Festival Speakers and Workshop Leaders
Read about the 12th annual Yampa Valley Crane Festival speakers, workshop leaders, bird walk leaders and more.
Keynote Speaker
Dr. Richard Beilfuss has served as the International Crane Foundation President & CEO since 2010. Rich helped launch many of the foundation’s signature projects and provides oversight, vision, and support to their conservation programs across Asia, Africa, and North America. Over his 35-year career, Rich has engaged in conservation efforts in more than 20 countries in Africa and Asia, including extended periods living and working in Mozambique, Vietnam, and Nepal. Here in the US, he has contributed to the restoration and management of thousands of acres of prairie, wetland, and savanna. Rich has authored more than 100 publications and presented his research findings and conservation vision to governments, communities, and peer scientists worldwide. Rich lives with his wife Katie, and their two sons, in Madison. He is an avid runner, wetland-stomper, and dart-thrower, but not all at the same time.
Additional Speakers
Steve Burrows’s life-long interest in birds and nature began in the urban parks of his childhood home in Birmingham, UK. After relocating to Hong Kong as an adult, he became editor of the Hong Kong Bird Watching Society Magazine, and a contributing field editor with Asian Geographic, as well as a freelance journalist. Steve’s travel and environmental articles have appeared in publications all around the world. In 2015, A Siege of Bitterns, Steve’s first novel in the Birder Murder Mystery series, won the Crime Writers of Canada award for Best First Novel, and was selected as one of the top 100 books of the year. Steve has recently completed the eighth book in the Birder Murder series (due out early 2024) and is working on the ninth. A major UK/Canadian TV partnership is currently working on bringing the Birder Murder Mysteries to TV screens. Steve lives in Oshawa, Canada with his wife and muse, Resa.
Ted Floyd is the longtime Editor of Birding magazine and the author of many essays, articles, and books about birds and nature. Ted and his family have been involved with the Yampa Valley Crane Festival since the festival’s inception, and he’s looking forward to watching cranes and other wildlife with you again in 2023!
Andrew Floyd is a junior at Centaurus High School in Lafayette, Colorado, and he has been involved with the Yampa Valley Crane Festival for as long as he can remember. When he’s not biking around Steamboat Springs, look for Andrew at festival events at the Yampa River Botanic Park and the Carpenter Ranch.
Erin Gelling is the Executive Director for Colorado Crane Conservation Coalition. She received her M.S. in Rangeland Ecology from University of Wyoming working with one of her favorite birds, Greater Sage-grouse, and received her B.S. in Ecology. She has a strong background in avian ecology, botany, and environmental education having worked for non-profits, government, and universities. For over 14 years, she has worked with a variety of birds, including plovers, sparrows, shorebirds, sage-grouse, and her other favorite bird, Sandhill Cranes, across the U.S. She loves the outdoors, her two dogs and husband, living in the beautiful Rocky Mountains, and getting distracted by birds and plants.
Buddy Huffaker joined the Aldo Leopold Foundation in 1996 as a seasonal intern and has served as Executive Director since 1999. During his tenure the foundation has grown the Leopold Community by protecting the Leopold Shack & Farm (the inspiration and setting for much of the classic A Sand County Almanac) as a National Historic Landmark, constructing the LEED Platinum Aldo Leopold Legacy Center out of trees planted by the Leopold family, producing the Emmy Award winning documentary GreenFire, and supporting ten different foreign translations of A Sand County Almanac. The foundation continues the Leopold family’s commitment to stewardship through the restoration and management of the 4,400 acre Leopold-Pines Conservation Area and by using this experience to inform and inspire other landowners to adopt and implement their own land ethic. Buddy has also served on state and federal advisory conservation committees and has participated in three White House Conferences on conservation and environmental education.
Erv Nichols and Sandra Noll have traveled extensively sharing their skills as naturalists, photographers, lecturers and interpretive guides in a wide variety of Fish and Wildlife Refuges, National Parks, Audubon Centers and other conservation areas. They have a special connection with Sandhill Cranes and have been featured speakers and guides at Festivals in New Mexico, Arizona, Colorado and Nebraska. They’ve been featured in a nature video “Migrating With the Sandhill Cranes” by Bryan Nelson and were consultants on PBS’s recent “Nature” special “Born in the Rockies.” Whether from a viewing deck, lecture hall or guiding bird walks, their passion connects people with our nation’s special landscapes and wildlife.
