ACES Annual Report 2023

“Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.”

Nelson Mandela

About ACES

Aspen Center for Environmental Studies (ACES) is a non-profit environmental science education organization with three locations in the Roaring Fork Valley: Hallam Lake, Rock Bottom Ranch, and the Catto Center at Toklat.

Since 1968, ACES has inspired a life-long commitment to the earth by providing innovative and immersive programming for all ages. Our programs focus on ecological literacy, regenerative agriculture, forest and ecosystem health, land restoration, and environmental leadership.

ACES contributes to a national agenda for increased environmental awareness. With support from 53 partner organizations, our programs reach over 140,000 individuals every year. We teach daily in local schools, lead camps in the summer, and host adult classes. We share the beauty and ecology of our area with locals and visitors through naturalist-led hikes and field programs for all ages. We also engage our community by hosting public lectures and events. ACES collaborates with land trusts, public agencies, and other nonprofits to achieve our mission.

In the next 50 years, ACES seeks to cultivate a community of environmental stewards so that children, parents, consumers, decision-makers, and leaders can make informed decisions in an increasingly complex world.

Can Artificial Intelligence Save the Environment?

A year ago, if you’d asked me, “Can an AI chatbot autogenerative system help protect our environment?”, I would have said, “What?” Today, we are all familiar with platforms like ChatGPT and the promising potential of machine learning and artificial intelligence (AI).

AI could provide significant benefit to our environment. It could help predict the probability of a fire outbreak and better monitor deforestation; optimize the grid to accelerate a clean energy transition; develop new chemistry around materials to find the next breakthrough in solar photovoltaics or batteries; measure global carbon sinks and sources; improve vehicle efficiency with self-driving cars; create species identification systems to track and predict endangered species; and even contribute to ocean plastic cleanup, and much more.

At ACES, we employ technology to advance conservation where appropriate. We remotely monitor soil moisture and local river flows. We use eBird to track neotropical migrant bird species. We are creating an online library of our regenerative farm practices to share with farmers anywhere. We created Colorado’s Forest Health Index to monitor long term drivers of forest health across all forested watersheds in the state.

The potential environmental benefits from technological innovation are noteworthy, but as of today, we still have not solved climate change (global carbon emissions have continued to increase 1.1% annually over the last decade and are now at 52.8 GtCO2e/yr). Our oceans still are not protected (only 2% are preserved as ‘no take’ areas and nearly 50% of coral reefs have died from bleaching). Our waste systems are still linear with plastic pollution choking our waterways (51 trillion microscopic plastic pieces, weighing 269,000 tons, are in the ocean, and it’s projected to triple by 2060). Fragile habitats are still being lost (we lose 11.6 million acres of forest habitat per year). Living species on the planet are disappearing at alarming rates (estimated at 1,000 times the background extinction rate). And, we still operate in an economy that is powered 80% by molecules (oil, gas, coal) and only 20% by electrons.

Scientifically speaking, we have the ability to protect our environment, but, sadly, we don’t have the collective will to do so. And we won’t create that desire without having a profound connection to nature, a connection to each other (community), and basic ecological literacy. This is where ACES comes in.

And, at the Catto Center at Toklat we show how the simple act of walking barefoot silently through a forest can affect how one views the world.

Technology has its rightful place. But, non-fungible tokens cannot capture something as unique as a columbine along a trail. Machine learning has yet to open someone’s heart to nature or foster community spirit.

And, AI cannot replicate the biodiversity that lies within one handful of soil that contains 20,000 species of bacteria, archaea, fungi, protozoa, nematodes and micro-arthropods that provide the ecosystem services for plant growth and, thus, all life on earth.

Connection to nature is where the will to balance human needs with the natural world is born. That is what ACES does best.

Chris Lane Chief Executive Officer

interests, and expertise, all of which make a community a home. I am excited for the future of ACES community programs, and to continue to share the stories of this wild place we call home!

About Our Community Programs

Our community programs dive into the world of discovery and storytelling. Our landscapes tell us stories and illustrate the role humans and animals play within them. From geologic mysteries to forest adventures, participants of all ages explore the relationships between humans and landscapes through observation, adventure, games, and storytelling. Everything is interconnected! Through discovering these stories, participants answer the question, “How can we be the best stewards of our land and community?”

rocks, a surprise can be found!”

And off we go, bounding through the snow, using our eyes and ears to search for clues of the creatures that live beneath the snow at Hallam Lake.

ACES community programs combine environmental science education with outdoor exploration, transforming the local environment into a community classroom. With the outdoors as our classrom, we provide relevant, engaging, and exciting program opportunities for participants of all ages. Many participants in ACES programs explored Hallam Lake as toddlers, joined summer camp as kids, volunteered as educators-intraining, became ACES naturalists, and now have kids of their own in our programs. ACES programs evolve as participants age, instilling and reiterating the importance of environmental stewardship.

The playfulness fostered through these programs encourages lasting relationships with nature as participants share in immersive and informative experiences outside. From summer camp to birding outings,

nature–inspired art classes to wild yoga, to seasonal meals at Rock Bottom Ranch, our staff, visiting experts, and

On my morning bird walks around Hallam Lake, I am inspired to ask who the feathered characters of this morning’s story are, and what they are doing. When will the Osprey return to its nesting grounds? What is that new bird song echoing across the lake? Is the Wilson’s Snipe still in the stream near the platforms? These questions ground me in my relationship with this place. They help me learn about my “neighbors.” This is what we seek to do in connecting our community members with their natural environment.

Over the past nine years, ACES has become more than just a place of work to me: it is a community of people dedicated to the education and preservation of the natural world we love and need for a vibrant future. It is the relationships I build that keep the smile on my face and my energy returning year after year, alongside the joy of planning our program offerings and discovering the magic of our natural world.

