Meet Our Experts
Steve and Sue Keefer
Steve Keefer retired from CPW in 2022 after serving as a wildlife officer in Area 12 out of Lamar for 35 years. He has been interested in wildlife since he was growing up in Kansas, frequently wandering the mountain trails near his grandparents’ cabin near Westcliffe in the summers. Steve has a bachelor’s degree in wildlife biology from Colorado State University and held temporary positions for the US Fish and Wildlife Service and other agencies when he was a student. Prior to being hired by CPW, he was a deputy sheriff in Grand County for four years. Steve is an avid hunter and fisherman, teaches hunter education, volunteers for CPW and the US Forest Service
Picketwire Canyon tours, has been on the La Junta Tarantula Fest Committee since its inception, and is president of the Las Animas-Bent County Fire and Ambulance board.
Sue Keefer is a retired librarian and former journalist who has loved wildlife since she was growing up in Illinois. She has a bachelor’s degree in journalism and a master’s in library science. Frequently seen with a camera in hand, she photographs anything nature-related, from landscapes, to birds, mammals, reptiles, and her favorite—insects and arachnids. She participates in several citizen science programs, including Project Feeder Watch, Native Bee Watch, and Bumble Bee Atlas, along with iNaturalist, where
she frequently posts her photos. Sue has volunteered for the Snow Goose Festival for several years, is volunteer for CPW and for the US Forest Service Picketwire Canyon Tours, and has been a member of the La Junta Tarantula Fest Committee since its inception. She recently started a nature photography blog: sceneinthewild.blog
Debbie Barnes
Debbie has been birding and photographing birds for over twenty years. In addition, she volunteers for Colorado State Parks, Colorado Breeding Bird Atlas II and several Christmas Bird Counts. She has taught raptor identification classes at Cheyenne Mountain State Park, spoken at meetings of Colorado State Parks Raptor Monitors and taught a birding class at Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument. She has written a bird guide for Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument and Cheyenne Mountain State Park. She is currently writing a guide for Mueller State Park. She served for several years on the board of Aiken Audubon and is currently serving on the Field Trip board for Colorado Field Ornithologists.
Dotti Russell
Dotti shares that the Redheaded woodpecker she found in the foothills of Colorado was the one that started her passion for birding. She calls it her "aha" bird. Happily, it was one of those birds whose names fits its description. Since then she has continued to bird in Colorado as well as other western states that she has lived in. She feels like birding brings her enjoyment from being outdoors and enjoying nature.