It’s difficult to imagine a starker contrast to Vermont’s humid, hardwood forests than the dry, flat, spiny sweep of a shortgrass prairie. As Northeast Wilderness Trust’s (NEWT) Wildlands Ecologist, I spend most of my time studying the former—traversing rolling, rewilding forests of hemlock, maple, birch, and spruce, dotted with beaver ponds and bogs. But on a late-spring morning in early May, I found myself at work in an almost unrecognizable landscape: binoculars in hand, surrounded by sagebrush, yucca, and cholla on the banks of the Purgatoire River in southeastern Colorado.
Perhaps the term “river” is a generous description for that particular waterway. In the Northeast, it would likely be called a “creek” or “brook,” but on these arid plains, which receive only about 12 inches of rainfall annually, this modest waterway serves as a vital corridor and safe haven for plants, wildlife, and people. For three days this May, it also became a meeting place for rewilding advocates from across the United States to network and discuss bird conservation.
https://newildernesstrust.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Bison-Colorado.jpg7001050Jason Mazurowski, NEWT’s Wildlands Ecologisthttps://newildernesstrust.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/NEWTLogo.pngJason Mazurowski, NEWT’s Wildlands Ecologist2025-05-21 16:08:212025-06-20 16:54:44Studying Birds and Wildlands Ecology on the Great Plains
Several years ago, I moved into a cabin in a cold mountain hollow adjacent to NEWT’s Woodbury Mountain Wilderness Preserve. At the time, an alder swamp fed by the headwaters of Pekin Brook filled the bottom of the valley. According to the previous landowners, there had been a beaver pond there until floodwaters from Hurricane Irene breached the dam in 2011, draining the pond within minutes. With the area’s hardwood supply depleted, preventing the resident beavers from rebuilding the destroyed dam, they apparently chose to relocate. Over the 13 years since the beavers left, the pond transitioned first to a wet meadow, and then eventually to an impenetrable alder swamp.
According to Tom Wessells’ Reading the Forested Landscape, beavers will almost always return to the site of a previous pond, though they will usually wait until the woody vegetation reaches at least “pole size.” Since beavers receive most of their nutrition from cambium – the outermost layers of a tree – a decade-old alder swamp provides them with an abundant source of stems that are relatively easy to fell and transport, as well as plenty of cambium-filled surface area for them to chew on.
As a member of NEWT’s Wildlands Ecology team, I study how ecological processes play out on our forever-wild preserves and easements. A key difference between these and managed forests is that the former tends to be “messier.” A walk through a rewilding forest, where human influence is minimal, will reveal landscape features like the exposed root balls of fallen trees (“tip-up mounds”) and other forms of dead and decaying wood strewn about the forest floor. This material, which scientists refer to broadly as “coarse woody debris” (CWD), is a critical ecosystem element that provides everything from homes for numerous species to vital soil nutrients. And because wildlands abound with CWD, which is often lacking in managed landscapes, they offer a terrific opportunity to better understand how wildlife interact with CWD as they go about their wild business.
To investigate further, I piloted a year-long CWD study at NEWT’s Woodbury Mountain Wilderness Preserve in Vermont to examine whether the size of a CWD element, such as a fallen tree, plays a role in how different species of wildlife make use of it. I deployed five pairs of cameras, 10 cameras in total, on five of our preexisting research plots across Woodbury Mountain. At each plot, I pointed one camera toward a large piece of CWD (greater than 40 centimeters in diameter), and the other toward a small one (10 to 30 centimeters in diameter). The motion-activated cameras collected footage over five months.
Reviewing the Footage
After collecting the cameras, I sorted through the more than 5.5 hours of footage, which captured 23 species, including raccoon, Ruffed Grouse, white-tailed deer, and more.
Typically, the largest of the species recorded made use of the larger CWD: a bobcat perching on a large fallen tree, a black bear family dancing across an old yellow birch, curious coyotes sniffing the cameras after walking across gnarled, decaying logs. Moose stepped over large trunks and weasels settled on branches to wait for an opportunity at dinner.
The footage of the small CWD featured a different suite of species. Hermit Thrushes and other songbirds alit in search of a snack, while flying squirrels leapt from tree limbs. Mink scampered along a sunlit branch, fisher cats stopped as though enjoying the quiet, and chipmunks bounded along limbs of fallen tree crowns in pursuit of nuts and seeds.
In Support of Messy Landscapes
The CWD interactions documented by each of the 10 cameras are hallmarks of wilderness. Downed wood might look unsightly to us, but as the footage demonstrates, wildlife might depend on it for a diversity of uses. The family of bears ambling single file across a rotting birch suggests that some species take advantage of higher ground to monitor for threats. A flycatcher landing on a detached branch and zipping out to catch a flying insect highlights how these landscape features we might not notice on a walk in the woods serve a vital purpose for aerial insectivores, an ailing class of birds.
The ecological benefits of CWD showcased by the footage are many. Dead wood forms part of the structural complexity typical of old forests, which tend to host higher levels of biodiversity and sequester more carbon than their younger, cleaner counterparts. But the footage also peels back another layer of significance. It allows us to peer into the wild, untrammeled world; to see many of the Northeast’s revered species thriving in their natural habitat. And it shows them doing so on a property that, thanks to NEWT’s forever-wild conservation method, is protected as wilderness in perpetuity, where Nature directs the ebb and flow of life and our wild kin have the freedom to exist simply for their own sake.
https://newildernesstrust.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Trees-at-Little-River-Janelle-Jones.jpg7001050Eric Baileyhttps://newildernesstrust.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/NEWTLogo.pngEric Bailey2025-03-12 10:33:442025-06-20 17:04:11A Woody Window into Wildlife Habitat and Behavior
Vermont River Conservancy took the final steps to permanently protect more than 6,000 acres owned by Northeast Wilderness Trust at the headwaters of the Lamoille and Winooski Rivers, the organization’s largest undertaking in its 30-year history.