ACES is the epitome of the understanding that what you put into a community is what you get out of it. At its base, our organization is built on relationships. We—staff, board members, visitors, partners and members—are rich with new ideas, lifelong learning experiences and enthusiasm. I learned at an early age that a strong community, both culturally and in the ecological sense, is much more than a peer group—it includes a mix of ages, backgrounds,

Standing under the blue spruce tree sheltering Arin’s rocks, another purple fairy bag hides in the snow next to the engraved Blue Heron. Inside is another note.

“You have found us in our magical realm where we dance, play, and eat!

Keep exploring the world under the snow, and we look forward to surprising you next week!

We hope you can create your own fort or kingdom under the snow, see what magic comes your way, and what animals say hello!” 

Naturalist Programs

The Art of Storytelling: A Naturalist’s Perspective

by Madeline Werner ACES Naturalist

Last June, I came to Aspen Center for Environmental Studies with wide eyes, ambitious motives, and a heart ablaze. I was set on making an impression on the influential people that move through this valley. I had visions of preaching the lifestyle shifts I see as imperative in our changing climate. Maybe I could get people fired up about a shift toward smaller–scale agriculture practices. Perhaps I could reveal a thing or two about the severity of the water crisis in the West. I wanted to harness my despair around environmental concerns to inspire change.

Though I feel certain I’ve influenced the public’s experience in valuing the natural world, I was naive about how such a transformation happens. It wasn’t my opinions, facts, or reasoning that moved people— instead, I had to bridge nature’s lessons to the hearts of the people I was interacting with. And the best way to achieve this, I found, was through storytelling.

Naturalists talk to people for hours about the adaptations of an aspen tree or the ecology of a keystone species. We answer questions about wolf reintroduction, edible plants, and local history. All of this is a phenomenal part of the job. However, spewing facts does not leave lasting impressions on the people we interact with. People might not remember the Latin name for yarrow or the elevation of Maroon Peak, but they will remember the passion that links the storyteller to their experiences.

My own stories come from lived experiences. Growing up, I learned how to tap maple trees for syrup with my father. We would set out during the freezing nights and warmer days of March off the shores of Lake Michigan to collect gallons of sap, hauling bucket loads back to our house. We spent hours boiling the sap down into a small potful of concentrated syrup. I remember my dad explaining how the maple trees were creating sugar to

About Our Naturalist Program

Since the 1980s, ACES has welcomed 12 to 14 Summer Naturalists every year to engage with our community. These enthusiastic college graduates, each with their own area of expertise in the environmental field, act as ambassadors for the greater Aspen area. They inspire connections to the natural world, reaching over 40,000 locals and visitors each summer.

reawaken from winter. “Spring is a time for all of us to start fresh,” he would say.

The process gave me an appreciation for the cyclical nature of trees and their seasonal adaptations—much like the way humans emerge in the spring with renewed vitality. This instilled in me a long-lasting awareness of how, like the trees, humans change with the seasons. When I share this story with guests, the spruce and fir trees around us come alive with their own intelligence and sophistication. My story prompts a shift in the way guests move with a revitalized sense of awe and reverence for our surroundings.

Storytelling is a necessary tool for working toward cultural and spiritual transformation. Everything we see in nature has a story to tell. When we allow ourselves the space to connect with these stories, we start to build our own relationship with our wild neighbors and come to value them for more than their scientific names. It seems the path forward in environmental stewardship has more to do with the cultivation of empathy than it does a concrete understanding of ecological dynamics. Working as a Naturalist has allowed me to understand my lifelong responsibility to share these stories and to be a steward of the planet. I’m proud to align my career and life path with the values I’ve been gifted from the natural world. 

acre prescribed fire in Hunter Creek. With the same improvement and wildfire mitigation.

where plants can absorb it.

Prep in the vegetable field starts at the same time as spring flood irrigation. We work to loosen soils without inverting the earth, much like the ground squirrels and voles do while creating a network of tunnels under our feet. In soft soil we transplant seedlings. Come summer, we’ll do our best to harvest the vegetables before these animals do.

In his 1995 essay, “The Trouble with Wilderness”, William Cronon critiques the American myth of wilderness as a vast expanse of empty space “in which the human is entirely outside the natural.” My career as an environmentalist and as a farmer has been particularly shaped by Cronon’s ideas:

“If by definition wilderness leaves no place for human beings, save perhaps as contemplative sojourners—then also by definition it can offer no solution to the environmental and other problems that confront us… We thereby leave ourselves little hope of discovering what an ethical, sustainable, honorable human place in nature might actually look like…If wildness can stop being (just) out there and start being (also) in

here, if it can start being as humane as it is natural, then perhaps we can get on with the unending task of struggling to live rightly in the world—not just in the garden, not just in the wilderness, but in the home that encompasses them both.”

At ACES, we work as land stewards and farmers to pose the question, “How are we animals in this food chain?”

At its heart, daily farm work is my way of rejecting the myth that I am separate from the surrounding ecosystem. Instead, it reminds me that we are part of it. Farming is an intimate act of co-creation with each plant and animal, both wild and domesticated. In moving water and animals over land, cultivating fertile soil and harvesting crops, the farmer takes on the same role as the beaver, the ecosystem engineer. Farming integrates humans and nature—like Cronon says, bringing wildness here, not keeping it “out there”. Working the land makes it hard to be unaware of our influence and the fact that there is more to the system, much of it beyond our understanding or control. 

About Regenerative Agriculture at Rock Bottom Ranch

At Rock Bottom Ranch, we consider ourselves land stewards first, farmers second. We are regenerative farmers working within the ecosystem to prioritize soil diversity, carbon sequestration, and animal welfare. We strive to connect agriculture and education, teaching young farmers and consumers about the link between land stewardship and food production. We also emphasize the value of connecting with the land that grows our food.

As an educational ranch, we teach aspiring farmers through our Farmer Training Program. We offer 7.5–month livestock and vegetable apprenticeships as well as shorter 2.5–month livestock and vegetable stewardships. Our apprenticeships are geared to those pursuing a career in agriculture while the stewardships are geared to those who want to experience working handson with regenerative agriculture.

