Alex did not grow up camping or hiking but discovered it in her mid-twenties when she joined a trail crew on a whim. Feeling empowered and inspired by the experience, she started down a career path that led her to Idaho Trails Association. As the Trail Projects Director, she is often at her desk coordinating the behind-the-scenes paperwork and logistics that help make ITA projects possible but tries to get outside and in on the action as much as possible! With a soft spot for backpacking, youth, and Wilderness projects, she feels incredibly lucky to have a job that encourages her to get on the other end of a crosscut saw or lop till she drops with other dedicated ITA volunteers.

A native Idahoan, Alisa started her early work years as an analyst before moving on to the environmental sciences and then jumping into the medical field as a Registered Nurse. Now semi-retired, Alisa enjoys connecting with friends and spending time with her husband, Gregg, preferably over an outdoor activity such as biking, backpacking, hiking, cross-country skiing, or backcountry skiing– anything outdoors! Alisa’s volunteer life has taken her on an eclectic journey of international medical missions, mentoring refugees locally, working with Idaho Mountain Search and Rescue Unit, and now leading groups with ITA. Alisa especially enjoys the teaching aspect of leading trail crews while learning new skills herself. She looks forward to introducing more people to the zen of trail work.

Amber Kostoff has been volunteering as a crew leader for ITA since 2019. Some of her favorite things about volunteering with ITA are seeing new wild places in Idaho and working with great people who share her love for public lands. Amber spent 12 seasons working in trails, wilderness, and recreation management on the Payette National Forest in Idaho. During her time with the agency she was able to develop her skills in primitive tool use, trail maintenance, and working in the backcountry, which are very useful during ITA trips! Amber earned a Masters of Science degree in Natural Resources from the University of Idaho and she currently works in animal welfare. She lives in McCall, Idaho with her husband Patrick and dogs Ramey, Warren, Tootsie, and Yarrow.

As a 4th-grader living in Seattle, Anne wrote a report about Idaho, not knowing that it would ultimately become the place where she’d spend her career and retirement. She has long adored the mountains of Idaho, enjoying our vast public lands on foot, skis, bike and motorcycle. Volunteering for ITA has allowed her to further explore this wonderful state, appreciate the satisfaction that trail work provides and contribute to keeping access to the backcountry open for all to enjoy. She judges the success of her ITA trips by the number of stunning views, belly laughs and wonderful people encountered along the way– they have never failed to deliver!

Art was born and raised in Boise and grew up wandering his big backyard of the Foothills, skiing Bogus and Brundage, and trying to keep his mom from getting him hopelessly lost in the Payette National Forest. He attended college at BSU and U of I for a B.S. in Ag Plant Science. He was married at the tender age of 23 (44 years) and raised three children in Valley County. He moved to McCall in ’79 and found work as a wildland firefighter, irrigator, sawmill laborer, trail maintenance contractor, fence contractor, carpenter, and finally builder. He volunteered on the Valley Soil and Water Conservation District for about 35 years and is currently serving as Chairman. Winters are spent Nordic skiing and summers are spent growing a large garden and tending a small orchard when not hiking, biking, being run into the ground by two granddaughters, and volunteering with ITA.

Born in Coeur d’Alene, Barry is a 4th generation Idahoan. During college his summers were spent working trail crew in North Cascades National Park and as a wildland fire fighter with the Sierra Hotshots in California. After graduation, Barry practiced architecture, spending 12 years designing projects in Yosemite and Sequoia/Kings Canyon National Parks. He currently oversees the design and construction program for the State of Idaho. Barry has section hiked most of the Idaho Centennial Trail and is still planning to complete his final section crossing the Frank Church. He has driven across the Magruder Corridor and has hiked extensively in each of Idaho’s fifteen designated wilderness areas. In 2018 Barry was ITA’s volunteer of the year. Then in 2022 he was named crew leader of the year.

