Board of Directors
Larry Desjardin
President
Larry is a four-decade Steamboat visitor who made Steamboat Springs his home in 2011. When not enjoying the outdoors, he manages a location-neutral high-tech consulting business. His previous public service includes being a city council member on the front range, a planning commissioner, and a member of the Executive Committee of the American Chamber of Commerce in Europe. He is passionate about outdoor activities, which includes biking, hiking, skiing, and fly fishing. Whether wading in the Yampa River or hiking to a remote overlook, Larry feels blessed to live here, and wants to protect the Yampa Valley for future generations.
Cedar Beauregard
Secretary
Cedar is a three-generation Steamboat local who was born and raised in the valley. He developed a love of the outdoors at a young age through his passion for bowhunting that started at 14 years old. Watching his three young boys develop their own passions for all things wild has strengthened his resolve in conservation efforts. When not enjoying the outdoors, he manages a small construction company and coaches ski racing at the Winter Sports Club. He also served three years on the Steamboat Springs Planning Commission. Cedar feels blessed to be able to live and raise a family in this beautiful valley.
Bob Strong
Treasurer
A second-generation Colorado resident and a long‐time Steamboat local, Bob and his wife Linda raised two sons in Steamboat Springs and have two grandchildren in Steamboat schools today. Having owned a successful insurance brokerage in town for 30 years, they are now “retired” and own a ranch in Teller and Fremont Counties where they spend countless hours studying the behavioral aspects of the indigenous wildlife using various forms of camera traps. Linda and Bob have hunted extensively in many of the western states, Canada, and Africa. They are passionate, globetrotting fresh and salt water fly fishers, still working on a 30-inch Patagonian brown trout and a grand slam in the Yucatan.
Deb Freeman
Deb is a long-time Steamboat resident who shares a love of the outdoors with her husband and three adult children who were raised in the Yampa Valley. As a passionate distance trail runner and backcountry skier, Deb appreciates the solitude of our remote and wild areas. She is committed to conserve those areas for the wildlife and the people who use them. Deb is a vice president and partner of a natural resources law firm and specializes in endangered species, clean water, public lands, and NEPA compliance.
Gaspar Perricone
Gaspar is a second-generation Steamboat native who was born and raised in the Yampa Valley. He spent his adolescent years ski racing with the Winter Sports Club and exploring the outdoors in the summertime. Gaspar carried his early passion for outdoor recreation with him into his professional career where he now works as a natural resource consultant for Freestone Strategies. Prior to joining Keep Routt Wild, he served as the Legislative Program Director for the Colorado Department of Natural Resources and was the CEO & President of the Bull Moose Sportsmen’s Alliance, a national non-profit hunting and angling advocacy organization. Before his work in the private sector, Gaspar worked for U.S. Senator Mark Udall as a natural resource and agriculture policy advisor. In 2010, Governor Hickenlooper appointed Gaspar to serve on the Colorado Parks and Wildlife Commission and the Great Outdoor Colorado Board, where he worked to ensure that our unique outdoor opportunities we enjoy today will remain for future generations.
Todd Lodwick
Todd was born and raised in Steamboat Springs, and is well-known for competing in six consecutive Winter Olympics as a Nordic combined skier. He won a team silver medal in 2010, and two individual gold medals at the 2009 world championships. In 2014, Todd was chosen by his teammates to be the US flag bearer for the 2014 Olympic games in Sochi. Todd has two children, Charley and Finn, and is an avid outdoorsman. His love of the outdoors includes hiking, camping, and a special passion for bow hunting. Todd is also passionate about his charitable work with American300 Foundation, where he joins active duty military personnel in unique mentoring events. Todd is proud to join the board of Keep Routt Wild to preserve the wildlife and wild places in Routt County.
Cody Lujan
A fifth-generation Routt County native and current Steamboat resident, Cody comes from a family with deep ties to the land and a rich history of outdoor recreation and conservation. He sits on the Board of Directors for the New Mexico Wildlife Federation and works on public lands access, wildlife habitat conservation, and sportsmen advocacy issues on the local, state, and national levels. Cody is a former litigation attorney and received his formal education at Carleton College and the University of New Mexico School of Law. Very active within the hunting and fly fishing industries, Cody’s photography and stories can be found in a number of periodicals and catalogs.
T.J. Thrasher
T.J. is a lifelong resident of Steamboat Springs, and spent much of his youth exploring the Routt National Forest. The time he spent in the woods developed into a passion for all things outdoors, including hunting, fishing, and trail running. Through these activities T.J. has grown to understand the importance of preserving wild areas. When not exploring the woods, T.J. operates a tree care company and coaches Nordic skiing.
JEFF YOST
Jeff Yost is a retired wildlife biologist who resides in Steamboat Springs. After graduating from CSU majoring in wildlife and range management, Jeff worked for Colorado’s Division of Wildlife (DOW) and Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) as a wildlife technician and later as a terrestrial biologist. Jeff has worked with a wide range of species. Bird species include pheasants, quail, waterfowl, lesser prairie-chickens, least turns, piping plovers, Columbia sharp-tailed grouse, and the greater sage grouse. Mammals range from prairie dogs to big game species such as bighorn sheep, deer, elk, moose, and pronghorn. Recently retired from CPW, Jeff served as the state coordinator for Pheasants Forever for a year. Jeff now works part-time at Ace Hardware while enjoying the great outdoors of western Colorado.