Throughout the year, students of all ages visit the ranch to learn about regenerative agriculture, land stewardship, and how the two are linked. We offer community programs, special events, and CSA shares in an effort to connect our local community to our farmers and the food we produce at a scalable, regenerative level.

Education at ACES

for challenges. Educators saw themselves in Kelly’s work, and continue to cherish this meaningful experience. Tiny interactions, like this training with Kelly, inspire me.

Getting to know people is the best part of what I do as the School Programs Manager at ACES.

Understanding, Belonging & Flourishing in ACES Ed

by Kamille Winslow School Programs Manager

“You are the key to a calm and respectful classroom,” said Kelly Lord, the guidance counselor at Kathryn Senor Elementary in New Castle, when ACES Educators entered the Innovation Station at school for a training on classroom management. Her playful personality sparked educators’ engagement with tips and tricks for “firm expectations and flexible responses” in the classroom. She gracefully modeled how to explore feelings, transitions, and power throughout a class. Educators felt understood and heard her compassion

As the supervisor of ACES Educators, I get to ask: How well do I know what is important for them to grow, change, mature, and shift priorities? I’ve learned that educators’ courage, needs, skills, and vulnerability fluctuate with cultural norms in the workplace, classroom, outside, and in the broader community. Every individual has a story, and I want to know their lived experiences.

ACES environmental education programs seek to understand lived experiences, too. In ACES classrooms, we navigate interpersonal growth and solve environmental mysteries. As learning experiences are explained by students, educators respond with empathy for the many dimensions about a situation we could otherwise not fully know or assume. The management of interpersonal relationships in classrooms, the field, and the workplace is the hardest part of educators’ inherently social jobs. And yet, building relationships with people is the most meaningful reward in education.

As teachers, ACES Educators learn to be open about what is important for students to understand while letting their own impressions and opinions evolve with new information, too.

Ultimately, it is our responsibility to demonstrate inquiry for students. We want others to agree with us, but we also benefit when others can frame experiences in a new way. Reframing is valuable because it affects how we think and behave as citizens. ACES Ed programs serve as a bridge between social-emotional learning in nature and environmental literacy skills in life. When we pay attention to inspiring an engaged citizenry, we stay connected to what ACES Ed does best – giving educators and students agency and a community feeling.

This year, we chose new team norms to influence the tiny interactions we have in the office, at school, and in nature. The ACES Education team is supportive, honest, collaborative, considerate, positive, and trustworthy. After months of practicing our Ed Team norms, camaraderie is present. We are experiencing the benefits of ongoing conversations, listening, following up, and collaborative decision-making for a shared story, which, I think, is inspiring a sense of belonging and resilience.

When you feel like you belong, the essential, emotional need to be accepted is met, and you think, “It is okay for me to be here.” Cultural norms and a sense of belonging will be increasingly important for ACES Ed because both maximize individuality, acceptance, and coherence in an effort to influence the next generation of environmental stewards. We are learning to continuously edit our beliefs about what to do, because they inform our presence. After all, it is an educator’s human presence—demeanor, volume, and language—that affects how young people lead their lives in natural and human-built environments.

In my four years at ACES, I’ve observed that exposure to new emotional, social, and intellectual experiences with place, people, skills, and knowledge changes lives. Supervisor-educator, school staff educator, and educatorstudent relationships in ACES Ed serve self-discovery, innate curiosity, lifelong learning, and environmental service in local and regional communities. In the future, I intend to deepen the sense of belonging on our team and in our programs because it supports self-acceptance and the desire to be part of something bigger than ourselves.

We get to bring back the pleasure in education. The pleasure of getting to know oneself and others. We get to know the joy of curiosity. We get to inspire a legacy of belonging in environmental education with responsiveness, empathy, grit, and responsibility. 

The text translates to “And you, too, can do it. I know that learning a new language and way of life is hard. But with perseverance and help, you will do it. And then you’ll be more powerful, just like me.”

Now he bounces on his toes, chats with his friends, and he looks me in the eye, ready to learn with a sense of belonging in the ACES classroom.

of field programs we can offer to schools. We are continuing to add and refine field programs for the Re–2 School District including programs at East Elk Creek, Rifle Falls, Sunlight Mountain, and the Silt River Preserve. Additionally, six members of our education team supported Basalt High School experiential education trips in the fall.

The Future of the Catto Center at Toklat

By Trevor Washko Toklat Steward

During the dawn of Aspen’s post–World War II renaissance, Stuart and Isabel Mace brought their growing family and a team of husky sled dogs to the ghost town of Ashcroft along Castle Creek. There, nestled in the mountain wilderness upstream from Aspen, they built a home they called “Toklat.” Toklat is an indigenous Alaskan word literally meaning “headwaters,” metaphorically meaning “source.” Stuart crafted the structure with stone and timber, claiming that it simply “evolved” from his use of salvaged native materials. The Mace family home continued to evolve over the next 55 years as a rustic wilderness lodge, a world-class dog sledding kennel, a natural food restaurant, and a handcrafted art gallery.

