Board Of Directors

Biographies

Geoffrey Orth - Fairbanks
President

Geoff currently works as a freelance photographer in Interior Alaska.  He has resided in Alaska for over 30 years and throughout this time has enjoyed Alaska’s backcountry.    He has a graduate degree in anthropology and has worked as a biologist, anthropologist and commercial fisherman;  he was an early member of the Alaska Wilderness Guides Association and has a Vessel Master’s License (100 ton).  Geoff has participated in trail construction and maintenance projects, is very interested in efforts to educate users in trail etiquette, and in promoting the expansion of trails in the state for all user groups.  His favorite pursuits are trail running, mountain biking, x-c skiing and surfing (though not in Alaska).  Geoff is also a member of the Fairbanks North Star Borough’s Trail Advisory Commission and the chair of the Ester Trail Group.

Lindsay Winkler - Homer
Past-President

Lindsay Winkler was born and raised in Central Ohio and has degrees in Environmental Studies and Natural Resource Management. Lindsay’s passion for the outdoors has been expressed most recently in her work on the Caribou Lake Trail, a 7.5 mile trail project east of Homer (www.homerswcd.org). She enjoys skiing, entering the world of clip-in shoes on her mountain bike, discovering the usefulness of ATVs, and growing tomato plants taller than her. She is the owner of her own business, Homeostasis Consulting, and currently has a long-term program management contract with the Homer Soil and Water Conservation District. As a board member for Alaska Trails, Lindsay brings experience in trail design & management, grant writing, facilitation, and program management and coordination.

Blain Anderson - Anchorage
Vice President

Blain grew up on the trails of Colorado, and received a BS in Natural Resource Management at Colorado State University. Blain knew he was hooked on the outdoors during his first backpacking trip in at age 14,
when a mountain lion brushed against his tent and growled at he and his petrified brother. Since then, his interests in the outdoors have expanded to include telemark and cross-country skiing, mountain biking, sea kayaking, rafting, canoeing. The past three summers have mostly been spent exploring Prince William Sound in his 22' C-Dory. He led his first trail crew in 1995, and moved to Alaska in 1997 to lead work on the Winner Creek Trail in Girdwood for USFS. He works as a Trails Specialist for the National Park Service, and the Rivers, Trails & Conservation Assistance Program (RTCA). Through this, and other work experience, he has developed expertise in trail condition assessments, trail planning and layout, crew training, and volunteer coordination. His skills in GIS/GPS, mapping, and web design have come in useful at RTCA, and the various volunteer groups he belongs to. In winter, Blain is a ski coach for the Junior Nordic Program in Anchorage, and can be seen on the trails skiing with wife, Monique, and skijoring behind his shepherd/husky mutt, Chance.

Jack Campbell - Wasilla
Secretary

I am retired from the Alaska DOT/PF where I was involved with Highways and roadside trails for many years and many projects. After I became retired, I became more interested in off-highway trail use. I am a member of the Mat-su Motormushers, a snowmachine club, where I am currently Vice President. I represent them on the Matsu Trail Council where I am also Vice President. I am the founding Secretary of the Alaska Trails group, which seeks to promote the statewide improvement of our trail systems. I have been a supporting member of the Iditarod and I have participated in many race restarts in Wasilla and elsewhere. The Matsu Motormushers have supported the Susitna 100 Race (originally the Iditasport) for many years. We have provided logistic support for other races when requested, marking and breaking trail, etc. We have an active program in trail safety. I have participated in Search and Rescue efforts by the club and supported all the activities of the club. I am also a member of the Anchorage Snowmachine Club and have participated in many ides with them. I have an extensive knowledge of the trail systems of South Central Alaska having been involved in using them for many years both Summer and Winter.

Wayne Biessel - Kodiak
Board Member

Born and raised in Michigan, Wayne knew early on that he wasn't meant for flat land living. He moved to Alaska in 1981 where he finished his BS in Natural Resource Management at UAF. He started working for Alaska State Parks in 1983 as a crew leader for the Alaska Conservation Corps. Working in the Chena River State Recreation Area out of Fairbanks, he lead crews on trail projects and helped re-open some of the old trails in the park for snowmachines and ATV's, and was involved in the establishment of the park's popular public use cabin program. Since then he has worked in Tok, Kenai Peninsula, and Kachemak Bay. While at KB, he managed the new construction of 50+ miles of trails in four years.