The “forever-wild” conservation easement ensures the property’s abundant wetlands and forests will be allowed to grow old over time, improving flood resilience for adjacent communities and protecting key wildlife habitat. The project was initiated by Northeast Wilderness Trust, which acquired multiple properties to create the expansive Woodbury Mountain Wilderness Preserve and subsequently donated the conservation easement to Vermont River Conservancy. “Northeast Wilderness Trust conveys conservation easements to other land trusts to ensure permanence beyond our ownership,” said Caitlin Mather, Land Conservation Director at Northeast Wilderness Trust. “This added layer is the highest form of legal protection. We are grateful to have partnered with Vermont River Conservancy to achieve this forever-wild outcome.”
The Preserve protects the summit of Woodbury Mountain, Eagle Ledge, expansive wetlands, and 36 miles of headwater streams.
“All climate models predict central Vermont will see more drought and more floods, just as we’ve seen over the past 2 years. Protecting vibrant wetlands and allowing headwater forests to grow old is critical to rebuilding the spongy soils that store massive amounts of water – ultimately helping keep communities safer during droughts and floods,” said Erin De Vries, conservation director for Vermont River Conservancy.
One of North America’s most elusive predators has grabbed the Vermont spotlight this autumn. A Canada lynx was sighted in August in Rutland County and has been spotted multiple times since in its journey north. Just seven sightings of the state-endangered and nationally threatened wildcat have been confirmed in Vermont, mostly in the Northeast Kingdom, since 2016. Northern New England forms the southern periphery of the lynx’s range, most of which spreads across Canada’s boreal forest.
According to Shelby Perry, Northeast Wilderness Trust’s (NEWT) Wildlands Ecology Director, the lynx in question was probably after love and land: “Like cougars and other wide-ranging carnivores, lynx will travel long distances in search of a home range and a mate. This lynx was likely on the move in search of a female and a place to settle down.”
The Canada Lynx in question photographed in Vermont’s Addison County during dispersal. Courtesy of the Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department.
https://newildernesstrust.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/Lynx028_Ghost-Cat-in-Spruce-Cover_REPLACEMENT-PHOTO-scaled.jpg19202560Northeast Wilderness Trusthttps://newildernesstrust.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/NEWTLogo.pngNortheast Wilderness Trust2024-10-24 11:44:492024-10-31 14:00:27Rare Lynx Sightings Put Carnivores and Wildlands in the Spotlight
Northeast Wilderness Trust, a regional land trust based in Montpelier, VT, has purchased 160 acres of forestland surrounded on three sides by its 6,097-acre Woodbury Mountain Wilderness Preserve.
https://newildernesstrust.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/2-4.jpg6991053Colby Galliherhttps://newildernesstrust.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/NEWTLogo.pngColby Galliher2024-05-23 14:33:312024-09-13 10:51:08New Addition to Largest Non-Governmental Wilderness in Vermont
https://newildernesstrust.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/11.jpg256512Maddie Hatoumhttps://newildernesstrust.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/NEWTLogo.pngMaddie Hatoum2024-04-09 10:42:522024-05-07 11:01:37Northeast Wilderness Trust hosts second Learning Circle book group
https://newildernesstrust.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/P6025443-scaled.jpg19202560Northeast Wilderness Trusthttps://newildernesstrust.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/NEWTLogo.pngNortheast Wilderness Trust2023-12-21 08:32:542023-12-21 12:44:00Northeast Wilderness Trust hosts first Learning Circle book group
Shelby Perry, Wildlands Ecologist, is Walking for Wilderness for the fifth year in a row, with an ambitious goal to raise $10,000 to help protect Bear’s Nest Wilderness Preserve in Vermont.
https://newildernesstrust.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/News-WalkforWildernessBearsNest-JM.jpg6991053Northeast Wilderness Trusthttps://newildernesstrust.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/NEWTLogo.pngNortheast Wilderness Trust2023-08-28 12:11:452024-09-13 10:51:155th Anniversary Walk for Wilderness – October 11-15th, 2023
A childhood of discovery in Vermont’s forests inspired both artistic and scientific pursuits for Anna and her siblings. As the Director of Development for Northeast Wilderness Trust, Anna brings a passion for connecting with people and building frameworks of support to sustain wilderness conservation in the region. With a background in music education and nonprofit development, she has been an integral member of the fundraising teams at Shelburne Farms and Palm Beach Opera. Anna holds a Bachelor of Music in Music Education and a Master of Arts in Art and Culture Management from the University of Denver. Home in Vermont with her two dogs, Dublin and Echo, she enjoys snowboarding, hiking, cycling, paddleboarding, and reading.
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Shelby Perry
Shelby Perry is the Wildlands Ecology Director at Northeast Wilderness Trust. She oversees all aspects of the Wildlands Ecology program, which conducts, supports, and shares ecological research pertaining to wildlands and inventories ecological values on the Wilderness Trust’s protected lands. She holds a B.S. in Environmental Engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and an M.S. in Plant Biology – Field Naturalist from the University of Vermont, and speaks and presents frequently around the Northeast on wildlands, rewilding, and old forests. When not working in them, Shelby can usually be found playing in wild forests, exploring them on foot, in snowshoes, or through the lens of her camera.
