Jeanie McIntyre Honored with Sarah Thorne Award
The Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests recognized Jeanie McIntyre of the Upper Valley Land Trust with the prestigious Sarah Thorne Award. Created in 2005 to recognize individuals who have made a major contribution to the protection of the New Hampshire landscape, the Sarah Thorne Conservation Award honors those who, in the course of their own conservation efforts, have also enhanced the capacity of others.
“Jeanie embodies everything for which the Sarah Thorne Award was originally established,” said Forest Society President/Forester Jane Difley when presenting the award. “Her accomplishments can be measured not just in acres conserved, but in the building of the Upper Valley community on both sides of the Connecticut River.”
McIntyre has been part of the Upper Valley Land Trust for more than 20 years, serving as the organization’s executive director/president for the past 15 years. Her efforts have had an extraordinary impact on communities and land conservation in the Upper Valley – an area that includes 44 communities in two states. Under her direction, UVLT developed into one of the few multi-state conservation organizations that recognize a cohesive landscape, rather than an area defined by political boundaries. The region includes some of the most fertile agricultural soils in the country and extensive frontage along the Connecticut River.
Through her leadership, UVLT has conserved over 400 properties covering more than 39,000 acres, including over 27 miles of Connecticut River frontage. She has also overseen the development and maintenance of 30 well-loved community trails and canoe campsites visited by scores of people every year.
She is a familiar face at community gatherings, where her constant dialogue with conservation commissions, select boards, and other stakeholders assists communities in achieving their own conservation goals.
“She has largely shaped the organization into its present condition and place in the community,” said Pete Helm, vice president of stewardship of the Upper Valley Land Trust. “Her true accomplishments are reflected in the stories generated by each project and the way in which Jeanie’s work has inspired people to see the importance of continued land conservation efforts.”
The award was created by the Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests to honor Sarah Thorne, who dedicated nearly 20 years of her career to land conservation in New Hampshire. Sarah worked for seven years at the Trust for New Hampshire Lands and the balance at the Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests.
“Receiving an award in Sarah’s name means a lot to me,” said McIntyre. “So many good things have happened in the 25 years since Sarah Thorne first began teaching people about conservation easements and what they could do. I have been so lucky to learn alongside colleagues and friends and to be part of their accomplishments.”
Previous recipients of the award include Betsey Harris, co-founder of the Monadnock Conservancy; Phil Auger, UNH Cooperative Extension land and water conservation educator; Meade Cadot, executive director of the Harris Center for Conservation Education; Margaret Watkins, Executive Director of the Piscataquog Watershed Association (now Piscataquog Land Conservancy); Marjory Swope, executive director of the NH Association of Conservation Commissions; and Debbie Stanley, executive director of the Ausbon Sargent Land Preservation Trust.
Founded in 1901, the Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests is the state’s oldest and largest non-profit land conservation organization. Supported by 10,000 families and businesses, the Forest Society’s mission is to perpetuate the state’s forests by promoting land conservation and sustainable forestry. For more information, visit www.forestsociety.org.