Brendan grew up camping around Idaho with his family, before life took him around the world to live in Haiti and Costa Rica. Joining up with ITA on their ambitious trail adventures has been his favorite part of moving back to Idaho. He loves to support and facilitate people’s outdoor exploration of Idaho’s wilderness lands, and maintaining the trails that make those excursions more accessible to hikers around the state is an added bonus. He and his wife, Emely, love exploring new hiking trails and bringing along their mini-schnauzer whenever possible. Recently he’s been enthralled with ecological writers such as John Muir and Robin Wall Kimmerer, and also enjoys scuba diving, petroglyphs, IT work, breakdancing, and international travel.

After serving four years in the Marines, Bryan moved to Idaho in 1986 to make a life and enjoy the outdoor opportunities available on our public lands. An alumnus of Boise State U (Go Broncos!), when time permits, he enjoys backpacking, skiing, snowshoeing, mountain biking, fly fishing and archery hunting. Over the years, Bryan has volunteered for organizations such as Big Brothers/Big Sisters of Idaho, his local neighborhood association and on various community events. Still employed with over 30 years in the water quality field, he plans to retire as soon as practical! He believes in an increasingly populated and electronically connected world, it is more important than ever to have wilderness and wide-open spaces to escape to. Bryan is excited to be part of Idaho Trails Association and to help maintain the backcountry byways which allow us to make those human powered escapes.

Cindy and her family moved to Boise, Idaho from Texas 25 years ago. She grew up in Oregon and graduated from University of Oregon earning a BS and eventually an MS in Psychology. She worked in the Ada County School District for 10 years, volunteered with Boise Bicycle Project, Idaho Suicide Prevention Hotline, and earned certification as a Master Gardener and Master Naturalist. Cindy volunteered for her first ITA trip in 2016 and has since taken on the responsibility of preparing the menu, shopping, packing, and sometimes cooking for ITA’s supported trips. Cindy and her husband split their time between their homes in Boise and McCall. She loves nordic and alpine skiing, mountain biking, tennis, exploring new trails, her dog, and reading mysteries.

Clarinda grew up camping, hiking, rock climbing, and skiing. Her dad was one of the original 10th Mtn soldiers and he passed along his love and passion for all things outdoors. She retired from 40 years as a Medical Laboratory Scientist. She also was a private pilot for many years. Clarinda has said the nice thing about retirement is the freedom to choose to be outside as much as you want. She continues to hike, bike, back country ski, camp, backpack, skate ski, travel and garden. She volunteers on National Ski Patrol a couple days per week in the winter. Clarinda has three grown children and four grandkids who all love playing in the outdoors. She sees volunteering with ITA as an opportunity to stay connected to places she loves and also to share her experience and knowledge with others, young and old.

Clay is a long-distance hiker and trails advocate from Garden Valley. He has led many ITA trips as both a former employee and volunteer crew leader. After hiking the Idaho Centennial Trail, he went from doing presentations at REI to leading volunteer wilderness trips full time for 6 seasons, learning skills from some of ITA’s most experienced crew leaders. He stepped down from his position to hike the Continental Divide Trail southbound in 2022 in an attempt to complete the hiking triple crown but was snowed out near Salida, CO. When he’s not out on the trail, you can find him picking songs down at the Dirty Shame, chasing pow lines on his snowboard, or hanging out with his bulldog Ziggy.

Craig was born in Chicago, Illinois and at a young age wanted to be a US Forest Ranger. While going to high school, he spent summers canoeing and camping in the Boundary Waters and Quetico Caneo Areas. Life happened and in 1977 he arrived in Idaho with the US Air Force; it was here that he felt home. After a short enlistment with the USAF he started a career in the semiconductor industry which was to last 35 years. That career began in Nampa with Zilog INC and ended with retirement from Intel INC. Craig has a wonderful wife, three children (a graphic designer for Nike, a registered nurse, and a high school history teacher and head track coach), and four granddaughters that are the light of his life. He cut his teeth, so to speak, going ITA trail work under the guidance of leaders like John Platt, Dave Beck, and Art Troutner.

