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 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

Marin OschmannEducation & Youth Programs Manager

Marin moved to Summit County almost a year ago and is very happy to be a part of the FDRD team! She was born and raised in rural Wisconsin where she spent much of her childhood exploring the bog in her backyard and tromping around barefoot outside! After graduating from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where she studied Conservation Biology and Latin American Studies, she went off to work seasonal jobs as a naturalist, biological research assistant and farm hand all over the U.S. and abroad. Most recently she was living in Oregon where she coordinated garden projects and farm to school education programs. She is especially passionate about land stewardship and rehabilitation, and is looking forward to connecting with all FDRD volunteers that make this work possible. If you see Marin on trail in her free time, she will most likely be observing moss, mushrooms or any other tiny wonders.

Get in touch: marin@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

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

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.

Visit the FDRD Retail Store

Location: 680 Blue River Parkway, Silverthorne, CO 80498
Phone: (970) 468-5400
Hours: Monday-Friday 8:30am-4:30pm (closed 12:30pm – 1:00pm for lunch)

Items for Sale

Maps
Hiking Guides
Naturalist Pocket Guides
OHV Guides
Local History Books
Children’s Books
Animal Puppets
FDRD t-shirts
FDRD hats
FDRD pint glasses

Educational Resources

Recreation Opportunity Guides (ROG) – a printed, one page guide for each individual trail in the Dillon Ranger District, complete with directions to the trailhead, trail highlights, topographic map and elevation profile
- - ROGs can also be found on the Trails & Hiking page
Local tourism brochures & magazines
Local wildlife displays
Knowledgeable front desk staff

Seasonal Permits for sale by the Dillon Ranger District (these do not benefit FDRD)

OHV/Snowmobile permits
Firewood cutting permits
Christmas tree cutting permits
Special Use Permits