A river running through the middle of a green valley.

About Us

Water supply and quality in the San Juan River are threatened by historic drought, climate change impacts, and significant regional wildfire risk. The Upper San Juan Watershed Enhancement Partnership (WEP), located in southwestern Colorado, began in 2018 as a grassroots community-based collaborative comprised of diverse stakeholders to work collaboratively to identify, evaluate, and resolve water quantity and quality issues within the Upper San Juan River Watershed in Colorado.

Water from the San Juan River is essential for local municipalities, agricultural producers, and ranchers. Additionally, a thriving river-recreation economy relies on dependable in stream flows. From 2018 through 2022, the WEP working group convened community members to guide and inform a watershed assessment. WEP then worked with the community to interpret the findings and identified coordinated opportunities for various stakeholders in agricultural, environmental, municipal, and recreational water users in an Integrated Water Management Plan for the Upper San Juan River.

This plan was used to begin collaborative projects, leverage funding, and explore the implementation of identified opportunities. WEP identified up to 25 possible river enhancement projects.

Board of Directors

A man with long beard and a hat standing in the grass.

Tim Haarmann

At Large (Banded Peak Ranch)

Tim Haarmann is the ranch manager at the Banded Peak Ranch near Chromo, Colorado. Tim has over 30 years of experience in natural resources management. He has a PhD from the University of New Mexico in Biology with an emphasis in Ecosystem Ecology. Before coming to the Banded Peak Ranch, Tim worked as Ranch Manager on the 89,000-acre Valles Caldera National Preserve in northern New Mexico. He also worked at Los Alamos National Laboratory and surrounding property as a resource manager responsible for projects in natural resources management and planning, wildlife management, and forest/fire management.

Herb Grover

At-Large (Weminuche Audubon Society)

Herb is a mostly-retired university professor of biology, ecology, and environmental science. A resident of Pagosa Springs for seven years, Herb is known locally for his work with the Weminuche Audubon Society, the San Juan
Headwaters Forest Health Partnership, the Pagosa Springs Photography Club, and the Chimney Rock Interpretive
Association. He can often be seen on local trails with his camera and binoculars handy to capture views of our local
landscape and wildlife. Herb and Linda are active members of the Community United Methodist Church in Pagosa
Springs, where Linda serves as part-time secretary and volunteers at the Methodist Thrift Store. Oddly enough, Herb is often mistaken for Santa Claus, and in recent years enjoyed his combined debut and final performance on stage as Kris Kringle in Thingamajigs production of Miracle on 34th Street.

Has Kris Kringle been found, or has
Herb Grover been found out? Perhaps Santa has been living in our community all along!

Justin Ramsey

At Large (Pagosa Area Water & Sanitation District)

In May of 2015 the Pagosa Area Water and Sanitation District (PAWSD) hired Justin Ramsey as the District Engineer. In January 2017 the PAWSD Board of Directors promoted Mr. Ramsey to District Manager. Mr. Ramsey has over twenty-five years of water and wastewater design and construction administration experience. Mr. Ramsey has a Bachelor of Science degree in Environmental Engineering and a Master of Engineering in Civil Engineering, both from Northern Arizona University. Mr. Ramsey is a registered professional engineer in four states and has designed and overseen the construction of water and wastewater treatment, conveyance and disposal facilities throughout the southwest. Prior to coming to PAWSD Mr. Ramsey lived and worked in Arizona and sat on the City of Flagstaff’s Water Commission where he reviewed and provided recommendations on a variety of utility assessments including capital improvement project budgets, inflow and infiltration studies, water leakage studies, rate studies and energy audits. Mr. Ramsey has also consulted with multiple regulatory agencies to provide training, develop regulations and represent agencies in a variety of venues.

Kurt Laverty

At Large (East Fork Ranch)

Since 2010, Kurt has been managing The East Fork Ranch. He has a wide variety of job responsibilities including construction, restoring riparian vegetation, eliminating invasive species, and bank stabilization along the East Fork of the San Juan River.

Kurt has a Bachelor in Business Administration and has a long standing career as a General contractor in Pagosa Springs. Kurt and his family have owned the Laverty Ranch in Pagosa Springs for three generations.

A man with a beard and mustache in front of a window.