Growing up in Connecticut, Dagmar loved hiking with her dad and playing in the woods. While raising her two boys, Dagmar took up new outdoor pursuit— climbing, trail running, backpacking and snowshoeing– at home and abroad. After a career in high tech and years of being a weekend warrior she looks forward to having more time to play and explore as she retires in 2023. Dagmar moved to Boise with her dog, Gizmo, in 2018. Her first experience with ITA was a WOW project in 2020— and she was hooked immediately. Dagmar loves volunteering with ITA, whether as a leader or member of the crew. The combination of being in wild places with great people getting dirty and tired while doing good can’t be beat!

Dave is an Idaho native and has spent his lifetime kicking around the outdoors in the Northern Rocky Mountains of Idaho and beyond. An avid cyclist for the majority of his adult life, he is a retired water resource engineer and for the last 25 years has worked as a trail and youth advocate. Past volunteer projects include numerous volunteer board memberships for trail and youth development non-profits. Dave has volunteered with ITA over the past five years and this will be the 3rd season he has worked as an ITA trip leader. While volunteering at ITA, the focus, although not the entirety of his ITA passion and experience, has been in and around the Frank Church Wilderness. Dave loves the wilderness experience and enjoys teaching and sharing wilderness trail skills.

Don grew up in Santa Fe, New Mexico hiking and playing tennis in the summertime with skiing and swimming occupying the winter months. At the University of Wyoming in Laramie, he took up skydiving as an inexpensive way to fly, and then went to work for a large general contractor that moved him to large projects all over the western U.S. After landing in Sandpoint with hiking, biking, skiing, kayaking and flying the plane he built there, he decided work was overrated and gave it up to enjoy fulltime the great outdoors that Idaho has to offer. Leading trail work gives him the opportunity to train and work with great, motivated people in the environment he loves.

Liz has spent a lifetime in hiking boots and looks forward to getting in a few more miles in Idaho and parts beyond, all in good company. Liz has lived and hiked in eight different countries and traveled through many more. She speaks four languages and is working on her Greek, looking forward to exploring the Balkan peninsula. Liz studied geography in Canada and Colorado, found her passion for teaching as a ski instructor in Crested Butte, and enjoyed a career teaching history and geography for the Boise school system. Now retired, Liz delights in introducing people, younger and older, to the joy of team work on trails in the beauty of Idaho, paying back a little for all the good miles she has trammelled trails!

Eric Messenger grew up farming and ranching in Central Idaho. Working closely with the land and seasons taught him important lessons like patience and commitment. One of Eric’s first paying jobs out of high school was on a trail crew with the US Forest Service where he learned the art of trail maintenance. He finds the education of working in the woods with other people profound and wishes to pass the joy along. “Trails are like portals to special places, where one can be free to dream.”

Glenn has been an avid backpacker for decades, and saw participating in trail crew projects as a way of giving a little back to the wilderness that has provided so much enjoyment over the years. His first trip was in the Wind River Range in 1994, and he has been seeking out crew projects ever since. Since retiring from engineering in 2015, he and his wife Michelle have become much more involved with trail crews and ITA. He led his first crew in 2022, and is looking to expand his leadership role to help ITA with its mission of ensuring access to wilderness areas.

Originally from Wisconsin, Gregg chased an engineering career into Idaho. From the day he arrived, he explored Idaho’s backcountry by kayak, skis, bike, or just walking with a backpack. In 2002, he left the cubicle behind for good and began traveling internationally and throughout the American west with his wife Alisa. Gregg moved into volunteer work, spending most of his time in the world of search and rescue. During that time he discovered ITA in a chance meeting with then ITA Executive Director Jeff Halligan at a Wilderness First Responder course. The hook was set for Gregg’s post search and rescue life. Gregg joined a few trips as a crew member in 2020 and now looks forward to helping others discover the joy of maintaining and reopening Idaho’s incredible trail network.