Stuart Mace was a founding trustee of ACES as well the organization’s original Educator and Naturalist. As a guiding mentor to its first directors, Jody and Tom Cardamone, Stuart wished for Toklat to someday become a part of ACES. With the support of Jessica and Henry Catto and many others, ACES purchased Toklat in 2004. This treasured family home became the Catto Center at Toklat, a retreat for dialogue centered on our personal and cultural relationship with the

At some point, a conversation around restoring and renovating the Catto Center at Toklat emerged. The layers of roofing sagged with decades of leaks. The ancient electrical transformer for the single-phase power line was decades beyond its lifespan. And the radiant heat, the main source of warmth for the drafty building, began to fail as the 70–year–old cast iron

The notion of scrapping the original structure was unthinkable. It holds too many memories worth saving: the iron latchstring door handle forged by Francis Whitaker; the repurposed Peach Blow sandstone walls, a signature of the glory days of Aspen’s silver boom; and the hole in the ceiling of Isabel’s kitchen, a subtle tribute to a woman who “fed the world” for nearly 40 years from a wood burning stove. Each element has a

What do John Denver, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, Al Gore, Lucille Ball, and Jim Kravitz all have in common? They’ve all been in Isabel’s kitchen—that well–trodden space at the heart of Toklat. Those few square feet between the stove and the prep sink were, without a doubt, the center of gravity for all of Toklat. For decades, this is where Isabel Mace nourished all. And, in the years following, this is where the ACES community has convened to share slow food and slow fun, bringing new generations to Toklat and Ashcroft. A touchstone for many, Toklat has always been a source of inspiration, feeding the minds, bodies, and spirits of generations at its trademark hanging tables and around its council fire.

For ACES, Toklat is a cornerstone. It is our Thoreau’s Walden, our Leopold’s Shack, our Murie’s Ranch. Restoring the Catto Center at Toklat means nourishing ACES’ deepest roots—roots established over 50 years before Stuart Mace planted the wisdom he gained from the Castle Creek Valley into the educational philosophy from which this organization now flourishes. The connection, now decades deep, continues through the procession of naturalists, educators, artists, farmers, and stewards who will inevitably come to know and love the place. They’ll carry forward and amplify this legacy with their work as future scientists, teachers, land managers, policy makers, nonprofit administrators, and sustainability leaders. 

Events Overview

ACES events always seek to bring our community together, whether it be for educational experiences that inspire environmental stewardship or to build community.

During the past year, our events continued to celebrate ACES’ mission and goal of affecting positive change in the environment through conversation, connection, and education. These events wouldn’t be possible without the support of our partners and sponsors.

Spotlight: Jessica Catto Dialogues

Founded in memory of Jessica Hobby Catto, ACES’ Jessica Catto Dialogues (JCD) lecture series brings environmental luminaries to Aspen to inspire positive change. Each year, over 1,000 Aspen residents and visitors come together to engage in a free, open dialogue about our most pressing environmental concerns. This series highlights the work of leaders in environmental and climate science, regenerative agriculture, economics, and ecosystem health.

Last summer, we hosted prominent fire ecology experts, Dr. Jennifer Balch, Director of Earth Lab at the University of Colorado Boulder, and Dr. Stephen Pyne, author and emeritus professor at Arizona State University. Dr. Balch’s research aims to better understand patterns of anthropogenic climate and land cover disruptions. Dr. Pyne specializes in environmental history and the history of fire.

Spotlight: Speaker Series

ACES Speaker Series, which includes Naturalist Nights*, Potbelly Perspectives and Wild Perspectives*, gives scientists, adventurers, and other experts a platform to share their passions, while inspiring attendees to affect positive change. The majority of our speakers live in and around the Roaring Fork Valley, sharing stories of adventure travel in places far and wide (like the South Pole!), as well as research and exploration in the natural sciences.

*Naturalist Nights is a series in partnership with Wilderness Workshop and Roaring Fork Audubon.

*Wild Perspectives is a series in partnership with The Collective Snowmass.

ACES increased donor engagement, expanded partnerships with individuals and businesses, and fostered a greater sense of community through a lineup of programs and events in 2022. These accomplishments led to an increase of $956,470 in : the 2021 and 2020 contributions line item includes 50th Anniversary Capital

Annual operational expenses increased $330,783 from 2021 due to investments in programs, events, and initiatives. ACES anticipates operational expenses to grow significantly in late 2023, and beyond, as the Catto Center at Toklat is completed and operations are expanded. ACES continues to emphasize providing high quality housing for its employees and also anticipates

Community Programs:

 Hosted 1,900+ participants in summer community programs.

 Provided 53 scholarships for summer camps totaling $17,156.

 Identified 140+ bird species in our programs.

 Onboarded 21 Educator-in-training volunteers.

Rock Bottom Ranch:

 Planted 14,500 heads of lettuce.

 Collected 64,261 eggs

 6225 hours of hands-on work experience and education for beginning farmers.

 25 lambs born, 30 lambs processed.

 Grew 76 varieties of vegetables and 17 varieties of flowers

ACES by the Numbers

ACES Events:

 Hosted 6,175 attendees.

 Sold over 1,400 tickets to both our Harvest Party and Stars Above Aspen event.

 Provided over 36 public events.

 Over 40 Business Sponsors supported ACES events.

Forest & Climate:

 10,486 wetland plants planted in newly constructed Hallam Lake wetlands.

 Over 1,800 acres of prescribed fire in Hunter Creek.

 5,000 MCH packets distributed on Aspen Mountain to prevent Douglas fir beetle outbreak.

 G uided 250 people through local burn areas.

ACES Ed:

 Full-time environmental education in four public schools: Aspen Elementary School, Basalt Elementary School, Crystal River Elementary School, and Kathryn Senor Elementary School.

 Environmental education in the classroom for 1,600 students every week

 Inspiring outdoor field science programs for more than 2,000 pre-K through 12thgrade students from Aspen to Rifle.

 Field programs at 15 sites from Aspen to Rifle, including Maroon Bells Scenic Area and Rifle Falls State Park.

Naturalist Programs:

 Since 1991, ACES has hired 434 Summer Naturalists

 29 years of partnership between United States Forest Service, Aspen Skiing Company, Colorado Parks & Wildlife and Aspen Center for Environmental Studies to encourages people of all ages and backgrounds to connect to the wilderness in the greater Aspen area.

Capital Campaign Update

ACES’ 2020 Protecting the Future capital campaign succeeded in raising $12.5 million to improve our visitor centers, site infrastructure, and programs.

A primary goal is to provide unparalleled educational experiences that establish each ACES site as both a community destination for exploring nature, agriculture, and renewable energy as well as a place to enjoy the outdoors.