James Dickhoff

At Large (Town of Pagosa Springs)

James Dickhoff serves on the Upper San Juan Watershed Enhancement Partnership (WEP) board as a municipal representative, bringing his experience in staffing, working with and serving on numerous boards; public engagement; project development and management; grant writing and partnerships, long range planning; and building relationships.

James works for the Town of Pagosa Springs as the Community Development Director. He is a Certified Planner and member of the American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP) and currently serves on the Colorado American Planning Association’s board as the Southwest Colorado representative.

James has lived in Pagosa Springs since 1999 and is an avid nordic skier, mountain biker and wake surfer.

A man standing in front of snow covered trees.

Al Pfister

Vice Chair (Western Wildscapes)

Al Pfister is an at-large board member and Vice Chair, and one of the founding members of the WEP. Al has lived in Pagosa Springs on a full-time basis for the past 9 years and has been a property owner for the past 23 years. Al retired in 2011 after a 31-year career with the US Fish and Wildlife Service, Bureau of Land Management, and US Department of Army as a Fish and Wildlife and Natural Resources Manager. His experience involved working with aquatic and terrestrial plants and wildlife, mainly endangered species, in finding a “balance of meeting the needs of people and our fish and wildlife resources”.

Since retirement, Al has been a consultant working primarily on aquatic and terrestrial endangered species issues throughout the Western U.S. Other boards Al has served on include the San Juan Water Conservancy District, Southwest Basin Roundtable, Inter-basin Compact Committee, Pagosa Pickleball Club, Weminuche Aububon, and Geothermal Greenhouse Partnership.

A man in an orange shirt smiling for the camera.

Mickey O'Hara

Chair (The Nature Conservancy)

Mickey O’Hara is the environmental representative on the WEP Board. Professionally, he serves as the Southwest Colorado Freshwater Project Director for The Nature Conservancy’s Colorado Chapter and is based in Ridgway. He has been working with water users and partners in the Colorado River Basin for nearly a decade to develop and implement multi-benefit streamflow and river restoration projects that support the natural environment and local community priorities. Mickey attended Colorado School of Mines and has a background in water resources engineering and environmental engineering. Away from work, Mickey spends as much time as he can enjoying the mountains, rivers, and canyons of the Southwest.

George Gardner

Treasurer (Energy Keepers)

George Gardner is an at-large member of the board and serves as the treasurer. He moved to Pagosa in July 2023 and has a diverse background around natural resources as an applied math geek. He is currently the director of risk management for Energy Keepers, a small firm with a hydroelectric project that also actively trades the futures markets and is owned by the tribes of the Flathead Reservation in Montana. Before that he taught high school math for several years after working in energy risk management for Portland General Electric for 17 years. Other work includes with an economic consultancy involved in water rights claims for a number of tribes in the western US that also participated in FERC relicensing of two hydro projects affecting reservations in Maine and the Olympic Peninsula. He holds masters degrees in Agricultural Economics from UC Davis and Education from Concordia University.

Away from work, George and his wife Leslie enjoy exploring the mountains by foot and backcountry skis, and roaming many gravel roads by bike. Recently they’re slowly ramping up their cross and getting involved in the Pagosa community.

Coordinator

A woman smiling for the camera in front of trees.

Danyelle Leentjes

WEP Coordinator

With a dynamic career spanning the nonprofit sector, Danyelle has honed her expertise in grant writing, fundraising, and strategic planning while serving on various nonprofit boards and as an Executive Director & Fund Development Manager for non profit organizations in Pagosa Springs. Her journey involves navigating the intricacies of organizational communication and marketing, fostering positive cultures, and cultivating relationships with stakeholders and like-minded entities. Throughout her professional trajectory, program development and project-based initiatives have been integral aspects of her work.

Passionate about preservation and conservation, she has dedicated herself to projects aligning with these values. Her love for cultivating partnerships has extended beyond organizational boundaries, reaching into collaborative efforts with diverse stakeholders. Recognizing that effective communication is often the linchpin of organizational success, she has championed open and constructive interpersonal communication, ensuring a positive and thriving culture within the organizations she has served.

Danyelle has lived in Pagosa Springs since 2001 and enjoys paddling boarding, rafting, lake boating, camping, mountain biking, hiking, and cross country skiing with her husband and teenage son.