Our Board of Directors
The board for FOAR/ Animas Riverkeeper is a working board composed of dedicated volunteers with an interest in maintaining a healthy Animas River. The board directs the organization, identifying issues of concern, and methods for addressing the the issues. They give time and energy with a goal of making sure that you have a clean river.
Heath Corley – Vice President
He is a graduate of the University of Georgia with a B.A. in Speech Communication. Heath has been in the advertising industry for 7 years. Six years working in 3 different advertising agencies, and one year in advertising sales for Comcast Spotlight.
Carl Darnell – Board
He is a graduate of the University of Oklahoma College of Pharmacy and he served as a commissioned officer in the Army Medical Service Corps in Texas and Colorado during the Viet Nam era. After careers as a pharmacist and a real estate agent he started Chinook Medical Gear, Inc, a catalog/web-based medical business in 1992. After 13 years of educating himself, his vendors, and customers, his ideas have evolved to bring Chinook to a place he never would have dreamed of in 1990. Carl is also on the Board of Directors for Trout Unlimited
Aaron Kimple – Executive Director/ President
Aaron Kimple is a biologist with 12 years of field and lab experience. He has experience with research related to water flow and quality, threatened and endangered species, wetlands delineation and restoration, bird and mammal surveys, vegetation surveys, and has served as lead biologist on projects in the southwestern and eastern United States. Aaron is experienced with National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) related documentation and has written for peer-reviewed journals. He has worked with resource management agencies including the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) and individual tribes, the United States Forest Service (USFS), and private research institutions (i.e. Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory and Columbia Universities Center for Ecological Research and Conservation) as well as federal research organizations (i.e. National Oceanic Atmospheric Association and the National Atmospheric Deposition Program).
Chuck Lawler – Board
Chuck is the Water Resources Division Head for the Southern Ute Indian Tribe. He has over 20 years experience in environmental and water resource management including work for consultants, Tribes, universities and Federal agencies. Chuck was appointed to the Board by the Chairman of the Tribe and his presence brings perspective on issues related to Tribal concerns as well as technical/professional expertise.
John Mackinnon – Secretary
John began fly-fishing on the South Fork of the Boise River, and it was there that his passion for rivers began. This passion led him to many rivers throughout the West, and instilled in him a sense of what defines a healthy river. To John, the disparity between rivers where good stewardship was practiced and those that were abused was tangible. From these experiences, John decided it was necessary to direct his efforts toward river conservation. John now seeks to utilize his background in economics and his research experience to aid in the protection and improvement of rivers.
Tyler Scheid – Board
Tyler holds a Master of Science in Watershed Science from Colorado State University and a Bachelor of Arts in Geography with a minor in Biology from the University of Colorado. Tyler currently works at Ecosphere Environmental Services and serves as the firm’s hydrologist and GIS specialist. Specializations include watershed assessment, wetlands delineation and mitigation, water quality monitoring system design, land-use hydrology, and nutrient enrichment of surface waters. Current research projects include a nutrient enrichment study on the Animas River, nutrient/bacteria source identification on the San Juan River, and the design/implementation of a basin-wide nonpoint source GIS for the San Juan River basin. Partners for these projects include the San Juan Watershed Group and the New Mexico Environment Department among others.
David Wegner – Treasurer
David L. Wegner has been involved in the design, coordination, and implementation of innovative scientific and rehabilitation programs in the western United States and internationally since the 1970’s. After over 21 years of working for the Bureau of Reclamation and Fish & Wildlife Service, he started his own company, Ecosystem Management International, which focuses on applying scientific and policy expertise to aquatic and terrestrial ecosystem study, rehabilitation and management. From 1982 through 1996 Mr. Wegner was in charge of an extensive application of adaptive management and scientific study in the Grand Canyon culminating in the completion of the initial Glen Canyon Dam EIS on operations. Recent work has included serving on dam removal studies with the Heinz Center. International work includes river and dam studies in Japan, Siberia, Turkey, Costa Rica, Germany and Norway. His professional career includes work with the states of Minnesota, Colorado and Utah, numerous Native American tribes, the Department of the Interior and the private sector. He has received numerous commendations for public service, including recognition from the National Research Council, and is a recipient of the DOI’s Resource Management Award.