Three Cheers for NC Forest Conservationist of the Year

When word spread through The Conservation Fund that Buck would be receiving this award, many of his colleagues shared their sentiments:

We asked Buck to share more about his conservation journey and his work with The Conservation Fund.

How does it feel to be named North Carolina’s Forest Conservationist of the Year—the state’s highest award in this category?

Buck: I am extremely proud to be recognized. I was able to share the news with my father shortly before he passed, and his pride is a memory that I will always treasure. Mostly, I am humbled by the award, and I feel that I am the recipient of an honor that should be shared by our entire team.

How did you start working for The Conservation Fund?

Buck: I began my work with The Conservation Fund as an intern during graduate school in 2004, and I’ve been with the Fund ever since. I was immediately drawn to The Conservation Fund’s dual charter of environmental conservation and sustainable community/economic development.

My interest in this approach was encouraged by my experience working at the Daniel Boone National Forest. Every Friday, we would host a public stakeholder meeting to provide input for the forest’s management plan update. Inevitably, one side of the table would be occupied by environmental activists and the other would be occupied representatives of the forest products industry. Unfortunately, there was little room for reasonable compromise during those conversations. The Conservation Fund’s approach that considered the economic and ecological impact of land management resonated, and I was determined to learn more. I proceeded to leave about 20 voicemails for Mikki Sager, the Fund’s recently retired Director of Resourceful Communities, trying to schedule a conversation. Eventually, I was able to convince Mikki to hire me for the summer.

As a native North Carolinian of several generations, I thought I knew my state as well as anyone. But as Mikki ushered me across the state, I learned about places and communities that I had never heard of before. The communities that Mikki sought out had been ignored and passed over for decades, and I realized just how little I truly knew. That experience broadened my horizons, and it forever changed my view of the world. I hope that I will always work to incorporate the lessons I learned that summer in my work and everyday life.

What’s the most meaningful conservation project you’ve worked on?

Buck: Actually, it’s the first project I worked on. Managing the Palmetto-Peartree Preserve was an incredible experience. I was able to incorporate the silvicultural lessons from forestry school as well as work with a community to capitalize on the beauty of their surrounding landscape. I made lifelong friends, and I felt the pride of working to provide a positive impact to a community for the first time.

I am also proud to be part of the team that created Hoke Community Forest—the first community forest in North Carolina. Through Mikki Sager’s continued effort in Hoke County, and Will Allen’s work with the Department of Defense, we were able to acquire a property north of Raeford, North Carolina. Through state and federal funding, we were able to donate the land to Hoke County as the first community forest in the state. In addition to the multiple recreational opportunities the property provides for the local community—including hiking, biking, horseback riding and paddling—the management of Hoke Community Forest will provide revenue to the county that far exceeds the property tax revenue that the county had been collecting on the property.

Congratulations, Buck, on this well-earned award. It truly could not have been given to a more deserving person. The Conservation Fund is fortunate to have you on our Working Forests team since it began a decade ago, helping to ensure at-risk forests are never broken apart or degraded, forever protecting their multiple, life-sustaining benefits.