Janelle Jones
Janelle joined Northeast Wilderness Trust with a background that complemented the wild terrain of the Northeast. After taking a brief break from higher education, Janelle obtained a master’s degree in conservation biology from Green Mountain College in 2019, but her environmental journey did not start there. Her “forever-passion” for “forever-wild” places stems from a lifetime of outdoor explorations and professional and volunteer endeavors across northern New York. As a resident of the Adirondack Park, Janelle enjoys canoeing, birding, skiing, and day-dreaming about the next adventure. Janelle can answer any questions about the Wilderness Trust’s conserved properties in New York.
Carol MacKinnon
New York
Carol is the Deputy Publisher of the Adirondack Explorer , a nonprofit newsmagazine covering the Adirondack Park. She received a BA from Yale University and an MBA from the University of Virginia. She is a certified Master Composter. Carol is based in Saranac Lake and New York City and spends much of her free time hiking, skiing, biking and swimming in the Adirondacks.
Michael Gauthier
Michael is a proud native Vermonter who’s maternal side of the family dates back many generations. Michael graduated from Champlain College with a BA in accounting and has worked in nonprofit accounting for over thirty years. He has worked for a community action agency, a New England healthcare organization, and an international nonprofit before coming to Northeast Wilderness Trust as the Finance Manager. He likes to trail run, read, cook, and strum on his ukulele as well as taking urban and rural hikes with his dog Ethel who you will find by his side in his office at NEWT most every day. Michael was very happy to find an organization that holds the same values as he does concerning rewilding by allowing nature to evolve and adapt naturally.
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Laura Appell-Warren
Laura taught in independent schools for 41 years. First at Milton Academy, in Milton, MA, and then at St. Mark’s School, in Southborough, MA. At St. Mark’s School she was the founding Director of Global Citizenship. Recently retired, Laura and her husband, John, now reside in Weybridge, VT.
Laura has been involved in land conservation and environmental education in the Western Mountains of Maine for several decades and serves on the Board of Directors of the Rangeley Lakes Heritage Trust and also on the Board of Directors of The Chewonki Foundation. She cares deeply about land conservation as a way to build climate change resilience and as a way to educate the next generation about the importance of sustainable forest management and the natural world.
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David Mallard
Dave joined the Wilderness Trust in 2025 with over 15 years of experience as a Stewardship Director, first with the York Land Trust in Maine, and then with Lakes Region Conservation Trust in New Hampshire for the past 12+ years. Before that, Dave was a Biologist with Maine Audubon and an educator and guide with the Appalachian Mountain Club, Adirondack Mountain Club, the University of New England, and the Vermont State Parks. Dave holds a B.S. in Environmental Science from the University of Vermont and a Master’s of Science in Conservation Biology from Antioch University New England. In his spare time, he enjoys studying natural communities and wildlife habitats while hiking, paddling, fishing, and skiing.
Jason Mazurowski
Jason is an ecologist and naturalist with a wide range of interests and expertise. Before arriving at NEWT, he taught courses in the Field Naturalist program at the University of Vermont and led projects studying pollination ecology at the Gund Institute for Environment. He holds an M.S. in Plant Biology from UVM’s Field Naturalist program and a B.S. in Geology and Environmental Studies from SUNY Buffalo. Jason’s love for the north woods stems from his experiences as a guide and dog sled musher in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, and as a naturalist in the Appalachian Mountain Club’s high mountain huts. He now lives on an off-grid homestead adjacent to the Woodbury Mountain Wilderness Preserve. In his spare time he enjoys exploring the wilds of Woodbury, chasing bumblebees, baking bread, and spending as much time as possible running, skiing, and hiking above treeline with his border collie, Raven.
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George Bakajza
George grew up in rural central Pennsylvania where he developed an early interest in nature and the impacts humans have on it. He attended Penn State University earning a B.S. degree in Environmental Resource Management and an M.S. degree in Agronomy centered on the restoration of severely disturbed lands. His conservation career started in 1977 as a Soil Conservationist at the USDA Soil Conservation Service (SCS) at various locations in Pennsylvania. He moved to Maine in 1982 to continue working with the SCS as the District Conservationist for the for Piscataquis County and later for Somerset County. After leaving the SCS, he worked as a self-employed soil scientist in Maine doing soil & environmental consulting. The work centered on the sustainable use and management of soil, land and water with an emphasis on soil health, land conservation and the protection of water quality. George later was employed by Sweet Water Trust and has been involved with Northeast Wilderness Trust since its founding. George and his wife Anne have three adult daughters and have a home on Moosehead Lake near Rockwood, ME. He enjoys his family, gardening, hiking, fishing, hunting and various other activities.
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Bill Roper
Bill Roper has dedicated his professional and personal life to landscape conservation, inclusive community engagement, and sound land use planning. He has done this first as an environmental attorney in Vermont, then as the head of the Orton Family Foundation, and finally as a community watershed-resilience consultant to the High Meadows Fund. He’s served on VT non-profit boards and on his local planning commission. He is an avid cyclist and lives with his wife on a conserved 80-acre parcel in Weybridge, Vermont.
Alan Jutras
Alan is a managing director in the audit practice of a large international audit, tax, and advisory firm where his is responsible for overseeing financial statement audits for not-for-profit and privately held organizations. He has worked with non-for-profit organizations his entire career, including for several years at a Massachusetts land trust. Alan is an outdoor enthusiast and lives with his family Beverly, Massachusetts.
Jon Leibowitz
Jon Leibowitz is the President & CEO of Northeast Wilderness Trust, a position he has held since 2017. With a decade of conservation experience, Jon began his career in 2012 as a transaction specialist at Montezuma Land Conservancy in Colorado, where he later served as Executive Director. In addition to his conservation work, he co-owns WildEdge Brewing Collective in Cortez, Colorado.
