The Trails Preservation Alliance Board of Directors is made up of five Colorado residents that have over 125 years of trail riding experience in Colorado and decades of experience effectively fighting for multiple-use access on public lands throughout the West. They’re active in competitive events, promotion of Colorado enduros, and education of trail riding groups. We are an alliance of dual-sport, adventure, and single-track trail riders who work together to protect your access to public land.
Board of Directors
Don Riggle
Founder, Board Member
I retired from the US Army in 1986, after serving our country for 21 years with various assignments around the world and the United States. After this, I worked in Business Development for several major US defense contractors and formed my own private consulting business. I have a degree in Political Science from the University of New Mexico and an MBA from the University of Boston.
I have been riding motorcycles on trails and back roads throughout New Mexico, Utah, and Colorado since 1964. Over the years I have witnessed the loss of miles and miles of trails for motorcycle riding as well as a considerable loss of multiple-use recreational opportunities on our public lands. The loss of trails for motorcycle riding has a long and complex list of reasons and causes. However, decisions made by federal and state land managers over the last 25 years, with very few exceptions, have reduced or eliminated the opportunities for motorized recreation on public lands – especially for single-track riding.
I spent about 34 years working with the C500 which gave me experience and knowledge to set out on a new path to create an organization that would work toward getting those trails back.
With all of this in mind, in 2001 I decided it was time to take action. I started to develop an organization to help SAVE OUR SPORT of motorcycle trail riding – this was the C600 (Colorado 600). This started as an informal group of friends who got together each year for a week and rode all over Colorado with a new destination each day. A few years later, in 2008, with funds provided by personal contributions of the founders and some funds left over from the Colorado 500 Legal Defense Fund I formed the Trails Preservation Alliance (TPA) with the help of other dedicated Colorado motorcycle trail riders – including Doug Drussel (inventor of the Revloc clutch) – and some friends at the Texas Sidewinders motorcycle club.
Soon thereafter the TPA was awarded the designation 501(c)(3) – a non-profit organization with the principal goal of preserving the sport of motorized single-track trail riding. That same year the C600 became the Colorado 600 Trails Awareness Symposium – a five-day ride where riders learn what trail riding enthusiasts are facing and the issues challenging our present and future use of trails in Colorado, Utah, and New Mexico. All proceeds from Colorado 600 go to support the Colorado Trails Preservation Alliance.
Today, I’m pleased to say that the TPA is successfully helping to support all forms of OHV trail and adventure riding. We are building relationships with Federal and State land managers and are working diligently to save our sport.
Chad Hixon
Executive Director
Growing up in Howard, CO I grew to appreciate the outdoors – especially public land and the opportunities it offers. I began riding a motorcycle at the age of 4, competing in Trials, and then expanding to other disciplines of the sport. I attended college at Western State in Gunnison, Colorado. I received my B.A. in Business and Recreation which led me to work in the outdoor industry both during and after college.
Working as a whitewater kayaking guide and video kayaker led me all over the states and then to South America. Once I moved back to Colorado I worked as a Ski Patroller at Monarch Ski Area which led to a position with Monarch Snowcat Tours (MST) as a skiing guide in 2003. Simultaneously in 2003, I had the opportunity to go into business with my family in Salida, CO. in a new endeavor, Arlie Dale’s Jug Liquors, which we still own and operate.
Settled in Salida, I continued to work at MST, in our family store, and soon started my first position in the nonprofit world with a seat on the FIBArk BOD (the world’s oldest whitewater festival), first as a member and then as President. In 2005 I met my wife, Angela, who ultimately revived my motorcycle enthusiasm in 2006 when she said “I would like to learn to ride a dirt bike.”
Fast forward to 2016 when my interest in off-highway motorcycle advocacy was sparked while assisting the TPA with comments regarding the Pike San Isabel lawsuit. Soon after, with the help of the TPA, my wife Angela and I started a local motorcycle club, Central Colorado Mountain Riders. With this work, I found something I was extremely passionate about. With my background in the outdoor industry, business, and being a well-rounded outdoor recreationalist I am committed to making a positive difference, both for motorcycle riders and ALL public land lovers. I want to protect this amazing resource we have for present and future generations, and I am ecstatic to be able to work with so many dedicated people who feel the same.
Scott Bright
President
My lifelong pursuit is to help those who can’t help themselves and preserve the opportunities to explore God’s country on two wheels. I started riding in the Colorado mountains as a child with my family. Experiencing the Great Outdoors on 2 wheels is foundational to our family’s existence.
