New Hampshire Association
of Conservation Commissions
SERVING NEW HAMPSHIRE’S COMMUNITIES SINCE 1970
46th Annual Meeting & Conference
November 12st, 2016 // Pembroke, NH
Conference Presenter Bios
Special Guest: Tom Wessels
Tom Wessels is professor emeritus at Antioch University New England where he founded the
master's degree program in Conservation Biology. He is the author of numerous books with his
forthcoming book Granite, Fire, and Fog: The Natural and Cultural History of Acadia to be published
April 2017 by The University Press of New England.
Karen Bennett, UNH Cooperative Extension
Karen Bennett joined UNH Cooperative Extension in 1979. She worked in Hillsborough and later in
Merrimack County as a County Forester helping people care for their forestland. She shared
information about forest and wildlife management, current use taxation, selling timber, growing
Christmas trees, caring for shade trees, identifying trees, trail and road layout, forest ecology, soils
and many other topics of concern to forest owners. She assumed her Extension Specialist role in
April 1996 where she specializes in private forestlands management providing education to
landowners, land managers, conservation volunteers, and public decision makers with an emphasis
on professional development for foresters. Karen has also served as project manager and editor for
the new edition of Good Forestry in the Granite State: Recommended Voluntary Forest Management
Practices for New Hampshire.
Lynne Borofsky, Chesterfield Conservation Commission
Lynne Borofsky has been a Chesterfield Conservation Commission member for sixteen years and a
middle school educator for longer than she will admit. Her drive to organize and create collaborative
adventures has lead to many unique forest events, and projects developing and maintaining trails.
Lynne has been able to secure several grants for the Town of Chesterfield, which has enabled the
commission to fill the trails with needed bridges, walkways and kiosks. She enjoys the thrill of
getting projects done and sharing the beauty of a forest for exercise, inspiration and learning about
the natural world— If we can educate and inspire others to become stewards of the land, then our
work has purpose. The very active Chesterfield Conservation Commission has had the pleasure of
creating and maintaining many miles of trails in the Friedsam Town Forest, The Madame Sherri
Forest, the James O'Neil, Sr. Forest and sections of the Wantasticuit-Monadnock Trail. Lynne
currently teaches in Putney, Vermont, which has a 165-acre school forest, which has allowed her to
share her passion for creative events and projects using the forest as an extension of the classroom.
Anna Boudreau, Truslow Resource Consulting
Anna Boudreau a land conservation specialist with Truslow Resource Consulting and holds a
Bachelor’s of Science degree in Community Development from the University of New Hampshire.
Anna was one of the founding members of the Cochecho River Watershed Coalition in 1998 and of
the Dover Open Lands Committee (OLC) in 1999, where she played a key role in conserving over 800
acres and leveraging over $5 million in federal and state funding to conserve locally important lands
and continues to serve. Prior to coming to Truslow RC, Anna worked for 9 ½ years as the Executive
Director for the Strafford River Conservancy utilizing her experience and passion for land
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conservation to help municipalities, landowners, state and federal agencies, as well as other land
trusts, navigate through the complicated conservation easement acquisition process and bring their
projects to a closing. Anna lives in Dover with her husband, two daughters, and mother-in-law.
Shane Bradt, UNH Cooperative Extension
Shane Bradt has been teaching geospatial workshops for UNH Cooperative Extension since 2001, and
started his Extension Specialist position in January of 2006. As the director of the UNH Geospatial
Technologies Training Center, he principally responsible for outreach involving geospatial
technologies, the three main categories of which are geographic information systems (GIS), global
positioning system (GPS) and remote sensing. Shane is also an Extension Professor in the
Department of Biological Sciences at UNH.
Tom Duston, NHACC Board President and Chesterfield Conservation Commission
Tom Duston is long time Chair of the Chesterfield Conservation Commission, and is just finishing
his term as President of the NHACC. A number of years ago the commission decided to have
members specialize in the various activities which interested the members and were encouraged by
RSA 36-A:2. This would allow for a broader perspective and one person (ie, the chair!) would not be
saddled with all the work. Therefore, Chesterfield has a person who does the website, a person to
take care of the CC trailer and tools for trail maintenance , two people who do permits and
complaints, etc. It so happens that Tom does “trails and land protection” and Lynne Borofsky does
“grants and events”.
