Confronting Extinction in Western Rivers

Dustin Martin

Member, Board of Directors

Dustin grew up hiking, camping, riding, skiing and running the vast outdoor sanctuaries surrounding Gallup, NM. Distance running led him to New York City, where he earned an undergraduate degree in anthropology from Columbia University. In 2011, Dustin returned to the southwest to serve as program director for Wings of America- a not for profit that empowers Tribal youth and their families by introducing them to the cultural, spiritual and competitive legacy of Native runners. Under his leadership, the organization has continued to provide elite-level opportunities for talented Native runners while making a concerted effort to create new programs for fledgling harriers of all abilities. Moving forward, Dustin hopes to continue promoting the positive achievements of Native runners while helping foster and test new models for acquainting Native youth with their ancestral homelands.

Francine D. Spang-Willis

Member, Board of Directors

Francine D. Spang-Willis is of Cheyenne, Pawnee, and settler descent. She is a descendant of Chief Dull Knife, also known as Morning Star, and Pawnee Woman. She is also a descendant of a pioneer family who settled in Montana during the late 1800s. Francine received a Master of Arts in Native American Studies from Montana State University and is an Oral History Master of Arts candidate at Columbia University. Her graduate studies have focused on settler colonialism processes and bison and land restoration. Her work has primarily focused on helping others learn about these processes and to evolve them for the benefit of the greater whole. She enjoys hiking, skiing, ice climbing, and spending time with her husband and beagle near Bozeman and their off-grid cabin near the Absaroka-Beartooth Wilderness.

Tricia Snyder

Rio Grande Campaigner

Tricia, as a child of military parents, spent much of her childhood moving frequently in the U.S. and abroad, but calls El Paso, TX home. Growing up on the banks of the (often dry) Rio Grande and the water scarcity of the Southwest sparked a life-long interest in finding solutions for water conflicts in the arid and semi-arid American West. Tricia received a B.S. in Geography with a focus on human-environment connection from New Mexico State University. Her research while there centered on water management across borders. She spent 5 years working with the Southwest Environmental Center working to protect and restore the wildlife and wild places of the Southwest borderlands, particularly focused on the recovery of the Mexican gray wolf. In 2015, Tricia moved to Washington state to pursue a graduate degree, receiving an M.S. in Cultural and Environmental Resource Management from Central Washington University. Her thesis, which conducted an adaptive capacity assessment of the Upper Klamath Basin, utilized both quantitative and qualitative research methods. She worked for nearly four years on salmon recovery as the Lead Entity Coordinator for the Yakima Basin in central Washington, bringing together a diverse group of interests and perspectives. Tricia joined WildEarth Guardians as the Rio Grande Campaigner in 2021.