Being active in my community and volunteerism is also very important to me and I serve on the Local Greeley Business Affairs Committee, 2017-present, and the Greeley Rotary Club, President, 2020-21. In addition to being a member of the TPA Board since 2017, I have also been on the Colorado OHV Grant Subcommittee since 2018, and the Rocky Mountain Enduro Circuit since 1998 as a former Chairman and currently as a Promoter Coordinator. I am a Dakar Rally Finisher, a 4-time International Six Days Enduro (ISDE) Competitor, I have 25+ years in the Rocky Mountain Enduro Circuit AA class, numerous top finishes in US and Worldwide motorcycle competitions and have been a guide for the Colorado 600 Trails Awareness Symposium for more than 10 years.
I graduated from Pacific Union College with a Bachelors of Business Administration-Accounting, and a Minor in Religion. My full-time career is in Early Childhood Education. I own SJB Child Development Centers Inc, and am involved in these organizations:
- Colorado Early Education Network, Board of Directors Chairperson, 2018-present
- Colorado Early Childhood Education Association, Board of Directors Chairperson, 2019-present
- Colorado ‘Preschool 4 All’ Policy Committee, 2020-21
- Weld County Promises For Children, Executive Committee
- Windsor RE-4 Preschool Advisory Committee, 2018-present
- Colorado Early Education Network, Founder and Executive Director, 2010-2018
Jason Elliott
Secretary
I’m a Colorado Native and have been on the TPA Board of directors since its inception. I currently serve as Chairman. I graduated from California State University, Chico with a Degree in Business Management and a Minor in Labor Negotiations. I also graduated with Honors from the Riggle school of Dirt Bike riding and only threw my helmet once.
From age ten, I have been hooked on riding and racing motorcycles, which led me to my involvement in trail advocacy. It all started with a used YZ80 at age ten, and a trip across the state of Colorado with my Dad at age fifteen. I spent my summers trail riding around the state of Colorado with my Dad and friends. Racing in the Rocky Mountain Enduro Circuit and the Texas State Championship Enduro Circuit for Nine years was a great experience and I was able to gain moderate success racing many National Enduros. I also won a silver medal at a Six Days Qualifier in Colorado.
As a guide and EMT on the Colorado 500 for nine years and the Colorado 600 from the beginning, I saw first-hand the need to keep riding areas open for future generations. We have lost a lot of good riding around the state of Colorado over the years and we need to work on getting it reopened for everyone’s enjoyment.
Serving on the Colorado Parks and Wildlife OHV sub-committee that oversees grant funding for the state OHV sticker fund for the past four years has given me a unique perspective on the obstacles that the OHV community is up against and where we need to go in the future. This committee makes sure the OHV sticker money is used well and is getting back to the trails for the users. The OHV Sub-committee oversees about 50-60 grants a year and about 4.5 million dollars of grant allocations a year.
I am a Lieutenant with the Denver Fire Department. Seventeen years with the Fire Department and 10+ years on their Board has provided me with a great perspective on leadership. This experience has helped me to work on the TPA Board of Directors as we strive to take the Trails Preservation Alliance to new levels of trails stewardship in Colorado and to be a model for the rest of the country.
Dave Gardner
Board Member
I live in Colorado Springs and also have a home in Moab – I feel very fortunate to have great trails in close proximity. When I moved to Colorado Springs in 2008, my primary hobby was hardcore rock crawling a highly modified Jeep. Our club adopted Carnage Canyon in Buena Vista, where we worked closely with the BLM to keep the trail in their good graces and initiated the opening of a new trail spur. When rock crawling got too slow for me, I evolved to UTVs, which further evolved to currently being a co-driver/driver of a very amateur UTV desert racing team competing in events like the Parker 400, Vegas to Reno, etc.
Regrettably, I got a late start (at 45 years old) into dirt bike riding, which has become my favorite pastime. My preferred riding is “light enduro” – jeep trails and single track with moderate obstacles. I am active in the CMTRA – riding regularly with other members and volunteering.
My day job is leading a commercial banking team for TBK Bank. My education includes some great mentors and more formally a Finance degree from the University of Iowa and an MBA from Creighton University.
Frankly, it’s personal for me – I often ride with my two sons. I want them (and their sons someday) to continue to have the memory-making, quality time, enjoyment, and the overall life-enhancement that trail riding facilitates.
Clive Heller
Board Member
I moved to Del Norte, CO, in 1976 and became involved in off-road riding soon thereafter. After competing on the Rocky Mountain Enduro Circuit (RMEC) for a couple of years, a group of like-minded riders and I in the San Luis Valley decided to form a club and sponsor a motorcycle event. We formed the Boot Hill Enduro Club (now known as Boot Hill Motorcycle Club) and soon after, held our first RMEC Enduro in 1981. The BHMC held ten annual events, including one National Enduro in the Southwestern San Luis Valley.
One of my primary roles with BHMC was engaging with the Forest Service and other government agencies. My responsibilities also included reaching agreements with other special use permittees such as ranchers with grazing permits, logging contractors, and private property owners. To paint a picture of the experience I bring to the TPA, I was engaged as a BHMC member when the Rio Grande National Forest (RGNF) did their last Travel Management Plan (TMP) in 1986, and now I will actively participate as a TPA Board member as the RGNF begins a new TMP almost four decades later.