Blair Folts, Green Mountain Conservation Group
Blair Folts, Executive Director and co -founder of Green Mountain Conservation Group has over 18
years of leadership and community activism under her belt. She is passionately committed to
education and outreach and continues to be inspire d by working with a diverse population to spread
the word about water quality conservation in the Ossipee River Watershed.
Steven Fuller, Ph.D., North Atlantic Landscape Conservation Cooperative
Steve Fuller has served as Conservation Design Specialist with the North Atlantic LCC since 2011,
recently working to assemble a comprehensive Northeast Landscape Conservation Design and
translate the forthcoming results of that effort to support State Wildlife Action Plan (SWAP)
revisions. Before joining the NALCC team, Steve held the position of Terrestrial Ecologist for the
State of New Hampshire, serving as the science coordinator for NH's SWAP, and providing technical
assistance on conservation science to the Regional Conservation Needs Program since its inception.
Steve developed modeling and conservation design for the New England Cottontail, coauthored the
Conservation Strategy for the species, and continues to serve as coordinator of the New England
Cottontail Technical Committee as a contractor to the Wildlife Management Institute.
Marc Jacobs, Certified Wetlands Scientist
Marc E. Jacobs is an independent consultant with more than 25 years of experience providing a
variety of professional wetland and soil related services to a broad range of clients that i nclude
engineers, surveyors, realtors, abutters, conservation commissions, planning boards, builders,
developers, attorneys and municipalities on a variety of residential, commercial and industrial
projects. Marc is a Certified Wetlands Scientist and Soil Scientist and is a Certified Professional in
Erosion and Sediment Control.
Geoffrey T. Jones, Stoddard Conservation Commission
Geoff is the owner of Loveland Forestry: a professional forestry consulting and tree care business,
offering a full suite of land management services. He is the former director of land management
with the Society for the Protection of NH Forests, where he managed a growing collection of
conservation lands starting with 30 properties totaling 11,000 acres of land, that during his tenure
grew to 156 properties totaling over, 43,000+ acres. Geoff is a passionate defender of open space
and natural resource values. Geoff has served on the Stoddard Conservation Commission since 1996
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and has served as chair since 1999. Under his leadership, 63% of the town of Stoddard has been
permanently protected as conservation land. He was active in the protection of several of the
parcels, such as Pickerel Cove, Pioneer Lake, Upton Forest, Crider Forest, Rumrill Forest, and Robb
Reservoir, not to mention the 11,000 acre Andorra Forest CE. He lives in Stoddard NH in an 1810
cape that has been in his family since 1908 with his black lab Chester, and wife and step daughter.
Chris Kane, Kane Conservation
Chris Kane is a consulting conservation biologist who has provided conservation stewardship and
planning, and natural resource surveys for agencies, municipalities and State and regional land
trusts for 25 years. He was a 12-year trustee and chair of Five Rivers Conservation Trust, and is
currently chair of the Friends of the Merrimack River Greenway Trail. Chris specializes in botanical
and natural resource inventories, including rare plants and natural communities, land use
regulations and GIS mapping. He recently assisted southern-tier Towns in their response to the
proposed Northeast Direct natural gas pipeline. He worked as Easement Steward at the Society for
the Protection of New Hampshire Forests for six years prior to consulting, and along with
Moosewood Ecological is presently producing an Open Space Conservation Plan for the City of
Concord.
Corey Lane, Green Mountain Conservation Group
Corey Lane is GMCG’s Water Quality Coordinator and conducts water quality research with
volunteers throughout the Ossipee Watershed. She also works with the community through outreach
educating others about how to protect their natural resources including the Ossipee Aquifer,
through the Ossipee Watershed Management Plan.
