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From the Center

For some time now, the board and staff of the Center for Northern Woodlands Education have been working on a plan to increase our organization’s capacity so that we can reach many more people with our message of stewardship. We’re pleased to share with you the news of how this expansion will unfold.

Walter Medwid has joined our team in the role of executive director and publisher. Walter comes with extensive nonprofit management experience gained from work with the Adirondack Mountain Club, the International Wolf Center, and most recently at the North Woods Stewardship Center. In each of those organizations, he has served as executive director, and we are pleased to have someone with such strong executive leadership credentials take on this important job. We know we will benefit from his new ideas, enthusiasm, and deep commitment to education and the forests of the Northeast. Please join us in welcoming Walter Medwid to the Northern Woodlands family. You will get to know him as he writes this column in the future and takes the reins of the organization.

Dave Mance III, who has been managing editor of Northern Woodlands for the last two years, will be promoted to editor. Dave is a fine writer and has been learning the editorial ropes under the supervision of founding editors Steve Long and Virginia Barlow. Beginning with the Summer issue, he will take over the role of editor and will benefit from the continued participation of the founders as senior editors.

Virginia will continue to write her columns, so you’ll still be treated to her Species in the Spotlight, Under the Microscope, and her quarterly look at the Season’s Main Events.

Steve will also continue to write for Northern Woodlands. In addition, because he will be turning over the organizational management role to Walter, he will be able to devote more time to other publications and media. As you probably know, the Center for Northern Woodlands Education does more than publish a magazine. We publish a weekly ecology column syndicated to many newspapers, and we have published a book called The Outside Story, a collection of these articles. To date, we have published three versions of a magazine-format owner’s manual for landowners called The Place You Call Home, one each for the Upper Valley of New Hampshire and Vermont, the Catskills, and a statewide version for Vermont. In addition, we have developed this strong website and deliver a weekly newsletter to a devoted audience.

These efforts reach thousands of people who might not subscribe to a magazine, so they are crucial to our mission of fostering a culture of stewardship. Building on our legacy and expanding the ways that we provide information to people has long been a dream of ours, and Steve will now be able to focus on these efforts. We have several book projects that are in various stages of development, and we will now be able to bring these to completion. And we will redouble our educational outreach efforts to influence an even larger audience through the magazine and our growing family of media offerings.

Northern Woodlands magazine is our flagship and will continue to be our most visible offering to thousands of readers across the Northeast and beyond. Be assured that we maintain our strong commitment to its high quality coverage of all aspects of our woodlands.

From its beginnings in 1994, Northern Woodlands has always been a lean organization, and we don’t increase staffing levels often. To help make this possible, we have secured dedicated funding from foundations and individuals. The strength of this organization is a direct result of the confidence you’ve shown in us through your generous support. Thanks to you for helping us become even more effective.

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