Greg is a data analyst living in Boise who spends most of his free time playing board games, skiing, or hiking. He’s hiked over 1,000 miles of Idaho trails since the pandemic lockdown in 2020, and has a goal to hike 300 miles per year without repeating any previously hiked trails. Some of his favorites are Rainbow Basin, where he’s leading a project in September, the Alice-Toxaway Loop in the Sawtooths, and the North Fork Boise River Trail. He’s been volunteering with ITA for two years, including one year as a crew lead, and is looking forward to leading many more projects and inspiring others to get involved with ITA. Follow him on AllTrails to see where he’s been lately (https://www.alltrails.com/members/greg-hart-4) or check out his blog for trail recommendations and guides (https://hikingboise.com/).

Herbert is originally from South Africa where he spent many holidays hiking and exploring the many natural wonders and wildlife reserves. Herbert worked in the Enterprise Software industry in a number of global sales and marketing roles involving travel out of state which really made him appreciate the trips home to Idaho and the beauty, tranquility and many outdoor recreation opportunities the state has to offer. An Idaho resident since 2009, Herbert lives in Sandpoint, enjoys travel, exploring wild places and is active with local non-profit organizations. He looks forward to supporting ITA’s important mission of promoting the continued enjoyment of Idaho hiking trails.

Howard retired from the telecommunication field in the summer of 2015. After listening to an ITA presentation and visiting with a couple seasoned leaders, he could see a bright future in trail work. Clearing the Beehive Lake trail was his first opportunity to see a crosscut saw slice through a huge buckskin larch that was across the trail. After lopping and doing tread work for year, he attended Crew Leader training and began to lead projects in the North Idaho area. To Howard, leading an ITA crew is always a rewarding experience & volunteering for a project never disappoints either. He loves working with tools and solving problems encountered on the trail, and knows that at the end of the day, there will be always more trees, brush, water bars and tread needing attention next year!

Jay grew up in Hailey, Idaho and surrounding mountains and deserts and still resides there. Jay was fortunate to find a summer job where he was paid to play in the dirt and chop on trees while he completed his BS Forest Resources Management degree at University of Idaho. After college, Jay continued working on trails and wilderness crews on Sawtooth National Recreation Area. Jay retired as trails manager after working on all aspects of trail maintenance and construction for 48 years. Jay especially enjoyed training and mentoring crews and volunteers in various traditional skills. Jay still has the trail bug and enjoys working on trails and training trail workers. When not working on trails, Jay gardens and explores the backcountry with his wife Patti and dog Betty Cocker.

Jeff was raised in Boise and attributes his love of the outdoors to his time spent hiking and exploring the mountains and deserts of Southern Idaho with his father and friends. Before coming to ITA, he served as a packer for the Forest Service for many years. He became involved with ITA during its infancy when his wife and other like-minded people came up with the idea of a non-motorized trail group to help with advocacy, maintenance, and representation of an under-represented user group (hikers). He was the crew leader of the first ITA trip in 2010 and became more involved as ITA grew, eventually serving as the Executive Director for six years. Jeff has come to really enjoy the mission and the path the leadership has taken and wants to continue to give and to be a part of this great organization.

Jess grew up in Boise with frequent trips into Idaho’s wild spaces. A College of Idaho grad, Jess led crews for Montana Conservation Corps and Northwest Youth Corps, spent three seasons as a wilderness ranger, and worked for several outdoor stewardship organizations including the Colorado Fourteeners Initiative and Friends of the Dillon Ranger District. Jess has an MA from the University of Denver and was Radio Boise’s General Manager for six years. Jess currently works for the Idaho Humanities Council as their Development and Communications Officer. She is a visual artist who enjoys applying her love of sharp tools toward linocut prints. Jess loves trailwork and people and looks forward to swinging a tool with you as a volunteer crewleader on an ITA project (carefully, of course. Tools are sharp).