Jon holds a Juris Doctor and a Master’s in Environmental Law and Policy from Vermont Law School, and a Bachelor’s degree from the University of Colorado Boulder. He actively volunteers on various state, regional, and national committees, including the Steering Committee of Wildlands, Woodlands, Farmlands & Communities, the Leadership Council of The Rewilding Institute, and the national Land Trust Alliance Leadership Council.
In his free time, Jon enjoys gardening and exploring the forest surrounding his home in Middlesex, Vermont, at the southern edge of the Worcester Mountains. He shares his home with his wife, two sons, a border collie, chickens, and an abundance of wildlife—his favorite being Hermit Thrushes, fishers, and red efts.
Aram Calhoun
Aram Calhoun is Professor Emerita of Wetland Ecology and Conservation in the Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Conservation Biology at the University of Maine. Her research focuses on wetland conservation, in particular how vernal pools function as keystone ecosystems. She grew up in the woods of Rhode Island, and mostly stuck to the Ocean State for her studies, attending Brown University (A.B.), Rhode Island College (M.A. in Teaching), and the University of Rhode Island (M.S. in Wetland Ecology).
Mark Zankel
Mark serves as the Director of Community Solar for ReVision Energy, a 100% employee-owned working to make life better by building our just and equitable electric future. Mark previously spent 28 years at The Nature Conservancy, serving as the NH Chapter’s Director of Conservation Programs and then a decade as NH State Director. He and his wife Susan live in New Hampshire, where they raised their two children, and proudly power their home with two ReVision-installed ground-mount solar arrays. Mark enjoys hiking, biking, snowshoeing and skiing with family and friends, playing guitar, and brewing up homemade maple syrup. He is an alumni and current trustee of Leadership NH, sits on the Hopkinton Budget Committees and chairs the town’s Community Power Committee, and has served on the boards of Capital Center for the Arts and Five Rivers Conservation Trust.
Cathleen Maine
Having grown up north of the Catskill Mountains, Cathleen spent most of her time outdoors wandering and exploring the forest and streams around her, fostering a deep commitment to wildlife and nature. Cathleen brings three decades of nonprofit experience in finance, operations, HR, and development to the Wilderness Trust. In her role as Vice President of Operations, she helps to move the Wilderness Trust strategically forward by supporting and strengthening its organizational structure and people power. In her free time, she enjoys spending time with her daughter, reading, exploring New England, cooking, and making art.
Sophie Ehrhardt
Sophie’s desire to be involved with protecting the forests and waters of the Northeast for all the species who reside there, and to play a role addressing the challenges of climate change, made the Wilderness Trust a natural work habitat for her. Sophie has a bachelor’s degree in Classics from St. John’s College and a master’s degree in Environmental Law and Policy from Vermont Law School. She feels incredibly fortunate to spend more time in the woods than at a desk. In her free time Sophie enjoys paddling, walking among trees, and spying on birds. Indoors, she loves feeding her friends and family, and roping them into playing strategy games. Contact Sophie if you have a question about one of the Wilderness Trust’s conserved properties in Vermont.
Joe Falconeiri
After spending 15 years climbing the ladder of wealth management in Boston, Joe decided to trade in his suit and tie for his true passion, land conservation and stewardship. In the years since he held stewardship posts across New England while serving as a Ranger and Naturalist Interpreter with Waquoit Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve. He continues to pursue his mission to help people, institutions, and organizations become more keenly aware and connected to the cultural, social, economic, and environmental benefits land conservation brings to our lives in his role as Southern New England Land Steward. Contact Joe if you have a question about the Wilderness Trust’s conserved properties in southern New England.
Tom Butler
Before joining the staff, Tom was a founding board member and past board president of Northeast Wilderness Trust. During his years working for the Foundation for Deep Ecology and Tompkins Conservation (where he serves as a board member) he had the privilege to learn from some of Earth’s leading wilderness champions. A former editor of Wild Earth journal, Tom is the author or editor of more than a dozen books including Wildlands Philanthropy, Plundering Appalachia, Keeping the Wild, and ENERGY: Overdevelopment and the Delusion of Endless Growth. As Senior Fellow, he serves as the Wilderness Trust’s ambassador for wild values, and while not in front of a laptop he spends as much time as he can exploring in his canoe.
Bob Linck
In his youth, Bob formed an early connection with wilderness. At his family’s Lynx Camp for Boys he led summertime wilderness canoe trips in the Adirondacks and Canada. During the school year, he witnessed the Hudson Highlands’ beauty and their environmental degradation. Those experiences led him to earn a B.S. in Biology and Environmental Studies from St. Lawrence University and an M.S. in Water Resources Management from the University of Wisconsin. Bob has worked for four land trusts, including serving as a Regional Director for 19 years at Vermont Land Trust. Devoting himself to expanding the forever-wild landscape represented the opportunity of a lifetime. Bob lives in Hinesburg, VT with his wife Leanne Klyza Linck, who has also devoted her career to wild nature. Their grown sons, Ethan and Garrett, also care deeply about wilderness.
Hannah Epstein
Hannah joined Northeast Wilderness Trust with a background in land stewardship and a lifelong connection to the northeastern landscape. After receiving her B.S. in Environmental Sciences from the University of Vermont, she began her career as a land steward with the Southeast Land Trust of New Hampshire followed by the Vermont Chapter of The Nature Conservancy. She has also worked growing and planting native trees and plants for restoration projects with the Intervale Conservation Nursery (Vermont) and the National Park Service (Nevada). In her free time, Hannah can usually be found exploring new places with her dog. Hannah can answer inquiries about the Wilderness Trust’s stewardship policies and conserved properties.