Catto Center at Toklat

The Catto Center at Toklat provides a dynamic wilderness retreat. It inspires responsible stewardship by cultivating reflective dialogue and a deeper connection with the natural world. The 75-year-old landmark is under reconstruction and will be completed by December 2023.

Hallam Lake Facilities Renovation

Starting in the fall of 2023, pending permit approval, our Hallam Lake facility will undergo major renovations to the main building—the entrance, offices, classroom, convening spaces, science lab, and the outside deck area. When completed, local residents and visitors from around the world will come to Hallam Lake for a unique environmental education experience with the ability to observe, learn, and work in more dynamic and inspiring spaces. The Nature Center, as well as employee housing around the preserve, had new roofing installed this year.

Rock Bottom Ranch

Rock Bottom Ranch is breaking new ground in the science of regenerative livestock management and vegetable agriculture systems.

For aspiring, beginning, and transitioning farmers, we developed and launched our farmer training program. Now in its third year, this training program includes four apprenticeships and three stewardships for farmers who are passionate and curious about regenerative agriculture and the practices we use at the ranch.

Last year, we created an online catalog of short, informational videos to share ACES’ best practices, techniques, and approaches to farming. This digital catalog now has more than 25 instructional videos, with more in production.

ACES has also been adding agriculture production infrastructure. This includes improved equipment and food storage as well as perimeter fencing to produce more food for our local communities. We have already upgraded transportation tools including utility vehicles, a hayride tractor, and stock trailers. We are in the process of improving existing infrastructure, including enhancements to the pole barn and other deferred maintenance.

In the upcoming year, we aim to construct more multi-use housing for farmers-in-training.

The house is now home for up to four ACES educators who teach Roaring Fork and Re–2 district schools. We increased the size of our education team, adding two fulltime and two part-time educator positions. We continue to expand where we teach our outdoor field programs including Silt River Preserve, Rifle Falls State Park, and Sunlight Mountain. At Basalt High School, we support their expanded experiential education program.

Regional Forest Health Restoration

ACES’ forest health goal is to address climate change education by providing the latest sciencebased information on forests and ecosystem health through sharing data. This includes conducting forest restoration and resilience projects. So far, ACES (and our partners) have conducted two 1,000-acre prescribed burns in the Hunter Creek Valley, along with several mechanical vegetation treatments (mimicking fire). We expanded ACES’ Forest Health Index to include date from throughout the state. Additionally, we created State of the Forest Reports for statewide watersheds to promote policy change.

We worked with the Colorado National Heritage program to conduct a Bioblitz (intensive biological inventory) of the Hallam Lake Nature Preserve. That work was leveraged as an educational tool as well as important information for planned wetland restoration at Hallam Lake. This project also included an illustrated species inventory book, The Hidden Life Around Us

We would like to express our gratitude to the contributors who generously supported ACES Annual Fund, Capital Campaign,

The Knapp Fund

The Laffey-McHugh Foundation

Laura and Gary Lauder

Toby Devan Lewis*

Anne Kerr L’Heureux and Matthew L’Heureux

Shelly and Tony Malkin

Patricia and Ricardo Marino

Janna and Tom McNicholas

Andrea and Bobby McTamaney

Diane Moore and Joel Sax

David Moray

Tamar Olitsky

Penny Pritzker and Bryan Traubert

Natasha and Douglas Riboud

Rosenkranz Foundation

Alex and Gunnar Sachs

Lorraine and Mark Schapiro

Betty and Lloyd Schermer

Lisa and David Schiff

Chad and Kirsten Schmit

Polly Scott and Jim Maher

Sarah and Paul Sohn

William Stolz

Linda and Jerry Strickland

Mary Ann and Ray Tittle

Judith and Stephen Wertheimer

Heather and Phillip Wilhelm

Katherine Kendrick

Diane and Jack Kennedy

Linda Lay

Barbara and Jonathan Lee

Mary Schmidt-Libby and Russell Libby

Francine and Tag Liebel

Stephen T. McDonald*

Mary McGrath and Bruce Ducker

Joe McGuire and Matthew Tenzin

Lynn Nichols and Jim Gilchrist

Melinda and Norman Payson

Hensley and James Peterson

Ashley Picillo

Robert Purvis

Barbara Reid and David Hyman

Emily and Philip Ring

Sheri Sanzone and Chris Bendon

Shereen and Jordan Sarick

Jennifer and Daniel Shorr

Wendy and Mike Sidley

Wendy and David Smith

Steve Stunda

Mr. and Mrs. Maurice B. Tobin

TowerBrook Foundation

Nancy and Charles Wall

Carrie and Joe Wells

Whole Foods Market Roaring Fork

Whole Kids Foundation

Alyssa Clarke

Alison Coenen Abrams and Dale Abrams

Laurence Cohen

Sally R. Cole

Marcia Corbin

Carol Craig

P. Cunningham and Rick Schultz

Dan W. Daly

Catherine and Charles Darby

Monica De Turris

Chelsea and Chace Dillon

Shannon Fairbanks

Susan and George Fesus

Jamie and David Field

Patty and Peter Findlay

Judith Fisher

Ruth and Dan Flournoy

Dawn Ford and Eric Doppstadt

The Foundation for the Preservation of Historic Georgetown

Julie and Martin Franklin

Kristina Fraser and Jeffrey Goldstein

Barbara Fretz

Daryl and Henry Gelender

Andrew Gibas

Linda Girvin and Bill Lipsey

Molly and William Gilmore

Margot and Thomas Pritzker

Barbara and Don Rosenberg

Restorer’s Circle ($25,000-$49,999)

Argonautica

Aspen Community Foundation

Ella and Scott Brittingham

Charles William Cole

Colorado Parks and Wildlife

Fidel Duke

Lori and Laurence Fink

Amanda and Ashton Hudson

Carol and Michael Hundert

Lisa and Willem Mesdag

Marcie and Robert Musser

Resnick Foundation

Alison Teal and Sam Brown

Elisha and Jeffrey Zander

Benefactor ($10,000-$24,999)

Anonymous (2)

Lisa and David Alpern

Ann and Tom Friedman

Jessica and John Fullerton

Kate Gibson

Jennifer and Greg Goldfarb

Sherri and Dean Goodwin

Kristen and Wally Graham

Margaret and Bill Greenfield

Jody Guralnick and Michael Lipkin

Margot and Richard Hampleman

Woody and Gayle Hunt

Family Foundation

Rusty and John Jaggers

Reenie Kinney and Scott Hicks

Dee M. Lawrence and Richard H. Lawrence Jr.

