Conservationists working to protect outdoor recreation.
FarWide’s Values
Our History:
FarWide Conservation Trust was established in October 2021 as a non-profit organization established for charitable purposes as an exempt organization under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. We were established by a small group of passionate conservationists with a vision of addressing some of our most pressing conservation challenges using innovative and ground-breaking strategies. We received our tax-exempt status from the IRS in June, 2022. Donations to FWCT are deductible under the Internal Revenue Code.
Long Term Vision:
The vision of FarWide Conservation Trust is an abundance of outdoor recreational opportunities that are compatible with the long term conservation of habitats that support healthy and plentiful populations of fish and wildlife.
Our Mission:
FarWide Conservation Trust is dedicated to the conservation of fish and wildlife habitat and the expansion of outdoor recreational opportunities.
Management Team
Steve Raymond - Chairman
Steve is the Founder of FarWide Outdoors Inc, a for-profit technology company built for outdoor recreation enthusiasts. An avid outdoorsman, Steve grew up in Western Nebraska where game and access for hunting and fishing was ever abundant. As urban creep has continued, Mr Raymond developed a technology platform to help interested outdoorsman find access and opportunity across digital devices.
Alongside Steve Donovan, they have launched the FarWide Conservation Trust with a focus on helping protect and restore wildlife habitat and important watershed areas.
Steve Donovan - Executive Director
Steve has served in a variety of positions throughout his 35-year career in natural resources. He was with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for 8 years as a refuge manager and private lands biologist. He then spent 23 years with Ducks Unlimited as a biologist and conservation program manager. In that capacity he greatly accelerated the rate at which DU was buying and protecting wetland habitat through the Revolving Habitat Program while also helping create DU’s Soil Health Program. He spent two years as a Development Director for the National Wild Turkey Federation and has also assisted with fundraising efforts for several non-profit organizations. Steve is originally from Groton, South Dakota and received his Bachelor of Science degree in Wildlife and Fisheries Sciences from South Dakota State University in 1987. Steve and his wife Yvette have three daughters (Elizabeth, Victoria and Catherine). He currently lives in Hecla, South Dakota and, when it gets really cold, San Benito, Texas.
Ron Stromstad - Board Member
Ron Stromstad has enjoyed a long career in the field of natural resource management. He grew up on a farm in the far northwest corner of North Dakota. He graduated from the University of North Dakota with a wildlife degree. He worked for both the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation early in his career. He was assigned the task of starting a private lands program for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, a program that grew into the national “Partners for Fish and Wildlife Program”. He served as the chief of the Wildlife Division for the North Dakota Game and Fish Department. He moved to California and served as the Director of the Western Region for Ducks Unlimited for over a decade when he then moved back to North Dakota to accept a position as senior Director of Development for DU. Ron and his wife Peg live on Lake Sakakawea, where they fish for walleyes every chance they get.
Kelly McDowell worked as a wildlife biologist and refuge manager for more than 30 years with the National Wildlife Refuge System. Over his career Kelly has sought to protect special wild places through land protection, restoration, and management and he has been at the forefront of restoration of many habitats including, bottomland hardwood, oak-juniper and thorn scrub forests, prairies, prairie wetlands and coastal marshes. He has worked with a wide variety of species including waterfowl, shorebirds, rails, American alligators, white-tailed deer, ruffed grouse, forest songbirds and endangered species like whooping cranes, ocelots, aplomado falcon and golden-cheeked warblers. Kelly has secured over $700 million in funding and grants for wildlife conservation and helped to expand the National Wildlife Refuge System by almost 100,000 acres.
Kelly McDowell - Board Member
Randy Kleager grew up in the Rainwater Basin area of south-central Nebraska where he learned to love hunting upland birds and waterfowl. Randy spent 10 years in law enforcement after graduating from the University of Nebraska and is now retired after careers in sales and construction management. He has been active for decades with conservation projects with his work on the local level with volunteer groups such as Ducks Unlimited, Pheasants Forever, and Platte River Basin Environments where he spent 17 years as a board member. He has extensive experience putting together conservation projects from the different viewpoints of being a private landowner, contractor, and volunteer conservationist. He continues to hunt, mostly waterfowl and upland birds, with his Labrador retrievers and is passionate about hunter education and youth mentored hunting to ensure the future of our hunting heritage. Randy and his wife Karna live in western Nebraska and have 2 children and 5 grandchildren.
Randy Kleager - Board Member