Caitlin Mather
Caitlin came to Northeast Wilderness Trust with a background in a wide range of land conservation transactions while working as a Paralegal at the Vermont Land Trust. Outside the office Caitlin can be found in her garden, swimming in the Northeast’s many lakes, cooking up delights in her kitchen, and honing her skills as a backyard naturalist. As Land Protection Director, Caitlin is the person to contact if you have questions about the Wildlands Partnership program, or if you are interested in exploring forever-wild conservation for your land.
Becky Clough
With a B.S. in Adventure Education Leadership from Maine’s Unity College, Becky has spent much of the last few decades teaching people how to rewild themselves in the remote river canyons of the Southwest, the coral reefs of the Caribbean, along trout streams of the high Sierras, and throughout the mountains and arctic tundra of Alaska. Her return home to Maine provided the opportunity build herself a small home in the woods, live close to family, and realize her dream of stewarding the same forests that give adventure to her soul by working as Northeast Wilderness Trust’s Northern New England Land Steward. When not in the woods, Becky enjoys woodworking, packrafting, gardening, coffee by the woodstove, and ski/mountain bike patrolling at her local hill. Get in touch with Becky if you have questions about the Wilderness Trust’s conserved properties in Maine.
Eric Bailey
Eric is a graduate of Sterling College with a B.A. in Ecology, with a focus on the intersections between recreation and ecology. He has always had a deep appreciation for outdoor spaces and conservation, and finds interest in studying how human recreation can impact natural spaces and alter their functionality. For his capstone project at Sterling College he assessed impacts of recreation along a stretch of the Northern Forest Canoe Trail in order to understand how paddling is affecting the ecology of the area. In his free time, he enjoys wandering through the woods, swimming, paddling, painting, tending to his garden, singing, and playing his guitar.
Tricia Bhatia
Tricia joined the wild side as the Carbon and Transaction Specialist for Northeast Wilderness Trust. Before the Wilderness Trust, she worked at Vermont Land Trust on the legal team and helped to launch their carbon program. She has worked on and off in land conservation and ecology since 2001. Tricia has a B.S. in Political Science and Environmental Studies from College of the Holy Cross.
Mandy Yonkman
Mandy Yonkman is the Donor Impact Coordinator for the Wilderness Trust, responsible for coordinating fundraising campaigns, donor relations, and engagement efforts, and maintaining and managing data. Mandy has a B.S. from the Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources at the University of Vermont and has spent time working for Vermont nonprofits as well as managing a social justice retreat center on an organic farm. Mandy’s interest in wilderness preservation stems from her years spent working and playing in the mountains, lakes, and streams of New England.
Jeff Fournier
Jeff is a social profit innovator with two decades of experience leading non-profit finances at the local, national, and international scale. He’s a systems thinker working to identify and leverage operational efficiencies to align revenue generation with sustainable mission impact and growth. He holds an M.B.A. from Antioch New England University plus a B.A. in Outdoor Education & Leadership and an A.A. in Natural Resource Management from Sterling College in Craftsbury Vermont. He lives in Montpelier and enjoys chasing brook trout across New England.
Nicie Panetta
Wandering alone amid the birches in New Hampshire woods and sleeping beneath the stars in a California forest with her big sisters are some of the childhood experiences that seeded Nicie’s love for, and sense of home in, wild nature. In her role as the Wilderness Trust’s VP of Advancement, Nicie brings together her experience in finance, communications and non-profit leadership to lead our fundraising and communications teams and to help build the Wilderness Trust for the future. Outside of work, you will find her either outside, hiking, running or sailing the coast of Maine with her husband Jay Panetta in their old wooden sailboat, Owl. Or she might be inside by the fire reading or studying Japanese with her tiger cat Kenji.
Maddie Hatoum
With a deep passion for the landscapes of the Northeast, and a background in data, design and communication, Maddie Hatoum is the Digital and Technical Coordinator for the Wilderness Trust. Her passion for conservation was fostered by a childhood spent in Vermont, summers hiking in Acadia National Park, and receiving a B.S. in Communication from Ithaca College in upstate NY. Maddie enjoys supporting a team that communicates the importance of protecting these beloved places for everyone. She spends most of her free time outside on the lake, reading, and making her own clothes using natural fibers.
Colby Galliher
After growing up in Massachusetts and attending college in Maine, Colby started his career as a researcher and analyst at a public policy think tank in Washington, D.C. He soon realized that the Northeast’s forests, rivers, and mountains were calling him home. In past positions and as a freelancer, Colby has written a book chapter, scholarly reports, and articles for local, regional, and national publications. His short fiction has also been published in a variety of literary journals. At the Wilderness Trust, he writes about the organization’s work and helps formulate and execute its external communications strategy. He holds a B.A. in Political Science with honors from Bates College and is an avid birder, amateur naturalist, and self-taught musician.
Peter Mandych
Peter’s passion for wilderness conservation comes from hours spent exploring the outdoors as a child, and later as a professional guide throughout the Mountain West and Vermont. As Land Conservation Manager, Peter draws on his experience as a commercial real estate attorney at a large Boston law firm. In his free time, Peter serves on the board of the Duxbury Land Trust and enjoys hiking, backcountry skiing and spending time outdoors with his family and giant dog.
Ptarmigan Abbott
As Operations Manager, Ptarmigan coordinates day-to-day operations for the Wilderness Trust. She brings years of experience navigating the world of operations and administration in a variety of Vermont non-profits and is thrilled to combine her passion for detail with her love of nature and wild places. Ptarmigan received her B.A. from Middlebury College and M.P.A. from the University of Southern California. Outside of work, Ptarmigan can be found enjoying the outdoors, in the woods or on the water, reading, or playing agility with her dog.