Margaret and Daniel Loeb

Nancy Magoon

Gloria and James Marcus

Anne Welsh McNulty

Ann Richards Nitze

Oak Lodge Foundation

Ilona and Chad Oppenheim

Pitkin County Healthy Community Fund

Betsy and Jim Chaffin

Amy and John Charters

Sylvie and Gary Crum

Sabrina and Stephane DeBaets

Dee and Dave Dillon

Muffy and Andy DiSabatino

Laura Donnelley

Maja and Nicholas DuBrul

Tracy and Bubba Eggleston

Clayton and Shel Erikson

Muriel and John Eulich

Kristen and Andrew Firman

Diane and Alan Franco

Mary and Jim Griffith

Leelee and Bill Harriman

The William H. and Mattie

Wattis Harris Foundation

Whitney Wolfe Herd and Michael Herd

Soledad and Robert Hurst

Shana and Clint Johnstone

Ronald and Eva Kinney

Family Foundation

Rachel and Rick Klausner

Natalie and Daniel Winston

Alix and Fabrizio Zangrilli

Advocate ($2,500-$4,999)

Vanessa and Karl Adam

Aspen Thrift Shop

Claudia and Richard Balderston

Cara and Robert Barnes

Morgan and Matthew Brown

Katherin and David Chase

Linda and Ben Davis

Dubose Family Foundation

Terry and Wally Durham

Marcy and Leo Edelstein

Elizabeth Epstein and Stuart Bohart

Aubrey Epstein

Sandra Eskin

Fergus Foundation

Ford Foundation

Donna and Gary Freedman

Michelle and Perry Griffith

Daniel and Toni Hunt

Denise Jurgens and Kevin Messerschmidt

Steward ($1,000-$2,499)

Anonymous

Erin and Sam Ankin

The Austin Memorial Foundation

Lisa Ayres

Lisa and George Baker

Shannon and Nathan Barton

Connie and Buddy Bates

Colleen and Bradley Bell

Coventry and Davis Berg

Barbara and Bruce Berger

Gina Berko and David Fleisher

Jeff and Becky Berkus

Dr. Jeff Glazer and Dr.

Lisa Braun Glazer

Jamie Brewster McLeod and Glen McLeod

Carolyn S. Bucksbaum

Terri and Tony Caine

Cynthia Calvin and Mac McShane

Steve Carroll

Cinda and Michael Carron

Rona and Jeff Citrin

Neil Glaser and Richie Lin

Joanna Golden

Jan and Ronald Greenberg

Lisa and Bill Guth

Julie and Jim Hager

Carolyn and Tim Hagist

Thor Halvorson

Shirley and Barnett Helzberg

Rebecca Henry

Casady Henry

Cecil and Noelle Hernandez

Carol Hood Peterson and Brooke A. Peterson

Mary and Dan Horn

Wendy and Stephen Huber

Tavia and Clark Hunt

Laura and Mike Kaplan

Jessica Kaplan Lundevall and Torjus Lundevall

Sheila King

Valerie Kinkade and Kevin Grant

Kiryle Foundation

Nina Kjellson

Ali and Alex Kohner

The Lally Family

Karyn Lamb

Sheila and Bill Lambert

Kristen and David Lambert

Elaine Le Buhn

Lee and Zachry Lee

Rebecca and Doug Leibinger

Kim Lewis

Lloyd Family Foundation

Nicole Longnecker and David Pesikoff

Peter Looram

Elizabeth and Adam Lowenstein

Marlene Malek

Daniel Martin

Liza and John Mauck

Pete McBride

Kathleen and Bruce MacDonald

Timothy McMahon

Sarah Meserve

Denise Monteleone

Kristy Mora

Mackenzie and Tim Morgan

Carol Pasternak

Jan and Jim Patterson

Kristi and Tom Patterson

Susan Plummer

Prentice Foundation

Louisa and James Rudolph

Kaja Rumney

Kirk Scales and Pat Curry

Phyllis and David Scruggs

Carole and Gordon Segal

Shelley Senterfitt and Ken Canfield

Karen Setterfield and David Muckenhirn

Sarah and Richard Shaw

Layne and Mike Shea

Snowmass Village Rotary Club

Charitable Foundation

Glenn Sonnenberg

Jill St. John

Pamela Stanton and Jack O’Donnell

William Lundeen Stirling

Wendi Sturgis

Allison and Ben Tiller

Patsy Tisch

Arden and Bob Travers

Lucy Tremols Bright and Galen Bright

Barbara Trueman

Ruth and Bob Wade

Lauren and Nathan Waldron

Alison and Jonathan Wente

Julia and John Whipple

Kelly Woods

Cheryl Wyly

Martha and Gerry Wyrsch

Alison and Boniface Zaino

Black Bear ($600-$999)

