Alan Hutchinson has served as executive director of the Forest Society of Maine since 1997. Since then, FSM has forged a partnership for the 20,000-acre Nicatous Lake easement, acquired Big Spencer Mountain and six miles of undeveloped Moosehead Lake shoreline, guided the permanent conservation 329,000 acres on the West Branch of the Penobscot River, and developed a management program for landscape-scale easements..  Before joining FSM, Alan worked for the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife for 24 years, directing the state’s Endangered Species Program from 1984 to 1997. He is a past associate faculty member at the University of Maine, a past trustee of the Maine Chapter of The Nature Conservancy, and an author of books on loons and eagles.

Moderator's Essay by Alan Hutchinson

Jeff Pidot served as chief of the Natural Resources Division of the Maine Attorney General’s Office from 1990 until 2007. Jeff has expertise in many areas of administrative, natural resources, land use and environmental law. For three years, he was executive director of the Maine Land Use Regulation Commission.  In 2005-06, Jeff was a visiting fellow at the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy, where he wrote “Reinventing Conservation Easements,” a widely read commentary on the current issues facing land trusts.

Moderator's Summary by Jeff Pidot

Darby Bradley has been engaged in land conservation and environmental issues in Vermont for over thirty years.  He was General Counsel (1981-1990) and President (1991-2007) of the Vermont Land Trust, which has helped conserve almost 8% of the state.  He has also served as Chair of the Vermont Environmental Board and Forest Resources Advisory Board, and in 1999 was named "Vermonter of the Year" by the Burlington Free Press.

Moderator's Synopsis and Trend Data by Darby Bradley