Ashley Lowrey
Watershed Coordinator
Ashley is the Watershed Coordinator for the Upper Yellowstone Watershed Group (UYWG) and Shields River Watershed Group. She has a Masters degree from the University of Montana in Environmental Science and Water Resources. Ashley has worked in land and water conservation and collaborative natural resource management in rural Oregon and Montana for over fifteen years. With the UYWG she works to bring together landowners, agencies and conservation groups on collaborative landscape-scale watershed planning. She is passionate about the role of community-based conservation in Montana’s agricultural and working landscapes, and works to help protect and improve the land, water, and resources of the Upper Yellowstone and Shields Rivers for future generations.
Bob Anderson
UYWG Chair - Rancher
Bob is a 4th generation Park County rancher/farmer, he was born and raised in Park County and Bozeman. Bob bought Nesbit Family Ranch on Trail Creek in 1980 and has been owner/operator of L/A Ranch since then. Bob raises hay and leases pasture land and raised hogs during the 1980’s. He lives with his wife Valerie and has four adult children and four grandchildren. He has also worked off farm jobs including as a carpenter, in meat processing and truck driving. Past leadership and volunteer roles have included MSU Swine Advisory Board, Secretary and Treasurer for Montana and Park FFA, Brisbin School Board, 4-H Leader, Park Co. Pioneers President, and St. John’s Church Sr. Warden. Bob believes in private property rights, supporting rural lifestyle, volunteer work and community well being.
Druska Kinkie
Paradise Valley Working Lands Group Chair - Rancher
Druska and her family are livestock producers in Paradise Valley. They are third generation ranchers with a commercial cow calf operation. Druska has served as a co-chair for the UYWG for 3 years. Druska has a firm belief that you must have a seat at the table to be involved in solutions for the complex problems affecting agriculture. She has served on many statewide elk committees and has worked with other livestock producers addressing brucellosis, diseased wildlife, designated surveillance areas, and elk management plans. Druska also serves as a school board trustee for the Livingston School District.
Jeff Reed
Fish, Wildlife and Recreation Chair - Software Exec, Hops Farming & Hospitality
Jeff grew up in Billings and Paradise Valley. His various career roles blend together software product development, people and product management, strategy formulation and execution, business development, and technical marketing. Most recently he served as VP of Arrow's Microsoft Global Alliance, a $3B business, focused on Sustainability Services, Artificial Intelligence, and Supply Chain Services. He and his wife own Reedfly Farm (www.reedflyfarm.com), where they grow commercial hops and run a fly-fishing lodge. They enjoy supporting local efforts to promote the appreciation and conservation of open spaces and wild places in the Greater Yellowstone region. Jeff is also an author of 5 books and over 20 articles on history and language.
Kenan Brittan
UYWG Conservation Associate
Kenan is the Conservation Associate for the Upper Yellowstone Watershed Group. He works to support key committee focus areas such as the Upper Yellowstone River Recreation Study and the locally led Drought Planning effort. Kenan’s family history in the Bozeman-Livingston area prompted him to come to Bozeman after obtaining his undergraduate degree in Organismal Biology and Ecology at Colorado College in May of 2023. While he grew up in New York, the opportunities he had to visit his grandparents’ cattle ranch on Mission Creek Road led him to feel a great connection and respect for the area. Kenan also works at Bridger Bowl as a Ski Instructor and Lift Operator.
Alan Redfield
Advisory Member - Rancher
Alan grew up on a dry land farm in eastern Montana. He attended Montana State University received a B.S. degree in Agricultural Education. He moved to the Paradise valley in 1977 and taught at Park high school for 11 years. He served on the Arrowhead School board and the Mill Creel Water district board and 4 terms in the Montana House of representatives. He is currently serving on the Montana Board of Livestock.
Rick Wollum
Advisory Member - Flyfishing Industry
Rick Wollum has lived and worked in the area since 1986 working as a fishing guide and flyshop manager. He has worked in the flyfishing industry for 36 years in many aspects of the business from hosting a program "Flyfishing America" which aired on ESPN to guiding in Colorado, Montana, Utah & Wyoming.
Rick is the Co-Chair of our Fish, Wildlife and Recreation Committee.
Whitney Tilt
Advisory Member - Exec Director of American Fly FishingTrade Association Fisheries Fund
Whitney has spent a career working in fisheries and wildlife conservation, private lands management, and addressing a wide range of challenges from Colorado River water allocations and black-footed ferret recovery to Asian tiger conservation and evaluation of federal fisheries programs. He earned a Masters of Environmental Science from the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, and began his introduction to the Greater Yellowstone Region ranching in the Tetons of Idaho. Whitney is author of the Flora of the Yellowstone, a founder of High Country Apps LLC, developing interactive field guides for smart phones and tablets, and principal at Conservation Benchmarks, LLC.
Max Hjortsberg
Advisory Member - Park County Environmental Council
Max grew up in Paradise Valley and now lives in Livingston with his family. He sits on the Advisory Committee, the Tourism and Recreation Committee and the Drought Focus Group for the UYWG. He lends his experience in water resource management and community advocacy and organizing to the group, bringing a commitment to investing in the health and wellbeing of the people and the natural resources of the upper Yellowstone watershed.
Charles Wolf Drimal
Advisory Member - Water Conservation Coordinator Greater Yellowstone Coalition
Charles manages issues related to river protection, stream stewardship, climate change and tribal conservation throughout the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. He has led efforts to procure Wild and Scenic River designations in Montana and administrative protections for public lands and waters in Wyoming. He began participating as a stakeholder of the Upper Yellowstone Watershed Group in 2014.
Wendy Weaver
Advisory Member - Exec Director of Montana Aquatic Resources Services
Wendy Weaver is the Executive Director of Montana Freshwater Partners (formerly known as MARS), a 501(c)3 non-profit based in Livingston, Montana. MFP operates the statewide In-Lieu Fee Program for wetland and stream compensatory mitigation and works with partners to implement wetland and river restoration and conservation projects across Montana. She is a licensed professional civil engineer with over 25 years in land development, water, wastewater infrastructure, water resource design, and aquatic resource conservation. Wendy is a member of the Montana State University (MSU) Civil Engineering Advisory Board, Director on the Four Corners Foundation, Director on Invasive Species Action Network (ISAN) and serves as a Professional Mentor of MSU Engineers without Borders. She strongly believes in protecting and enhancing Montana’s valuable river and riparian resources, and promoting landscape resiliency.
John Lunzer
Advisor - Surface Water Hydrologist Montana DNRC
John has been a hydrologist with the Montana DNRC since June 2020. He received his Masters degree from Montana Tech in May 2019 and has spent the last three years working on water resource management and drought related issues throughout Montana. Previously he has worked on hydrology studies in eastern Oregon, New Mexico and western Colorado. John has been involved with the Upper Yellowstone Watershed Group since July 2020.