Rich Knox
Rich’s love of nature, combined with his nonprofit communications management experience, makes a perfect fit for his role as Communications Director. Rich has a master’s degree in marketing from the Carlson School of Management and has worked in the land conservation field for nearly two decades. Based in Brunswick Maine, Rich travels to and from Montpelier and various Wilderness Trust Preserves as part of his continued exploration of the waters, woods, and wildlands of the region—sharing stories of impact that advance the cause of rewilding the Northeast.
Annie Faulkner
Board Emerita
New Hampshire
Annie is a founding board member of the Northeast Wilderness Trust, and served as President, Secretary and Treasurer during her 15-year tenure on the Board of Directors. She is a landowner with conserved properties in New Hampshire and Maine. Annie has worked as an environmental activist and writer, community organizer, and reproductive health researcher, educator and counselor. Annie likes to hike, ski, and camp in remote and/or high elevation terrain. She lives with her husband, Bob King, their two amazing teenagers, and two pets in a nicely converted woodshed in Keene, New Hampshire.
Mark Anderson
Board Emeritus
Massachusetts
Mark is Director of Conservation Science for The Nature Conservancy’s eastern U.S. region. Mark provides science leadership, ecological analysis, and landscape assessment tools for conservation efforts across twenty-two states. His current research interests include ecological resilience, disturbance processes, geophysical landscape properties, and seafloor mapping. Mark lives with his family, two goats, three cats, one dog, occasional chickens, a visiting pair of barred owls, and a lot of trees in coastal MA.
Ptarmigan Abbott
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Kathleen H. Fitzgerald
Kathleen is a protected area specialist with over two decades of experience in integrated large landscape conservation and development programs in Africa, Central America, and North America. She created new protected and conserved areas (PCA), improved management and financial sustainability of PAs, established Collaborative Management Partnerships for PA management in six countries covering 14 million hectares and led community and climate resiliency initiatives. She was Vice President at the African Wildlife Foundation and a partner at Conservation Capital. She is the Project Director, Enduring Earth at Pew Charitable Trusts, a Senior Advisor to the World Bank’s Global Wildlife Program and was co-founder and Executive Director of the Northeast Wilderness Trust.
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Resilience
Vast, interconnected habitats offer the best hope for species to survive and adapt to climate change as weather events become more unpredictable and temperatures rise.
In wild forests where soil is undisturbed, vast mycorrhizal networks help trees, especially older ones, “share” carbon with one another, even between different species. These subterranean networks of fungi become more connected the older and less disturbed a forest is. They help forests react to and survive stresses such as drought or pests.
In addition, complex habitats are resilient habitats. No matter the state of a forest when the Wilderness Trust first protects it, from that day forward, it will grow in age and complexity year after year, becoming more resilient as time goes on.
Carbon Storage
Old forests store immense amounts of carbon. Across the Northeast Wilderness Trust’s portfolio of 37,000+ forever-wild acres, there are approximately 3 million metric tons of potential carbon storage.
As a forest’s age increases, so too does the amount of carbon it stores. It was once believed that old-growth forests were sources of carbon (giving off carbon into the atmosphere) but we now know that they are more often carbon sinks, continuing to absorb carbon even when they are centuries-old.
To avoid the worst effects of a changing climate, we must implement “Natural Climate Solutions.” Legally protecting forests as forever-wild—sometimes called proforestation—is among the most cost-effective and efficient tools to combat climate change.
Reciprocity
Reciprocity is the rekindling of humanity’s affection for the riotous, wondrous wild. At its core, reciprocity is a visceral revelation of our interdependence with all the astounding entities of this planet.
Places where people may witness a kaleidoscope of beings evolving freely are integral to cultivating the will to preserve diverse, resilient ecological communities. When other life forms are honored for their own sake, and granted the freedom to flourish, the wonder of the natural world becomes increasingly palpable. Experiencing this innate awe can transform us, and inspire the wisdom and compassion needed to protect and pass on a vigorous, beautiful world.
Northeast Wilderness Trust is dedicated to the reciprocal act of offering our wild neighbors places where they may rest, recover, and thrive. The Wilderness Trust welcomes careful, responsible experiences of reciprocity with these cherished lands and waterways.
Biodiversity
In wild forests, a cornucopia of species can be found. Old and young trees, standing dead trees (snags), and fallen trees and branches (woody debris) create a mixed canopy and understory. This complex forest structure supports a myriad of niche habitats often absent from young and managed forests.
The sheer amount of life—and death—is the secret to biodiversity in wild forests. Up to 30% of the biomass found in an old forest is made up of snags and trees in various states of decay. Decomposing logs host an abundance of insects, fungi, and slime molds. In some forests, a third of bird species live in cavities of old trees. Wild forests have also been found to have a higher density and diversity of species in studies on salamanders and lichen.
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Liz Thompson
Liz Thompson is a conservation ecologist and botanist living in Jericho, Vermont, where wildness is not too far away. Liz is recently retired from a 40-year career in land conservation in Vermont but remains actively involved in the work. She co-authored Wetland, Woodland, Wildland, A Guide to the Natural Communities of Vermont, as well as Vermont Conservation Design and, most recently, Wildlands in New England, Past, Present, and Future. For 20 years she taught Field Botany and Ecology at the University of Vermont. Liz’s current favorite pastime is walking in nature with a camera, finding the beauty in small and ordinary things.
