ALAMOSA — The Rio Grande Headwaters Land Trust (RiGHT) announced this week that Laura Cusick has become the Executive Director of the organization. Laura joined the land trust in March of 2023 to direct the Land Protection Program.
Cusick grew up in the Pacific Northwest and has lived in Maine, Wyoming, Oregon and New Zealand. She loves to travel and experience new places, cultures and food. She holds a B.S. in environmental education, a graduate diploma in viticulture and enology, and her previous career as a winemaker in the Willamette Valley led her full circle to pursuing her true passion of conservation. Working with wine growers and vineyards across the state gave Laura plenty of experience with agriculture and small business operations, and tending her own small acreage motivated her to help others conserve their land.
In addition to those passions, Cusick loves the outdoors and enjoys skiing, hiking, camping, cooking, and curling up with a good book and glass of wine by the fire on a snowy day. She is excited to continue her career collaborating with all of RiGHT’s partners on land and water conservation in the San Luis Valley.
“We are excited to have Laura at the helm of our organization,” read a press release submitted by Kyler Brown. “We are currently looking to fill a position a development/fundraising position within our staff. RiGHT is currently taking applications for new board members. Go to rightslv.org to contact us.”
The Rio Grande Headwaters Land Trust was founded as a 501 (c)(3) non-profit organization in 1999 to help secure water for the future. Self-described as the only community’s land trust that serves the entire San Luis Valley, RiGHT is committed to working with private landowners, public agencies, and other conservation organizations to preserve the natural beauty and wildlife habitat of the area and to promote a sustainable agricultural way of life.
As stated on the RiGHT website, the goals of the organization are to protect and support working ranches and farms, water resources, wildlife habitat, scenic landscapes, and inspire a culture of conservation in the San Luis Valley.
A land trust is a nonprofit organization that, as all or part of its mission, actively works to conserve land. Land trusts traditionally achieve their conservation goals by acquiring and stewarding land or conservation easements.
More recently many land trusts, like RiGHT, have started to broaden their programs beyond property acquisitions to help all people benefit from conserved lands. As stated on their website, “We believe working with more of our community will support our goal of protecting land and water forever.”