Wayne became the Kodiak District Ranger in 1999 and been directly involved with the District's aggressive hiking trails program. He has continued upgrading about five miles of trails at Ft. Abercrombie State Historic Park through grants and a great deal of local community support. He recently wrote a trail plan for Ft. Abercrombie using the basic framework of Sustainable Trails -- the first of its kind in the Division and only the fourth Trails Plan in State Parks.

Wayne was actively involved with Alaska Trails in the sustainable trail training curriculum development, and has helped instruct at all of their statewide workshops. He is currently advocating for statewide trail standards and classifications that will help the Alaskan trails community construct and maintain a stronger and healthier trails system. He is a strong supporter of all types of trail use, and enjoys getting out by
whatever means possible, and especially likes sharing trails with his wife Kathy and 4 boys. He enjoys hunting, but is most passionate about sport fishing in the waters off Kodiak.

Kenton Bloom
Board Member

I became a licensed surveyor in 1990 and formed Seabright Survey + Design. I have worked on a wide variety of trail projects over the years. I have earned a reputation for timeliness, accuracy and focus on my work.

Trails Experience
My experience with trails in this area began as a user who realized the inherent conflict posed by the escalating development pressures on existing trails in this area. My work has been invested with attention to preserving trails where possible and re-creating them elsewhere within legal easements. I have co-created a development model called Greenway Ventures. Open space dedications and public access trail easements (primarily pedestrian) are major features of the greenway model. Implementation of Greenway Ventures design elements has resulted in a new and expansive awareness of the very significant, inter-connected trail system emerging in the Homer area. This understanding is critical to realizing the goal of a becoming a trail-oriented community.

Relevant Experience
1984 City of Homer Trails Plan
(research, inventory and written draft)
1992 Kenai Peninsula Trails Plan
(research, inventory and written document)
1995 National Parks Service Trails Inventory and Action Plan
(community meetings, inventory)
1998 Kenai Peninsula Trails Plan
(community meetings, research, written draft; Chair, Kenai Peninsula Borough Trails Commission 1997-2001)
2001-2003 SNOTRAC Board member
(Statewide snowmobile grant source and development of policies and standards for snowmobile use.)
Kachemak Nordic Ski Club Board 1980-2007

Karl Kassel - Fairbanks
Board Member

Outdoor Recreation Coordinator for University of Alaska Fairbanks (6 yrs.)
Parks Superintendent, FNSB (14 yrs.)
Director of Parks and Recreation, FNSB (1 yr.)
Chair, Park Maintenance Section, Alaska Recreation and Park Assoc. (1 yr.)
President-Elect, Alaska Recreation and Park Assoc. (1 yr.)
President, Alaska Recreation and Park Assoc. (current)
President, Goldstream Valley Trail Users Assoc. (5 yrs.)
President, Alaska Dog Mushers' Assoc. (1 yr.)
Vice-President, Alaska Dog Mushers' Assoc. (1 yr.)
Trail Manager, Alaska Dog Mushers' Assoc. (3 yrs.)
Lifetime Member, Alaska Dog Mushers' Assoc. (25 yrs.)
President, Yukon Quest (1 yr.)
Vice-President, Yukon Quest (2 yrs.)
Trail Breaker, Yukon Quest (3 yrs.)
Hiking and Camping Coordinator, Rochester BOLD (Blind Outdoor Leisure
Development) (2 yrs.)
Avid trail user (40 yrs.) hiking, canoeing, dog mushing, skijoring

Ken Pendleton - Anchorage
Board Member
 
From 1976 to 1990, Ken served as the principal and founding partner of the Landscape Architectural firm Land Design North. Ken was responsible for the design and construction of many trails in Anchorage, and park design for approximately 75 parks in Anchorage.

Ken then worked as 1991 - 2002 a Landscape Architect with National Park Service (AK Regional Office) from 1991-2002. Ken's duties and accomplishments included planning, design and construction of park facilities throughout Alaska, including major trail design and relocation of the Chilkoot Trail in Skagway, also new trail reconn. and layout for new trails in Kobuk Sand Dunes in Northwest Alaska. He completed the 'first' concept master plan for Kincaid park before transfer from the military to the MOA, on behalf ot the Nordic Ski Club.

An Alaska resident since 1975, Ken is an ardent trail supporter and user.