Colin Lawson, New England Culvert Project Coordinator, Trout Unlimited
Mr. Lawson joined Trout Unlimited (TU) in 2010 as the New England Culvert Project Coordinator. His
focus is to reconnect Eastern brook trout habitat in priority New England watersheds through the
removal, replacement or retrofit of currently impassable stream crossings. Colin also strives to
improve aquatic habitat utilizing large wood and other structural additions during instream channel
restorations on both private and public lands. Colin works with TU’s state councils and chapters,
local, state and federal agencies, landowners, and other non-profit organizations in the Green and
White Mountain National Forests and across Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Vermont. Prior to
joining TU, Colin managed cross country ski areas in Vermont before returning to graduate school
to study environmental science at Antioch New England University.
Jeffry N. Littleton, Conservation Ecologist, Moosewood Ecological
Jeffry Littleton is the principal ecologist with Moosewood Ecological LLC, having more than 25 years
of experience in ecological studies and environmental education. He specializes in conservation,
restoration, and land management planning on multiple scales for a wide range of entities, including
private landowners, federal and state agencies, municipalities, and non-profit organizations. He
employs a systems approach to understanding the spatial dynamics of the environment, blending
conservation biology with the ecology of landscapes, and he uses a GIS to analyze natural resources
to help guide conservation and restoration planning efforts. Jeffry serves as the treasurer of the
Monadnock Sustainability Network. Since 2007, he has served as adjunct faculty at Antioch
University where he provides course instruction on forest community ecology, “reading the forested
landscape,” and inventory techniques for wildlife and their habitats, as well as vegetation and
natural communities.
Emily Lord, UNH Cooperative Extension
Emily is the Stewardship Outreach Coordinator with UNH Cooperative Extension (UNHCE) and leads
digital communications for UNHCE’s the Stewardship Network: New England (the Network) initiative
to mobilize volunteers to care for and study New Hampshire’s land and waters. She provides
assistance to organizations or groups looking to engage new audiences and improve their volunteer
recruitment and management. Prior to joining UNHCE in late 2015, Emily was the Education Director
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for the NH Association of Conservation Commissions. Emily holds a Master’s degree in sociology
and has a background in youth leadership and trails. She currently serves on the Board of Directors
for her local land trust, Moose Mountains Regional Greenways.
Amy Manzelli, Esq., Co-owner and Attorney, BCM Environmental & Land Law, PLLC
Ms. Manzelli, Esq. practices environmental, conservation, and land law across New Hampshire. She is
a member and part owner of BCM Environmental & Land Law, PLLC in Concord, NH. She is also the
President of the Board of the Northeast Organic Farming Association of New Hampshire. Ms.
Manzelli regularly advocates for clients’ issues at the State House, with lawmakers and with officials
of executive agencies. She uses her governmental relations skills to encourage passage, modification,
or defeat of proposed laws. Ms. Manzelli holds an advanced degree in environmental law and a juris
doctor from Vermont Law School. Ms. Manzelli excelled at the University of New Hampshire
University of New Hampshire, where she earned her B.S. in Environmental Conservation
Environmental Conservation (and her B.A. in Spanish). Ms. Manzelli makes her home in Pembroke,
along with her husband, two children , and their dog. She enjoys family time, local food, gardening,
edible landscapes, hiking, biking, cooking, and travel.
Anne McBride, Monadnock Conservancy and Nelson Conservation Commission
Anne is the Land Protection Director at the Monadnock Conservancy where she’s worked since 2008.
Prior to joining the Conservancy, Anne worked for the Society for the Protection of New Hampshire
Forests. She first moved to New Hampshire for an AmeriCorps program, teaching environmental
education and doing trail-work in numerous state parks. After spending time in various parts of the
northeast, she returned to the Granite State for a master's degree in conservation biology at Antioch
University New England.
Jan McClure, Concord Conservation Commission
Jan McClure is the director of land protection at The Nature Conservancy and a City of Concord
Conservation Commission member.