Nadine Asin and Thomas Van Straaten

Janette and Steve Barsanti

Randy and Althy Brimm

Ruthie Brown

Julie Case

Liz Coplon and Carl Eichstaedt

David Corbin

Brian and Andy Davies

Robynn Dorffi

Elizabeth and George Farish

Samia Farouki

Lynne Feigenbaum and Steven Wolff

Darlynn and Tom Fellman

Courtney-Celeste and Sam Fisch

Nikola and Todd Freeman

Alyson and Justin Gish

Shawn and Katherine Gleason

Karen and John Gray-Krehbiel

Nicholas Groos

Amy Gurrentz

Roger Gurrentz

Brigitta Herst Whiting and Mark Whiting

Linda and Gregg Hollomon

Chonnie and Paul Jacobson

Kathleen and Warren Jones

Marianne and Richard Kipper

Sandra Klein

Jacqui Matthews

Caroline McBride

Diane Morris

Avi Peterson

Holly and Karl Peterson

Robert Plessett

Noah Pollack

Missy and Steve Prudden

Emily and Ken Ransford

The Susan and Ford

Schumann Foundation

May and Troy Selby

Claire Shope

Holly Sollod and John Chanin

Nancy and Bruce Stevens

Natasha and Clifford Stowe

Patricia Stranahan

Kit and Mike Strang

Sally Pendleton Thompson

Linda Vaughn

Becky and Craig Ward

Kay Watson

Kathy and Roger Wells

Barbara and Charles Winton

Bighorn Sheep ($300-$599)

Alicia Adams

Michele and Sandy Aron

Suzanne Atkinson

Lissa Ballinger

Cheryl and Orrin Baird

Morton Baird

Jayne Banks

Donna and Skip Behrhorst

Kathy and Drew Berkman

Drs. Paula and William Bernstein

Nicole and Matthew Bickford

Sharon Bistline

Sarah Blaine

Liz and John Bokram

Leslie Boyer Stein and Bill Stein

Elizabeth and Edgar Boyles

Clare Bronowski and Jeffrey Lee

Courtney and Michael Brown

Chris and Andrea Bryan

Lee and Keith Bryant

Ruthie Burrus

Bunny and Charles Burson

Nancy Burton

Barbara Bussell

Sheena Cameron-Smith and Mike Kapsa

Castaways Foundation

Donna and Steve Chase

Jessica and Nick Chimerakis

Gretchen Cole and Craig Corona

Anne and Edward Colloton

Annie Cooke

Heather Cox

Bobbi Cunningham and Michael Ortiz

Amber and Ted Davenport

Michael and Kam Davies

Elese and Gusty Denis

Leslie and Thomas Derosa

Amy and Harris Diamond

Sarah and Simon Dogbe

Hall R. Easton

Kim Edwards and Jesse Bouchard

Sari and Jonathan Eisenberg

Dana Ellis

Darin Eydenberg

Carol and Jim Farnsworth

Marianne Farrell & Dierdre Venables

Nanette Finger

Sara Finkle

Edmund Frank

Karen Freedman

Barb and John French

Hillary Fritz

Dyana and Bert Furmansky

Christine and Bryan Gieszl

Jessie Goff

Jeffrey Goldberg

Denise and Andy Goldfarb

Thorey and Barry Goldstein

Kim and Mark Hamilton

Bunny Harrison

Trautlinde Heater

Christie Hefner

Sue Helm

Kristen Henry

Karen Herrling and Daniel Porterfield

Jessica Herzstein and Elliot Gerson

Rebecca Holland

Mary Beth and David Hoover

Diane Humphreys-Barlow and Jack Barlow

Janet A. Johnson and Mary Ellis

Sandy and Peter J. Johnson

Sandy and George Kahle

Megan Kahn and Shannon Murphy

Jaqueline Kaplan and Chad Clark

Alexandra Kendrick

Yvonne Klausmann

Barbara Klein

Missy and Chris Klug

Judy Kravitz

Dr. and Mrs. Tom Kurt

Dr. and Mrs. Patrick Lally

Kirsten and Alan Langohr

Mark Lantz

Helen Leeke

Karen and Bruce Levenson

Kathy Leventhal

Suzanne Leydecker

Camilla Locker

Kim Lubel

Liz Lynch

Katharine Mann

Carolyn and Martin Manosevitz

Elizabeth Maringer and Jay Shiland

Tobin and Oakleigh Ryan

Alma and Barry Salky

Linda and Jay Sandrich

Nina and Joshua Saslove

Lynda and Rick Sauer

Julia and Mark Scher

Gail and Alan Schwartz

May and Troy Selby

Marcelina and Joshua Seymour

Nancy and Barry Shapiro

Dr. and Mrs. Lisa and Brian Shaw

Sarah and Richard Shaw

Susan Sherwin

Elizabeth Slossberg and Jeff Posey

Sandra Smith

Dawnette Smith

Jim Stafford

Sandy and Steve Stay

Warren Stickney

Melissa Temple and

Morgan Whittemore

Victoria Thomas

Anne Tobey

Ronald Todd

The Power Of Change Is In Your Hands

ACES’ Donor Circles members contribute to ACES with their knowledgeable and impactful voices, championing the importance of the environment both in the Roaring Fork Valley and across the nation. Donor Circles members donate at the level of $1,200 and above each year. Their investments make a tangible difference in shaping a vibrant future for generations to come.

Donor Circles members enjoy unique opportunities to meet with visiting environmental leaders and speakers. They receive priority registration to events and programs, as well as invitations to events and receptions exclusively available to Donor Circles members. To further acknowledge their generosity, we recognize Donor Circle members in our Annual Report and on our donor wall at ACES’ Hallam Lake Visitor Center. 

Elizabeth Paepcke Society Planned Giving

Create your Legacy at ACES

Like most people who call this place home, Diane Moore and Joel Sax chose to live in the Roaring Fork Valley because of the immense natural beauty, access to the outdoors, and the engaged and active community. Over the years, photography and travel have only deepened their passion for the natural

Diane and Joel chose to include ACES in their plan because, “We find purpose and fulfillment knowing that we are part of an organization deeply rooted in our community that inspires people to protect nature, as well as empowers them

Ensuring that their community has a local environmental education center emphasizing the importance of protecting healthy ecosystems—now and in the future—is meaningful to Diane and Joel. That’s why they’ve been giving to ACES since 2003 and why Diane serves as the Co-Vice Chair of

“We’re proud to help ensure ACES’ long-term sustainability and invest in their educational programs that support their mission and goals for years to come.”