Workshop Leaders
Julie Arington grew up with bird-watching parents in rural Southern Illinois. She studied Wildlife Biology and received a B.S. in Biology from Murray State University. After several field research assistant positions all over the country, Julie was hired as a park ranger by Colorado State Parks (now Colorado Parks and Wildlife) in 1999. She has been the Park Manager at Steamboat Lake and Pearl Lake State Parks since 2006 where she manages people, recreation, facilities, and the natural resources of the Parks.
Chris Becea of Morning Light Photography will be presenting a Crane photography classroom workshop for the 2023 Crane festival. He has been volunteering for CCCC ever since he fell in love with photographing Sandhill Cranes and realized the importance of protecting this bird and their habitats. Chris’ passion for photography started young, and his love of the outdoors soon found him photographing nature and wildlife, so he chose to pursue a career in photography. Although he left photography as a career after the digital revolution, it never left him so in 2015 he decided to pursue his passion as a career once again. Chris holds a degree in Fine Arts as well as his B.S. in History and secondary education. Visit his online art store to see some of his work – www.morninglightphotography.store
Chris resides in Steamboat Springs Colorado and can often be found in the backcountry hiking, fishing, backpacking, skiing, snowshoeing, and of course taking photographs to share with the world.
Ellen Bonnifield’s insatiable curiosity has taken her in many directions. A degree in library science allowed her to use her chemistry and math background while exploring new areas in a variety of library settings. An “accidental” career in teaching took her from preschool story hour to university teaching. As Ellen and her husband collaborated on writing about the twentieth century American west, Ellen considered herself the “research” partner but found that she did much of the editing. Several years ago she started writing poetry about nature and her experiences as a “Ditch Rider.” Currently, she co-authors with her husband a monthly local history column for the Valley Voice. Combining her love of nature, her curiosity, her experience teaching, and her desire to share the excitement of life with others now leads her to facilitate nature-journaling workshops.
Liz Leipold, MS OTR, RYT, works as an Occupational Therapist, Yoga Teacher and Ski Instructor in Steamboat Springs. Liz is certified with Shambhava Yoga, Yoga Kids International, and Yoga Nidra. Liz believes yoga is a continuous journey that relaxes the mind and heals and strengthens the body. Come join Liz in an interactive Yoga class focusing on the life, culture and body language dance of our beautiful Sandhill Cranes.
Leslie Lovejoy has been intrigued by art since she was a child growing up in Paris, France with her family. After studying Fine Arts at Colorado State University, she traveled back to Europe, the Middle East and the Far East, illustrating her way around the world for almost ten years. She has lived in Steamboat Springs for 38 years, working as a graphic artist, and using her artistic skills in all work that she has done. Many of her pieces are “plein aire” style, painted while on her frequent hikes, canoes and skiing in the backcountry.
Karen Vail received a B.S. in Horticulture, with a concentration in Botany from Colorado State University, and earned her Master’s Degree in Gardening from the Royal Horticultural Society in England. She taught Botany at the community college in Steamboat Springs and introduced people to local wildflowers through summer wildflower walks. She has published two books, For the Joy of Wildflowers: Colorado Creations, and Yampa Valley Visions: Photography and Writing of a Yampa Valley Naturalist. She also co-published the video/DVD A Season of Wildflowers: The Rocky Mountains. Karen runs her own landscaping business and continues to be active in education through Yampatika, a local environmental education organization. She will be leading the Saturday nature walk during the festival.
Katie Weeks has been involved with the Crane Festival since it was a small gathering of birders watching Cranes in Nancy’s backyard! She is a long time Steamboat local that currently works as a Realtor at The Group Real Estate and counts Sharp Tailed Grouse for the CPW in the spring time. In her free time you can find her birding, biking or boarding around the ‘Boat. She can’t wait to see the Cranes with you, and this year you can find her at the iNaturalist Workshop!
Cindy Wither is a retired art teacher, having taught many forms of art to all ages in Idaho, Colorado, Germany and Zambia. She has a lifetime interest in birds and, when living in Zambia, was a member of the Zambian Ornithological Society, going on many wonderful bird walks. Currently she is a watercolor artist painting both in the studio and outside painting Plein Air watercolors year around. She has worked with all ages teaching them drawing and painting outdoors – helping to see, not just look, as they are drawing and painting. She loves to see the results as someone says “oh I never realized all the shapes, details and colors that are in that flower”. Cindy is assisting Ellen Bonnifield in the nature-journaling workshop.