Jim’s love for the mountains and hiking was consolidated during a two-week Boy Scout backpacking trip in north eastern New Mexico in 1965. Jim believes that wilderness, forests, and open spaces are critical for a “healthy” human experience– even if one never personally experiences them. As an adult, summer family vacations were spent at the YMCA of the Rockies, where hiking Rocky Mountain National Park took center stage. Retirement brought opportunities to align with several outdoor focused organizations and to give back and pay it forward by getting involved with ITA’s mission via trail work.

John McCarthy moved to Idaho in April 1977, to work trails in the Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness. He became a trail crew foreman the next year, doing 10-day, two-person backpacking hitches. After leaving seasonal work with the Forest Service, he did a 10-year stint as a reporter for the Lewiston Morning Tribune. He spent the next two decades slogging through environmental activism with Idaho Conservation League and the Wilderness Society— working on wilderness designation in the Owyhees and on forest management. One of the founders of Idaho Trails Association, John joined the first ITA volunteer project at Hum Lake in 2010 and he continues to lead projects every year possible. After retiring from the environmental combat zone, he wrote a book about his wilderness heroes from the Selway, Working the Wilderness: Early Leaders for Wild Lands.

Julie, with roots in Minnesota, has had a lifelong attachment to outdoor experiences – native plants, hiking, skiing, hunting, fishing. She has volunteered with her local planning and park boards, The Nature Conservancy, and now in Idaho with Panhandle Trout unlimited, The Kinnikinnick Native Plant society, and her community radio station in Sandpoint, KRFY. She got involved with ITA after observing what happens when populations grow and access to quiet outdoor spaces are reduced, adversely affecting how people experience the outdoor environment. She believes Idaho Trails Association will be an active participant in drawing attention to the need for better maintenance and funding of Idaho’s trail system – one of the true gems of the Gem state.

Kasey Rose grew up in the mud, dirt, dust, manure and creatures of farm life. The second of eight kids, her upbringing also included lots of cooking, cleaning, and very little privacy. As a college student, Kasey discovered fire fighting which brought her to wild places (and people!) where it all comes together for her: a good day is one in which she has gotten tired, dirty, and hungry, preferably sharing the experience with others, and together they add to the experience by swimming off the grime and consuming good food around a fire! Kasey is thankful for ITA for providing the organization that brings people together to do all the things she likes to do. She has really enjoyed bringing her family along too!

Kirsten is newer to trail work than some, joining ITA for her first project in 2019. She, however, has enjoyed volunteering outdoors for over 20 years. She spends most of her work week at a computer running analysis and making maps but loves to get out on the weekends and occasionally for a longer trip into the wilderness. She grew up in Idaho hiking and backpacking with her family and has continued to explore new places ever since. Trail work, habitat restoration, plant surveys, she loves it all and finds it entertaining, rewarding, and enlightening. One of her favorite vacations was hiking the Tour de Mount Blanc– 100 miles in 10 days through France, Italy, and Switzerland.

Kristin grew up on the rainy side of Oregon just outside of Portland, then followed the sun to Idaho in the mid ’90’s. Kristin first discovered and rapidly fell in love with trail work while working for Northwest Youth Corps during the summers in high school and her early college years. Eventually trails led her to Idaho where she spent several formative summers working as part of a wilderness trail crew on the Payette National Forest. She even met her husband, Joe, working trails on the Krassel District! Kristin taught middle and high school science for fifteen years prior to taking on her current role as a volunteer specialist for Boise Parks and Recreation. In her spare time, Kristin enjoys reading, gardening, and can often be found wandering outdoors photographing insects.

Leslie is an Idaho native. Yearly family camping and horse packing trips initiated a love of adventure and the wild places that carried into her adult life. While living in Blaine County for 30 years, she summited all of Idaho’s 12ers along with many other Lost River, Lemhi, Boulder, White Cloud and Sawtooth peaks. Her first experience with trails construction and maintenance was the trail system around Galena Lodge in the 1980’s. More recently, she has completed several ITA projects, a Selway Bitterroot Frank Church project, and has led projects for the Hells Canyon Recreation Collaborative, a 501(c)(3) for which she is a board member. Leslie enjoys travel, camping, hiking, backpacking, rafting, Nordic and downhill skiing, and making new friends.

