes from participating and leading trail crews with the Student Conservation Association and Rocky Mountain Youth Corps. She is inspired by FDRD volunteers and their dedication to giving back to the National Forest here in Summit County. When she is not busy organizing volunteer projects and wearing her hard hat, she can be found in the woods biking, hiking, and skiing with her partner, Zack and powder hound, Cheezy. Lizzie is looking forward to digging in a borrow pit and pounding rebar with you at one of our trail projects this summer! Happy trails!

Get in touch: lizzie@fdrd.org
Pronouns: she/her/hers

Robert BennettMarketing & Events Manager

Rob grew up in St. Louis, Missouri and made his way out to Colorado after graduating from Drury University with a degree in Advertising and Public Relations. He started off in Summit County as a ski instructor at Copper Mountain and eventually moved into the world of events, working for Copper’s Competition Department. He soon followed that up with a stint at Vail Resorts. Rob is an adrenaline junkie and cannot get enough of the gravity fed freedom that skiing and mountain biking supply. In his free time, you can find him out on the trails or honing his skills in the kitchen. Rob is an expert at-home chef and chocolate chip cookies are his speciality. Rob comes to FDRD with a great attitude and a passion about preserving the outdoors for others to enjoy.

Get in touch: robert@fdrd.org
Pronouns: he/him/his

Maddie RetrosiEducation and Youth Programs Manager

Maddie grew up in New Hampshire and spent her time in coastal New England exploring the nature around her and working in outdoor and environmental education. After graduating from the University of New Hampshire with a degree in Wildlife and Conservation Biology, she put her physical skills to the test on a Student Conservation Association trail crew. Falling even more in love with the outdoors, conservation, and stewardship, Maddie moved to Colorado to chase public lands. She spent her summers in Summit County as an environmental educator and now is excited to get dirty on the trails again with FDRD. Maddie can’t wait to work with you on the trail and share her favorite recipes from wild edibles! Pronouns: she/her/hers

Get in touch: maddie@fdrd.org
Pronouns: she/her/hers

Em LindEducation & Events Coordinator

Em joined the FDRD team in the summer of 2022 and is ready to be back on the trails! She moved to Colorado in 2019 and has worked as a youth snowboard instructor each winter at Breckenridge Resort. Originally from Pennsylvania, she studied Outdoor Recreation Management at East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania. Since then, Em has gained experience working with youth through instructing and as a manager of an adventure program at a summer camp in Maine. She is passionate about inspiring future generations to be stewards of the outdoors and connecting with the local community. When she is not out in the field, you can find her rock climbing, hiking, or out shooting photos.

Get in touch: emilylind@fdrd.org
Pronouns: she/her/hers

The FDRD Board

Jim BorgelBoard President

Corporate Attorney at Holland & Hart

Brian BlankenmeisterTreasurer

Senior Vice President at Alpine Bank

Laurie AlexanderVice President

Retired Software Product Manager

Jordan MeadSecretary

Forest Ecologist

Eric Erslev

Retired Geology Professor

Elaine Collins

Dedicated Volunteer

Jill Hutton

Compliance Manager
Vail Resorts

Brad Piehl

Watershed Planner at JW Associates

History of FDRD

Friends of the Dillon Ranger District (FDRD) began in 2005 as a group of local community members who wanted to collaborate with the US Forest Service, Dillon Ranger District (DRD), to play a more active role in the sustainable management of our local National Forest. At the time, Ken Waugh was the District Recreation Staff Officer for the DRD. He also recognized the need for the Forest Service to make some “friends” and the inception of FDRD became his mission. In the past 15 years, the organization has grown to a four-person, full time, year-round staff, with two summer seasonals and over 1,000 dedicated volunteers. Our programs have grown steadily in response to a high level of demand for organized, effective outdoor stewardship projects, as well as the growing popularity of recreation in Summit County. FDRD was recognized as the US Forest Service’s National “Volunteer Program of the Year” in 2010 and won 2nd Place in the Summit Daily News’ Best of Summit competition for Best Nonprofit in 2019.

Awards + Acknowledgements

Caring for the Land Stewardship Award
Summit Foundation Outstanding Community Organization Award
Continental Divide Trail Alliance Partner of the Year
Volunteers for Outdoor Colorado Partner Organization of the Year
USDA Forest Service Sponsored Group of the Year Award
The SHIFT Youth Stewardship Award
Best of Summit County Award

Summer 2022 Accomplishments

Volunteer Hours

Bags of Trash Collected

Feet of Trail Maintained

Number of Youth Educated

Goals & Accomplishments

Improving trail conditions on the National Forest in Summit County by engaging a diverse range of community members and other stakeholders in outdoor stewardship projects.
Providing a consistent volunteer outreach and monitoring presence on the National Forest in Summit County by engaging individual volunteers as part of FDRD’s Ranger Patrol program.
Providing a continuum of service learning opportunities for youth ages 6-18. Increased engagement of local, and visiting, youth remains a primary goal for FDRD in the years to come.

Improving natural resource conditions by engaging partners and community volunteers in a variety of volunteer service projects including ecological restoration and trail maintenance.
Seeking business and organization “field partners” to not only participate in field projects but also to help recruit additional sub-population of volunteers.
Educating the public about issues facing the National Forest, by providing and facilitating educational presentations, outreach opportunities, and interpretive hikes throughout the year.