Nature’s Educators is a 501c3 wildlife education and rehabilitation program licensed by USFWS, USDA, and CPW. They travel the state and surrounding states to give an average 900 educational presentations on wildlife each year. The organization was founded by Devin Jaffe in 2008 in Canon City, Colorado and has since expanded to have facilities in Florence and Sedalia, Colorado. Nature’s Educators is partnered with the Raptor Conservation Alliance in Nebraska. The organization is also partnered with the Royal Gorge Bridge and Park in Canon City, Colorado to provide educational raptor presentations 7 days a week, 4 times a day, Memorial Day through Labor Day in the theater. They are currently constructing a public nature center in Florence that will have herptiles and invertebrates on display, but will also be able to be used as a classroom for field trips.
Bird Walk Leaders
Dr. Richard Beilfuss , see above under Keynote Speaker
Chip Clouse is a ProStaffer for Opticron optics and former General Manager of the Front Range Birding Company. He is also a long-time bird tour leader and Reefs to Rockies’ Lead Naturalist Guide. Originally enamored with tooth and claw predators, his love and fascination with birds started by volunteering with the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission to monitor Peregrine Falcon nest sites while an undergraduate and was cemented once he saw his first Western Tanager while working for the Peregrine Fund in Oregon. Chip’s experience includes 20+ years of bird research and project management experience in nine states and the Caribbean nation of Grenada, a Masters in Conservation Biology from Colorado State University, five years as Education and Outreach Director with the American Birding Association, and stints guiding at 15+ different US birding festivals. He loves to talk birds and optics, so ask away!
Ted Floyd, see above under Additional Speakers.
Andrew Floyd, see above under Additional Speakers.
Forrest Luke has been a passionate birder for 40+ years (and yes, he is getting a little long in the tooth). He has lived in Craig for nearly 30 years and recently retired from a career in mined land reclamation and environmental permitting and compliance. He serves on the boards of the Colorado Field Ornithologists and Memorial Regional Health. He works as a part time bird guide, leading grouse and other bird tours around Colorado and adjacent states and has served as a regional compiler/editor for various bird-related organizations.
Allan Reishus of Craig Colorado has been a resident of the northwest corner of the state for 45 years, and has a passion for birds, bird habitat, and all things outdoorsy and related to wildlife. Now retired from a career in medicine, he has more time for such pursuits.
Allan has a special interest in waterfowl, raptors and cavity nesting birds. He started a string of nest boxes for mountain bluebirds over 30 years ago and continues to build, install, monitor and clean the boxes for his blue friends. He has installed nesting structures for kestrels and Canada geese in the Steamboat/Craig area. Most recently he installed a number of towers and platforms for ospreys, which has been a success story. The outdoors is where Allan wants to spend his days.
Rebecca Weiss is a birding guide, writer and naturalist living in Aspen, Colorado. She is author of Birds of Aspen and the Roaring Fork Valley and leads the birding program for the Aspen Center for Environmental Studies.
Lisa Williams moved to the Yampa Valley in 1968 and Paul Williams arrived 6 years later. Birding is second nature to Lisa. She has shared her enthusiasm with Paul and all others who go on walks and hikes with her. Paul helps her spot birds on walks while continuing to learn new identification techniques. Lisa enjoys sharing her knowledge with her fellow bird watchers and continues to try to master the challenge of identifying birds by listening to their songs. She co-led bird walks for over a decade, with Nancy Merrill, at the Nature Conservancy’s Carpenter Ranch property in Hayden. Paul enjoys being part of the support team when he participates on bird walks. He often joins the crane viewings for the early morning fly-ins. He’s in charge of bringing along the spotting scope which comes in handy when birds cooperate and sit long enough to be brought into focus. Both Lisa and Paul have been part of the Yampa Valley Birding Club, CCCC and the Crane Festival since their inception.
Please visit our photo gallery for more photos of current and past festival speakers and workshop leaders.
Bird Walk Special Assistants
Laurel Watson, curator of the Hayden Heritage Center Museum since 2010, will be assisting with the ‘History and Bird Walk’ at Mt Harris. She originally hails from the East Coast coming to the Valley over 30 years ago. She studied at Regis University obtaining a Bachelor’s Degree in Social Science with an emphasis on history and a minor in secondary education then went on to obtain a Master’s Degree in American History. She wrote the book Yampa Valley Sin Circuit and has written several articles for newspapers and magazines on local history topics. She has served on the Board of Historic Routt County and has taught at both Colorado Northwestern Community College and Colorado Mountain College. She is passionate about our local area history and is currently working on a book about the coal mining towns that no longer exist along Hwy 40 in West Routt County.
Entertainment
Spirit Wind Aerial Arts dancers, led by local aerialist Heidi Miller, will perform elegant high-flying dance in the hammock and silks, suspended high over the Library Lawn.