In addition, I have served on the BLM Resource Advisory Committee, as Rotary Club President, and currently also hold a position with the Advisory Board of the San Juan Trail Riders in Durango, CO. Most of my professional career was spent as General Manager for a Ford Dealership in the San Luis Valley. My wife and I live in Littleton, CO, and we have two children and three grandchildren.
I consider it a privilege to serve on the TPA Board. I feel it is the best advocate for our sport in this part of the country. The TPA has accomplished a lot, but there will be serious challenges ahead.
Rene Waters
Board Member
I am a lifelong resident of Greeley, CO, and a part-time resident of Steamboat Springs. I attended the University of Northern Colorado, and after an early career with the Kroger Companies, I owned and managed several businesses in trucking, real estate development and construction, concrete manufacturing, and managed both commercial and residential properties. My board experience includes community bank and holding company boards, and I served two terms, one as president, of the Greeley Country Club. I was a founding board member of “Stay the Trail” from 2003-2008, South Dakota Trails Development from 2016-2023, and Mountain Trails Axxess Steamboat Springs.
I have been “A Dirt Bike Guy” since I was 10 years old… almost 60 years! I enjoyed all the Rocky Mountain Enduro Circuit (RMEC) events and helped promote the Calamity Pass Enduro, as well as worked behind the scenes for the Pine Ridge Enduro. I have overseen numerous OHV Grants for the Timberline Trail Riders in Steamboat Springs, transitioning to Mountain Trails Axcess. I have been involved as a guide on the Colorado 600, Colorado 500, Parts Unlimited Dealer Rides, KTM Adventure Rides all across Colorado, as well as a LEM (trail leader/guide) on the Dakota 600. All these experiences have allowed me to interact extensively with Forest Service and BLM employees, as well as understand the need for motorized communities to organize and be heard. The non-motorized faction is well-funded, very organized, and in front of decision-makers every day! We need to learn from them to do battle keeping trails open, as well as thoughtfully expand new and existing trails on public lands.
The TPA is the leader in Colorado in motorized as well as multiple use of our public lands, and I am pleased to be a part of it!
Consultants
Scott Jones
Consultant
I am a member of multiple state bars and the federal bar, with 20 years of active practice, and more than a decade of environmental law experience with all types of trail-based recreational activity and resources, I advocate and promote for recreational use and conservation of our public lands and natural resources throughout the western United States. As a lifelong outdoor enthusiast, my motorized activity started at a very young age and has encompassed almost anything that has moved at one point or another in my life. Many lawyers play golf, I weld off-road race trucks, rebuilt shocks, and carbs in the garage. My legal experience includes State and Federal Environmental Law, Endangered Species issues, and The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) planning. I have testified on a wide range of recreation issues in the US Senate, US House of Representatives, and at numerous agency hearings convened by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and US Forest Service.
I currently partner with the Trails Preservation Alliance, Off-Road Business Association (ORBA), One Voice (For Off-Road Motorized Recreation), Vice President of the United Snowmobile Association, and Colorado Off-Highway Vehicle Coalition (COHVCO) handling Congressional Wilderness proposals, various land management plans and travel plans from creation to objection and numerous species-specific issues. I also serve as Executive Director for the Colorado Snowmobile Association, chair the Colorado State Recreational Trails Committee, serve as the Colorado State Partner, Board Member of the National Off-Highway Vehicle Conservation Council, and am a past Chairman of the Western Chapter of Snowmobile Associations.
William (Bill) Alspach
Consultant
I am an independent consultant providing technical services to the TPA. I have been a supporter that believed in the mission of the TPA since the organization’s inception. As a Professional Engineer licensed in Colorado I bring technical expertise that includes engineering, water resources, erosion, and sediment control along with leadership skills and an extensive background in working with federal, state, and local governments. My professional background includes engineering degrees from Montana State University and Colorado State University, a twenty-year career as a US Army engineer and instructor at the US Military Academy, a senior engineer consultant for national engineering firms, and the City Engineer & Public Works Director for the City of Woodland Park, CO. I have authored advocacy articles in publications like Dirt Rider, the Colorado Off-Highway Vehicle Coalition (COHVCO) News, adventure stories for Overland Journal, and Big Tank magazine.
I enjoy all aspects of the outdoors and recreating on public lands but especially enjoy riding my dirt bike and playing on my trials bike. My riding resume includes serving as a Guide on both the Colorado 600 Trails Awareness Symposium and Colorado 500, Mexico to Canada on a dirt bike, and international dual-sport adventures that include Iceland, Indonesia, Canada, and off-road cross country rallies in Japan.