You, too, can help protect the environmental future of our valley. By establishing a legacy gift in your will or estate plans, you can help ensure ACES’ continued role in the education of our community. 

Corporate Partnerships

If you are interested in joining a community of donors who are leading efforts to protect and restore our natural world, please contact Christy Mahon, ACES Development Director, at cmahon@aspennature.org or 970.925.5756.

ACES’ corporate partnerships are making our community a more sustainable place. These donors contributed to ACES and/or sponsored an ACES event between November 1, 2021 and October 31, 2022.

Benefactor ($10,000 and above)

Alpine Bank

Aspen Fire Protection District

Aspen Times / Post Independent

Be Hippy

Notebleu

Innovator ($5,000-$9,999)

Aspen Vodka

Aspen Skiing Company

Bethel Party Rentals

Black Diamond/ Mountain Khaki

Field 2 Fork Kitchen

Forum Phi

The Little Nell

Martin Woods Winery

Obermeyer Wood Investment Council

TACAW

Advocate ( $2,500-$4,999)

CCY Architects

Chris Klug Properties

Isa Catto Studios

Lead with Love

MacDonald Hardwoods Co. Inc.

Panther Ridge Vineyard

Reese Henry and Company, Inc

Solstice Flower Co.

Steward ($1,000-$2,499)

Arhaus

Aspen Daily News

Aspen Sojourner

Aspen Sports

Bristlecone Mountain Sports

Christie’s International Real Estate

The Gant

Gorsuch

Grand Canyon Trust

Halcyon Productions

Harriman Construction, Inc.

Holy Cross Energy

Independence Ventures

Ken Ransford, P.C.

North Drinkware

Of Grape and Grain

Strafe

Partner ($500-$999)

Aspen Brewing Company

Aspen Journalism

Clark’s Market

Gran Farnum Printing

Marble Distillery

Two Leaves & A Bud

Ute Mountaineer

Administrative Staff, Trustees & Legacy Council

ACES is committed to providing an equitable and inclusive environment for our staff and program participants. We are continuously working towards this through staff training, and updating policies and practices in order to better recruit and retain opportunities for all Roaring Fork Valley residents to engage with ACES.

Administrative Staff

Chief Executive Officer

Education Director

Rock Bottom Ranch Director

Farmer Training Facilitator

Marketing Manager

Agriculture Manager

Development Director

Finance & Operations Director

Naturalist Programs Director

Development Coordinator

Climate & Forest Programs Director

Community Programs Senior Manager

Events Manager

Field Programs Coordinator

School Programs Manager

Chris Lane

Andrea Aust

Patrick Banks

Alyssa Barsanti

Greta Brown

Mariah Foley

Christina Green

Brodie Kettelkamp

Jim Kravitz

Christy Mahon

Adam McCurdy

Phebe Meyers

Molly O’Leary

Emily Williams

Kamille Winslow

Trustees

Chair Treasurer

Daniel Shaw

Chris Daniels

Andy Docken

Jennifer Goldfarb

Mark Hamilton

Reenie Kinney

Leslie Lamont

Adam Lewis

Diane Moore

Jerry Murdock

Gina Murdock

Robert Musser

Walter Obermeyer

Ben Pritzker

Barbara Rosenberg

Alex Sanchez

Colter Van Domelen

Legacy Council

Bill Budinger & Zoe Baird

Amy & Gilchrist Berg

Jackie & John Bucksbaum

Larry & Lori Fink

Allison & Warren Kanders

Melony & Adam Lewis

Margot & Tom Pritzker

Our Partners

Anderson Ranch Arts Center

The Art Base

Ashcroft Ski Touring

Aspen Art Museum

Aspen Community Foundation

Aspen Chamber Resort Association

Aspen Fire Department

Aspen Global Change Institute

Aspen Historical Society

The Aspen Institute

Aspen Public Radio

Aspen School District

Aspen Skiing Company

Aspen Valley Land Trust

Cap K Ranch

City of Aspen

City of Aspen Parks & Open Space

CO Natural Heritage Program

CO Parks and Wildlife

CO State Forest Service

Colorado State University

The Collective Snowmass

Community Office for

Resource Efficiency

EverGreen ZeroWaste

Grassroots TV

Holy Cross Energy

Hotel Jerome

Independence Pass Foundation

The Little Nell

The Nature Conservancy

Pitkin County Healthy

Rivers & Streams

Pitkin County Open Space & Trails

Roaring Fork Audubon

Roaring Fork Conservancy

Roaring Fork Mountain

Bike Association

Roaring Fork Outdoor Volunteers

Roaring Fork School District

Snowmass Tourism

Sunlight Mountain Resort

The Arts Campus at Willits (TACAW)

Town of Snowmass Village

U.S. Forest Service

Upper CO River Interagency

Fire Management Unit

Watershed Biodiversity Initiative

Basalt Area

Basalt Elementary School

Rock Bottom Ranch

Lake Christine Burn Area

Carbondale Area

Crystal River Elemetary School

Grizzly Creek Burn Area

Glenwood Springs Area

Sunlight Mountain Resort

Rifle/Newcastle Area

East Elk Creek

Kathryn Senor Elementary School

Rifle Falls State Park

Rifle Gap State Park

Silt River Preserve

Not Pictured: Christy Mahon, Development Director; Brodie Kettelkamp, Finance & Operations Director;

The Forest Conservancy

Wilderness Workshop

From the Left: Patrick Banks, Chris Lane, Andrea Aust, Greta Brown, Kamille Winslow, Christina Green, Jim Kravitz, Emily Williams, Phebe Meyers, Adam McCurdy

Mariah Foley, Agriculture Manager.