Paul Torrence
New York
Paul Torrence was a staff scientist and Section Chief at the National Institutes of Health where he pursued research on antiviral and anti-cancer therapeutics from 1969 until 1999. He then became Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry at Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff where he continued his research and teaching until 2007 when he was appointed Emeritus Professor. Paul has wandered in and defended wildlands from Alaska to Arizona and from New Hampshire to the Oregon coast. Since 2008, he has served on the Board of Directors of the Wilderness Land Trust. Paul resides in southwestern New York on the traditional lands of the O-non-dowa-gah (Seneca Nation).
Merloyd Ludington
Board Emeritus
1932-2022
In 2001, Merloyd Ludington joined a small, dedicated group of wilderness advocates in Boston to sound the bell for increased wilderness conservation in the Northeast. The group unanimously agreed that there was a strong need for a new land trust to fill this niche, and a year later the Northeast Wilderness Trust was born.
Merloyd served on the board of the Wilderness Trust for 15 years. She led the organization with her deep knowledge of the field, thoughtful insight, tenacious line of inquiry, and strong wilderness ethic for which we are deeply grateful.
Eric Sorenson
Eric has worked as an ecologist in New England for 36 years. He most recently retired from 25 years with the Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department, where he conducted statewide inventories of natural communities and associated rare plants and animals, consulted with landowners, and was involved with numerous plans and projects to protect biological diversity. He is a co-author of Wetland, Woodland, Wildland: A Guide to the Natural Communities of Vermont and was one of the principal authors of Vermont Conservation Design, a vision for maintaining an ecologically functional landscape. Eric lives in Vermont with his wife, and they love being in their woods or visiting wild places.
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Nadine Canter
Nadine joined Northeast Wilderness Trust in 2022. As Communications Director she guides NEWT’s strategic outreach and communication work. Nadine has led award-winning communications efforts on air quality, land use, and climate in the Pacific Northwest and Northeast. Since 1998 Nadine has worked with Middlebury College, most recently teaching as a Visiting Scholar and as Outreach Specialist with the New Perennials Project. Her master’s degree at the University of Pennsylvania focused on community engagement to support Wild and Scenic River Conservation. On the Middlebury Natural Foods Co-op Board of Directors for 8 years, she co-founded the Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusivity Committee. From a childhood spent in the forests and shores of New England, to her discovery of the Cascades and lakes of the Adirondacks, to her Daoist studies, forever-wild is simply “the way through this time.” Nadine enjoys practicing Tai Chi Chuan, photography, knitting, paddling, cooking, gardening, and walking.
Tom Garback
Tom Garback (he/him) is currently pursuing an MA in Writing and Publishing at Emerson College, where he’s worked as Publisher of Wilde Press and Staff Writer, Copyeditor, Editor, Designer, and Marketing Associate across eight different literary, lifestyle, and fashion magazines. Most recently was a Marketing Intern at HarperCollins and an Editorial Intern at Aevitas Creative Management. In addition to his role at NEWT, Tom also currently works as a literary assistant for NYT bestselling author Danielle Trussoni and as an intern for the Boston Book Festival. In his spare time, Tom enjoys singing with his a cappella group Achoired Taste and building community with his professional co-ed fraternity Zeta Phi Eta. His fiction, poems, and essays have been featured in numerous horror anthologies and over twenty magazines, including catapult, Collective Realms, Cabinet of Heed, Blind Corner, and Sonder.
Tom Garback
Tom Garback (he/him) is currently pursuing an MA in Writing and Publishing at Emerson College, where he’s worked as Publisher of Wilde Press and Staff Writer, Copyeditor, Editor, Designer, and Marketing Associate across eight different literary, lifestyle, and fashion magazines. Most recently was a Marketing Intern at HarperCollins and an Editorial Intern at Aevitas Creative Management. In addition to his role at NEWT, Tom also currently works as a literary assistant for NYT bestselling author Danielle Trussoni and as an intern for the Boston Book Festival. In his spare time, Tom enjoys singing with his a cappella group Achoired Taste and building community with his professional co-ed fraternity Zeta Phi Eta. His fiction, poems, and essays have been featured in numerous horror anthologies and over twenty magazines, including catapult, Collective Realms, Cabinet of Heed, Blind Corner, and Sonder.
Erin Meiman
As the Operations Director, Erin handles all of the administration for the organization. With a history degree from Miami University and an MBA from Northern Kentucky University, she has worked in non-profit management since 2000 when she escorted Peter, Paul and Mary to the concert stage at the Columbus Symphony. In that time, she has helped thousands of artists, educators and reformers by allowing them to ply their craft rather than worrying about whether the lights were going to be on or if there would be snacks. In her spare time, Erin loves to hike, kayak and curl up with her two cats.
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Emily Bateson
Vermont
Emily Bateson has worked for 40 years in environmental advocacy and land conservation, recently retiring as Director of the Network for Landscape Conservation, a North American leader in advancing collaborative conservation at the necessary landscape scale. Past positions have included: Coordinator of the New England Wildlands and Woodlands Initiative; senior staff at the Conservation Law Foundation; Associate Director of the Wildlands Program at Sweet Water Trust; and founder and first director of Two Countries, One Forest/Deux Pays, Une Foret in the Northern Appalachian/Acadian region of the U.S. and Canada. Emily lives with her family in Vermont.
Sophi Veltrop
Sophi comes to Northeast Wilderness Trust with a background in land conservation, communications, and outdoor and environmental education. She received her B.S. in Environmental Science from Washington University in St. Louis in 2013. Since then, she has worked at Vermont Land Trust, Yestermorrow Design/Build School, and Earthwalk Vermont. Sophi is committed to helping create a world where all species have the chance to survive, thrive, and evolve. Outside of work, she can be found roaming forests and rivers with her dog, tending an ever-expanding garden, and cultivating community and creative practice.