Emily Preston, Wildlife Biologist, NH Fish and Game Department
Ms. Preston is a wildlife biologist with NH Fish and Game's Nongame and Endangered Species
program. She is the co-coordinator of the revision of the NH Wildlife Action Plan and participates in
conservation and land use planning efforts throughout the state and region. She provides technical
assistance to landowners, communities, conservation organizations and agencies on wildlife habitat
protection and management. She is also responsible for monitoring several of the state endangered
and threatened and other at-risk species. Emily has a Masters degree in environmental science and
years of experience managing lands, providing natural history information to the public, and
working on local and regional open space plans.
Jason Reimers, Esq., Attorney, BCM Environmental & Land Law, PLLC
Jason Reimers practices environmental, conservation, agricultural, and land use law throughout New
Hampshire. Jason regularly appears before courts, administrative agencies, and municipal boards.
Jason also serves individuals and non-profits seeking to protect land through conservation
easements and other methods. Prior to joining BCM Environmental and Land Law several years ago,
Jason served as an Assistant Attorney General with the New Hampshire Department of Justice. Prior
to that, he was a law clerk to the Chief Judge of the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District
of New Hampshire. Jason earned his B.A. in anthropology from Syracuse University and
subsequently worked as an archaeologist throughout California for several years. A native New
Englander, Jason returned to earn his Juris Doctor degree from Vermont Law School where he
served as Editor-in-Chief of the Vermont Law Review.
Jack Ruderman, ReVision Energy
Jack leads the Community Solar Initiatives at ReVision Energy, an effort to solarize municipalities,
nonprofits, and schools throughout the Granite State, as well as organize the development of
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community solar farms. He previously served as Director of the Sustainable Energy Division of the
New Hampshire Public Utilities Commission, where he was responsible for administering the state’s
Renewable Energy Fund. Trained as a lawyer, he practiced criminal law for six years, and then joined
the staff of New Hampshire’s Office of Energy and Planning. Over the course of twelve years there,
he served as a Program Manager, Director of Renewable Energy and Efficiency Programs, Deputy
Director and Acting Director. He holds a B.A. in political science from Tufts University and a J.D.
from Northeastern University School of Law.
Sarah Sallade, Middle School Teacher, Hollis Montessori School
Sarah Sallade has a BS in Natural Resources from the University of Vermont and an MA and MEd
degrees from the University of New Hampshire. From 2006-2012, Sarah primarily worked to
translate terrestrial carbon cycle and climate research activities for K -12 classrooms. In
collaboration with the international GLOBE education program, she traveled locally and glo bally to
train teachers and teacher-trainers on the Carbon Cycle project materials. From 2012-present Sarah
has taught middle and high school courses regularly using an inquiry and/or project -based
approach that engages students and gets them working on real projects in their community.
Chris Schadler, Weare Conservation Commission
Chris’ interest in wild canids began in the 1970s as a volunteer at the Wolf Park in Battleground,
Indiana. This opportunity and others inspired an eventual Masters in Conservation Biology at
Antioch University Graduate School. He r thesis focused on the Natural Recovery of the Eastern
Timber Wolf in Michigan. Chris lived in Michigan and Minnesota during the early 1980s where her
research into the gray wolf continued and her speaking career began. Beginning in the early 1990s,
Chris taught in the Natural Resources Department at UNH, receiving many teaching excellence
awards. She continues to instruct and mentor adult degree candidates in the UNH System at Granite
State College. She is now the NH and VT Representative for Project Coyote, a national organization
promoting coexistence with coyotes. She is a Member of the North East Wolf Coalition and a
columnist for InDepthNH.org, a non-profit news organization. Following the defeat of a proposal to
hunt and trap bobcats, Chris co-founded the NH Wildlife Coalition which aims to broaden public
input into wildlife decision-making.
Wendy Scribner, UNH Cooperative Extension
Natural Resources Field Specialist, Wendy Scribner provides research-based natural resource
information and assistance to a wide range of clientele including: private landowners, licensed
foresters, members of the logging and forest products industry, municipalities, schools and
organizations. She specializes in forestry and wildlife. She provides assistance and information on
topics including: managing woodlots, selling timber, enhancing wildlife habitat, controlling invasive
plants, and improving forest health and productivity. Wendy is a licensed forester in both NH and
Maine and holds a Bachelor’s and Master’s Degree in Forestry from UNH.