Leslie lives in Moscow where she spends her weekdays working as a scientist and enjoying the rich and relaxed lifestyle offered by a small university town. On the weekends, she enjoys the many outdoor recreation options the area provides, in all seasons. Leslie’s favorite part of living out west is exploring the many wilderness areas of the region. Those backpacking trips (and a few rough trails) led her to seek out volunteer trail work organizations like the ITA that help keep these special places accessible. This will be her third season as an ITA trip leader, and she particularly enjoys the teamwork and camaraderie of the “Women Only Weekend” trips.

As an Idaho native, Lilly has always enjoyed the beauty of Idaho’s wild places. By day, she is a tax accountant, but in her free time she enjoys hiking and training and competing in triathlons. Lilly’s first project with ITA was a Women’s Only Weekend (WOW), and she couldn’t believe the community and fun that could be packed into a weekend of volunteering to maintain trails. Lilly looks forward to supporting the mission of ITA while developing more of her outdoor skills. Can’t wait to see you on the trails!

Mark moved to Jerome from Minnesota in 1988 to pursue an educational career with the Biology Department at the College of Southern Idaho. In his more youthful years, he traveled the canoe routes of the Boundary Waters Wilderness and then moved north to canoe many Canadian Arctic river systems. But it didn’t take long to discover the joy of altitude and to find new adventures in his new Idaho home. Within days of his retirement in 2016 as Dean Emeritus from the College, he signed on for a week-long ITA trip in the Pioneer Mountains. He has been a crew leader for ITA every year since. Mark finds great satisfaction in helping coordinate a team approach to efficiently and effectively maintain the trails that so many use to enjoy the great outdoors.

Melanie moved from Nevada to Idaho as a teenager and hasn’t looked back. Her best memories with family and friends (including canine and equine) have been made on the backcountry trips with her husband Dave and their two sons. They feel fortunate to live near several of Idaho’s Wilderness areas and plan trips each year that take them down some of Idaho’s most beautiful trails. Melanie has worked as a firefighter, teacher, and hydrologist; her favorite aspects of these jobs were helping bring people together for public lands, whether building native plant gardens at the local park or implementing a watershed restoration project on the forest. She loves putting her passion for collaboration and public lands to work as ITA’s ED and sharing it all through public events and leading ITA volunteer projects.

Michelle has lived in Idaho for most of her life and has enjoyed many outdoor activities since retiring from the semiconductor industry in 2015. Her first trail crew was in the Beartooth Mountains of Montana in 2016, and she absolutely loved the experience. She was immediately drawn by the opportunity to explore beautiful new places and to meet interesting like-minded people who enjoy working together to protect and maintain trails. Along with her husband Glenn, they sought out trips closer to home, and finally came across ITA. Michelle is very happy to have found a venue of stewardship for the Idaho lands she enjoys.

Nick was born and raised in North Central Idaho. He started his 35-year Forest Service career in the Moose Creek Ranger District at 18 years of age. Clem Pope, Warren Miller, and Dick Walker were workmates and mentors in those early days of wilderness management. Being immersed in wildland and trail management on the Nez Perce Clearwater and Bitterroot National Forests, it was natural to practice and develop a pride in traditional tools and skills used to keep remote trails usable. That objective piqued his interest in ITA and its mission. Living 20 miles east of Grangeville, retirement includes maintaining trails used to access perimeter fences, felling and cutting firewood trees, home brewing, and managing vegetation to reduce the wildland fire risk.

Pam grew up hiking and backpacking in Montana/Wyoming with her parents and twin sister. There was a time in her life when she didn’t like it– hiking can be hard, especially as a small kid with a big pack! But in her early 20s, she got back into it when she moved to McCall, Idaho and never looked back! During the day, she’d sit behind her computer and harness the power of geospatial analysis to solve the world’s problems. When she puts on her ITA hardhat, her alter ego comes out– she loves to work hard and get dirty and sweaty! She’s has been actively involved with ITA as a volunteer, board member, and crew leader since 2015. She is also the founder of the Women Only Weekend/Weeklong (WOW) Program. She loves helping get more female-identifying people out doing trail work. It is very empowering for all involved and is just a heck of a lot of fun!

