CHAIRMAN

Bill is a Vietnam veteran and practiced criminal law in Bozeman for 34 years. He consecutively paddled 240 months on Montana water.

SECRETARY/TREASURER

John is a professor of environmental law at the University of Oregon. He founded the Public Interest Environmental Law Conference, the largest environmental law conference in the world. Before beginning work for the University of Oregon, Bonine was in charge of national air pollution law for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

BOARD MEMBER

Tom is a Vietnam veteran and former captain of the Los Angeles Police Department. He is the CEO of Thomas Dale and Associates, a global investigative and security firm.

BOARD MEMBER

Badass. Rest In Peace, Boss.

BOARD MEMBER

Josie is a Cottonwood intern-turned-board member. When she is not studying international politics at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland, she can be found horsepacking in the Rockies or playing polo in Argentina.

BOARD MEMBER

After graduating with a degree in Civil Engineering from UC Berkeley, Jon built and managed an environmental remediation company for over 30 years. Jon relishes calling Montana his home, and his love and commitment to public lands, clean rivers, and pristine wilderness drive his support for Cottonwood Law.

Pat is a professor of environmental law at Vermont Law School. He is nationally recognized for his expertise regarding endangered species and biological diversity, water quality and wetlands, environmental policy and litigation, and land use and property rights.

Alaina is a self-taught and internationally renowned artist from the So’taa’ee band of the Northern Cheyenne Nation. Her work honors women that made a difference.

Craig co-founded 1% for the Planet. He is an avid fly fisherman, former police chief of West Yellowstone, and previous owner of Blue Ribbon Flies.

Rick is a retired wildlife biologist for the National Park Service. He spent 17 years as the leader of the Yellowstone Bison Ecology and Management Team. Rick’s work with Cottonwood focuses on finding ways for our society to allow bison to migrate on public lands outside of Yellowstone National Park.

Lara is a sustainability and policy professional with over fifteen years experience managing partnerships, initiatives and policy engagement with companies, international organizations, governments and NGOs. She holds an M.A. in International Trade Policy, served as a Fulbright Scholar in Morocco, worked as an International Economic Specialist in Washington D.C., and held positions on Capitol Hill with the U.S. Senate Finance Committee and in the Office of the Democratic Leader.

Trevor serves as the Farm to Institution program manager at the Vermont Agency of Agriculture. He worked for the University of Montana after receiving a Masters in Food Studies from NYU.

Mike is a long-time practicing attorney in Bozeman, Montana. He is a skilled mediator, avid cyclist, and strong advocate for making Bozeman a sustainable home for future generations.

Joan's environmental activism started in the 1970s with petitions to stop the Yellowstone River from being dammed in Livingston, Montana. She then went on to help prevent storage of uranium tailings in Montana. Joan served as President of the Montana Wilderness Association (now Montana Wild) in the early 1980s and helped form the Greater Yellowstone Coalition.

Alex is a social media wizard that interned with Cottonwood during the summer of 2023. In a matter of three months, Alex increased our following from 20 people to over 20,000. Alex helps coach Cottonwood’s social media interns when he isn’t fishing or finishing his thesis at Colorado College.

Pat is a distinguished professor at West Virginia University College of Law faculty where he has taught courses in contracts, civil procedure, criminal, environmental, administrative, land use and natural resources, constitutional law, and appellate advocacy as well as seminars in public access to information, environmental justice and U.S. Supreme Court litigation.

Lauren is a biostatistician, mother, outdoor enthusiast and fierce steward of our environment. Her passion led her to become certified as a Home Energy Auditor and focus on reducing the footprint of residential and commercial spaces. She has supported the work of Earthjustice for more than a decade and now brings this fight closer to home through her collaboration with Cottonwood.

Dan is retired from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, where he worked in fishery management and fish biology from the mid-1980s to 2014. Dan was privileged to have worked in Yellowstone National Park, as well as in Kalispell and Bozeman, MT. Dan is an adherent of Aldo Leopold’s land ethic—the idea that the well-being of people and land is intertwined—and is an advocate for environmentally responsible development.

Steve’s love for the outdoors brought him to Bozeman 27 years ago from Lake Tahoe. Today he is full time on skis, bikes, trails, and rivers. In the past, Steve spent much of his non-outdoor time working as a lawyer and business leader.”

Jon is the former Commissioner of Political Practices in Montana. He has authored and published over 200 decisions, opinions or statements regarding campaign finance, ethics, or lobbying. Jon has been licensed to practice law in Montana since 1981.