Rachel Stevens, NH Fish & Game
Rachel Stevens is the stewardship coordinator for great bay national estuarine research reserve and
wildlife ecologist for NH Fish & Game.
Amanda Stone, UNH Cooperative Extension
Amanda Stone is Extension Specialist, Land & Water Conservation Program for UNH Cooperative
Extension and has a Master’s degree in environmental science. She provides technical assistance,
guidance and facilitation to communities working on natural resources inventories, land
conservation planning, identifying and prioritizing resources for protection, planning for climate
change, education & outreach planning, wetland evaluation, and using NH’s Wildlife Action Plan and
related resources. Amanda also works with New Hampshire land trusts, and helped to establish the
NH Land Trust Coalition.
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Tracy Tarr, GZA Geo Environmental and NHACC Board of Directors
Tracy L. Tarr, CWS, CWB, CESSWI is a Project Manager with GZA GeoEnvironmental, Inc. in Bedford
NH and a member of the NHACC Board of Directors. Tracy received a Master’s degree from the
University of New Hampshire where she studied the effects of hydrology and predator composition
on the distribution of larval amphibians in New Hampshire . She also provides environmental
permitting and develops natural resource management plans, environmental impact assessments,
and wetland functional assessments for a variety of clients including municipalities. Prior to
working as an environmental consultant, Tracy oversaw environmental reviews for the Nongame and
Endangered Wildlife Program of the NH Fish and Game Department. Additionally, she radio -tracked
Blanding’s turtles and conducted deformed frog surveys for the University of New Hampshire.
Currently, she teaches vernal pool workshops for the NH Association of Natural Resource Scientists
and sits on the Department of Environmental Services Vernal Pool Workgroup.
Brett Amy Thelen , Harris Center for Conservation Education
Brett Amy Thelen has been coordinating Salamander Crossing Brigades in the Monadnock Region
since 2007, first as the Science Director of the Ashuelot Valley Environmental Observatory and now
as the Science Director for the Harris Center for Conservation Education. Her work has largely
focused on designing and implementing local, conservation-oriented citizen science projects, with
dual emphasis on creating a valuable learning experience for volunteers and producing reliable,
reproducible scientific results. She has coordinated community-based research on migratory
amphibians, vernal pools, stream connectivity, invasive plants, and a state -endangered urban bird
species. She has an M.S. in Environmental Studies: Conservation Biology from Antioch University
New England, and is a Switzer Environmental Fellow.
Emma Tutein, UNH Cooperative Extension
Emma Tutein is a Field Specialist in Natural Resources and Land Conservation with UNH Cooperative
Extension (UNHCE). With a background in wildlife ecology, Emma works with private landowners,
communities, and land trusts to help conserve, manage, and steward land in Rockingham County
and throughout the state. She has worked with UNHCE since 2008. Emma currently volunteers on
the board of Southeast Land Trust and White Pine Programs.
Rick Van de Poll, PhD, Principal, Ecosystem Management Consultants
Dr. Van de Poll is the principal of Ecosystem Management Consultants (EMC) of Sandwich, New
Hampshire and has served on the NH Method Review Committee since 2007. He was also a reviewer
on the original document. Since 1988, EMC has conducted wetland delineations and wetland
assessments on over 250,000 acres in 42 towns. He is a certified wetland scientist, and immediate
past Chairman of the NH Joint Board of Natural Scientists. He has taught variou s wetland courses at
Antioch New England Graduate School and Plymouth State University, including Wetlands Science
and Policy, Wetlands Flora, and Wetlands Identification. He is a charter/life member of the NH
Association of Wetland Scientists (now NHANRS), and was on the Board for six years as Education &
Research Committee Chair and Vice -President.
Francie Von Mertens, Peterborough Conservation Commission
Francie Von Mertens is longtime Peterborough ConCom chair/co -chair, as well as an active land
protection volunteer with N.H. Audubon and the Harris Center for Conservation Education. She
advocates for managing certain town conservation lands for wildlife, including meadow habitat that
benefits the insect pollinators that are the topic of her workshop presentation.
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