Susie O'Keeffe
Vice President
Maine
Susie lives in Montville, Maine. She holds Master’s of Science with distinction in Environmental Management from Oxford University, England. She serves as a Research Associate and Visiting Faculty at the College of the Atlantic. Her writing has appeared in Spring: A Journal of Archetype and Culture, the Maine Review, Naropa University’s Phylogeny, and the Spoon River Poetry Review.
Justin Pikulski
Justin is a member of the Herring Pond Wampanoag Tribe of Plymouth and Cape Cod, MA. After high school he took a three-month journey on the Appalachian Trail to try and determine what is “necessary.” He has since spent as much time as he is afforded with Nature, trying to cultivate skills of self-sufficiency and traditional knowledge. He studies and practices tracking animals, trapping, hunting, fishing, foraging, herbal medicine, and gardening among many other disciplines known to his indigenous ancestors. His career goals include natural resources research and management and Native American cultural awareness.
Brian Tijan
Vermont
Brian is an entrepreneur in the hospitality and insurance industries. Previously, he worked for Deutsche Bank and Credit Suisse in their fixed income divisions. Prior to that, he was a finance attorney with Latham & Watkins. Brian lives in Underhill, Vermont with his wife and a menagerie of animals, and spends as much time as he can in the wilderness.
Henry Tepper
Massachusetts
Henry is a conservation consultant and an instructor in the Master’s Program in Sustainability at the Harvard University Extension School. He has a background in land conservation and has played a direct role in the protection of almost one million acres around the world. Henry’s past work experience includes fourteen years at The Nature Conservancy, first as the Director of the New Hampshire Program and then as the Director of the New York State Program. Henry serves on the Board of Directors of Tierra Austral Land Trust in Chile. Henry holds a B.A. from the University of Michigan and an M.A. and Admission to Doctoral Candidacy from Cornell University. He lives with his family in Lincoln, Massachusetts.
Randy Kritkausky
Vermont
Randy Kritkausky is the president and co-founder of ECOLOGIA, an international environmental non-profit. ECOLOGIA projects have included: NGO development in “countries in transition” (former Soviet bloc and China), water monitoring, greenhouse gas accounting, corporate responsibility standards, and environmental remediation and restoration. After decades of approaching environmental issues through the lens of science, activism, and policy making, he recognized that spiritual grounding which encourages us to approach the natural world as our kin is a critical part of environmental problem solving. Randy is an enrolled member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation, author of Without Reservation, and advocate for indigenous affairs.
Daniel Hildreth
Maine
Daniel is board chair of Diversified Communications, a family-owned trade media company based in Portland. Diversified produces trade shows and conferences for a variety of industries in North America, Europe, and Australia. Daniel currently serves on the board of Acadia Center, a clean energy policy and advocacy nonprofit, and on the Maine advisory board of the Conservation Law Foundation. In the past, he has also served on the board of Maine Audubon. He and his wife live in Falmouth, Maine.
Brett Engstrom
Vermont
Brett is a consulting ecologist and botanist specializing in the inventory and mapping of wetland and upland natural communities, and the inventory of rare, threatened and endangered plants, in Vermont, New Hampshire, New York, and Maine. He has worked on many inventory projects in northern New England, especially Vermont and New Hampshire focused on inventorying a wide variety of natural communities, and rare, threatened, and endangered plants for a variety of clients. He also teaches workshops on natural communities and plant identification and was part-time faculty at Lyndon State College for ten years. Brett lives with his family in Vermont.
Rachel Drakon
Vermont
Rachel Drakon is an Associate Analyst at Champlain Investment Partners, LLC in Burlington, VT. She holds a BS in Finance from Champlain College and is a CFA Level II Candidate. Originally from Bangor, ME, she has a background in grassroots conservation and rewilding efforts. An avid backpacker, Rachel spends her free time in the Green Mountains with her husband, Bill.
Jim Dehner
Massachusetts
Jim is the Executive Director for the Indiana Land Protection Alliance, serving the land trusts of Indiana. He has been in the land trust field for 30 years working for organizations including the Trustees of Reservations, the Wildlands Trust of Southeastern Massachusetts, the Northeast Wilderness Trust, and was the Founding Board President for the Ashburnham Conservation Trust. He has taught graduate level courses in nonprofit management, and is currently completing his doctorate at Northeastern University. He holds BS and MS degrees in environmental science, and an MS in nonprofit management. Jim and his wife Vickie are avid hikers and walkers, have two sons, and residences in both Indiana and Massachusetts.
Kristin DeBoer
Massachusetts
Kristin is the Executive Director of Kestrel Land Trust, which is dedicated to conserving, caring for, and connecting people to the wildlands, woodlands, and farmland of the Connecticut River Valley in western Massachusetts. Kristin has a BA in economics and environmental science from Bucknell University and an MS in Environmental Studies from Antioch University, and has worked in the environmental field for more than 25 years. Kristin lives with her family in Massachusetts.
Rick Rancourt
Treasurer
Vermont
Rick is a CPA and he currently works as the controller of a fast growing tech company in Vermont. Previously he worked for a large public accounting firm performing financial statement audits and other financial reporting services for various organizations. Rick is a wilderness enthusiast who currently lives in Stowe, Vermont with his wife and son.
Nathaniel Williams
Nathaniel joined Northeast Wilderness Trust in 2022 after working in nonprofit development for several years. Since graduating with a B.A. from Cornell University in 2018, Nathaniel has worked as a grant writer for a mental healthcare provider and in grants management with GlobalGiving, a large international grantmaking foundation. Outside of work, he is an accomplished artist whose landscape paintings have been recognized for several awards. He enjoys connecting with the natural world through his painting practice, as well as through kayaking, hiking, and trail running.