Patti, a self-professed “trail junkie”, worked for the US Forest Service for more than 30 years, working in Wilderness, Trails, Recreation and Weed management. More than 40% of her time was spent opening and repairing trails, installing drainage, building rock walls and bridges, and clearing avalanche debris. Using crosscut saws, Pulaski’s, shovels and axes, she worked with FS crews, youth and adult volunteers, in Arizona, New Mexico, and Idaho. She loves being in the woods and working on trails. At the end of the day, she likes to be able to look back and see what’s been accomplished. Working in different areas and meeting folks interested in maintaining natural resources is the reason why she enjoys the work.

Phil is a founding board member of ITA and continues to serve on the Advisory Board. He is a past president of the American Long-Distance Hikers West Association (ALDHA-WEST) and a past president of the Kinnikinnick Native Plant Society. Phil is a member of the Idaho Panhandle Forest Collaborative and a member of the North Idaho Resources Advisory Council (RAC). On Tuesday mornings, Phil cohosts a radio talk show on conservation and outdoor recreation on Sandpoint’s community radio station, KRFY. Phil has explored trails across our continent. He has hiked the “triple crown”: the Appalachian Trail, Continental Divide Trail, and the Pacific Crest trail (twice). He has also paddled the length of the Yukon River.

Fisheries and Aquaculture attracted Terry to Idaho after college. He worked at the College of Southern Idaho as an Aquaculture/Fisheries professor, Agriculture Department Chair and retired as Instructional Dean. The best job he ever had was teaching fisheries students at the College hatchery. He is an avid outdoors person and loves, cycling, backpacking, peak bagging, backcountry skiing, and winter camping. The obvious attraction is outdoors, the feeling and beauty of spending time in wild places. Terry first volunteered on an ITA trip with his friend, colleague and ITA crew leader, Mark Sugden in 2017. That was all it took; he has been an ITA volunteer and crew leader ever since. He finds great pleasure working in beautiful country, sharing his knowledge and enthusiasm with adults and youth in these special places.

Tim grew up just across the border in Adrian, Oregon spending many summers on family pack trips in the Seven Devils and exploring the deepest canyon in the US. Officially making Idaho his home 35 years ago, he has spent many of those years in the high-tech industry leading multiple teams around the world. Over the years, he has been involved and enjoyed volunteering in leadership roles with several non-profit groups. Tim and his wife Kris, along with their three kids, share their passion of the outdoors, spending summers growing wine grapes on the beautiful land he grew up on, overlooking the Snake River in Oregon and exploring many of Idaho’s wilderness areas from the Owyhee desert to the mountains of Central Idaho.

Tom grew up in an Air Force family and lived many places before his interest in nature drew him to the University of Montana where he studied Soils and Watershed Science. Tom started his career on a trail crew for the Bitterroot National Forest building sections of the Continental Divide Trail and later became a Wilderness Ranger in the Anaconda-Pintler Wilderness. His career path led him to McCall, Idaho where he worked the last 31 years doing watershed restoration repairing damaged public lands on the Payette National Forest. After retiring from the Forest Service, Tom’s focus is on volunteering and travel. He continues to be devoted to conservation education that inspires youth to appreciate and care for public lands by sharing optimism and good karma onto the next generation.

While working on his professional career in the environmental services industry, Tom also dedicated time to his passion for outdoor adventure. He’s been fortunate to hike and climb in some of the most beautiful places in the world, including right here in Idaho. To help others enjoy outdoor adventures, he’s led hundreds of hiking and climbing trips and served as an instructor for classes in rock, snow, and ice climbing, wilderness first aid, leadership, backpacking, wilderness survival, and avalanche avoidance. Tom is a member of the ITA Board of Directors and has served as a Crew Leader for many years.