August 2026 eNews

It Takes a Community: Corporate Partners Pitch In

“You guys work hard alongside of us, and we enjoy it, so we keep coming back.”

Scott Eshleman of Hypertherm looks forward to his firm’s regular volunteer work with UVLT and admires the work ethic of his land trust counterparts. “You get your hands dirty right alongside us. When we come for a day I'm always impressed with the stamina of the folks there that are doing this day in and day out.”

Hypertherm, a designer and manufacturer of industrial cutting systems and software located in Lebanon, NH, has partnered with UVLT for 17 years. Recent projects have included fen bog bridge replacement at UVLT’s My Walden Conservation Area in Sharon, VT, and cutting firewood at the Up on the Hill Conservation Area in Charlestown, NH (photo above).

Novo Nordisk, the global biotechnology firm based locally in West Lebanon, recently had volunteers helping at UVLT’s Brookmead Food Pantry Garden in Norwich, VT (photo below). “We’re proud to give back to our Upper Valley neighbors, and volunteering with the Upper Valley Land Trust was the perfect opportunity to do just that,” said Novo Nordisk’s Keiley Rousseau. “It was a rewarding day spent working together as a team while helping expand access to fresh, nutritious food for our community.”

Other corporate service groups UVLT has worked with include BioXCell (Lebanon), Celdara Medical (Lebanon), Geokon (Lebanon), King Arthur Baking Company (White River Jct., VT), Maponics (White River Jct.), Red River Technology (Claremont, NH), TomTom North America (Lebanon), and White Mountains Insurance Group (Hanover, NH).

Eshleman is a senior electrical engineering team leader as well as a hiker and camper, and he enjoys the opportunity to do meaningful work outdoors. “You go to a place like My Walden – it’s amazing that everybody gets to experience that beauty, and if we’re able to contribute to make it better then that’s time worth spending in my mind.”

Eshleman has participated in the Up on the Hill firewood project several times and recognizes how essential it is. “That’s a hard day of work and to see the level of thankfulness that those folks have when we pull up with the big pile of wood – they don't have to buy or try to harvest it – it’s just really motivating and you can definitely see the benefit of that.”

“Having been at UVLT for 16 years now and collaborating with Hypertherm on projects like this the whole time, I am so pleased and proud of the work we have accomplished together!” says Stewardship Vice President Jason Berard.

UVLT’s Corporate Service Program provides value-added skills and team building opportunities that support employer service assignments. We offer a variety of service day programs to fit each group’s fitness, interest, and commitment level. And with our many owned and managed properties we are able to offer locations that are accessible to most Upper Valley employers. For more information contact Jason Berard, jason.berard@uvlt.org.

Jeanie McIntyre Celebration

In July, friends, staff, trustees, partners, and well-wishers from across the Upper Valley came out to honor recently-retired President Jeanie McIntyre. Although Jeanie’s remarkable 39-year tenure at the UVLT helm ended on June 30, she will continue to share her incomparable institutional knowledge as a volunteer member of the land trust’s Development Committee.

Manning Rountree is leading UVLT as interim president while a nationwide search is underway for former President Jeanie McIntyre’s permanent replacement. Learn more about Manning.

View more photos from the celebration.

Meet Jesse Cutting, Forest and Trail Steward

Jesse Cutting came aboard in July as UVLT’s new forest and trail steward. Jesse is a forester will many skills and a deep appreciation of the Upper Valley and its woodlands. His UVLT responsibilities include managing our Conservation Areas, trails, and campsites; monitoring conserved land; and building relationships with conservation and recreation partners, among others.

Cutting received his bachelor’s in forestry from Paul Smith’s College in the Adirondacks, where he began competing in woodchopping competitions. He’s participated in lumberjack shows in Michigan, Wisconsin, and West Virginia, and more locally at the Fryeburg Fair in Maine. He worked as an independent consulting forester as well as a logger throughout New Hampshire and Vermont.

A native of Lyme, NH, and a graduate of Hanover High School, Cutting is happy to be back in the Upper Valley. “It’s nice to be able to work close to home, keeping forests and open space open,” he says. “We have both a working and recreational landscape, and I don’t think most people realize how lucky we are to have the mix with as much open space as we do.”

When not chopping trees, Cutting can be found tapping them, as least in springtime. He and his wife Ellie have roadside buckets throughout Lyme. They usually produce 100 or more gallons annually and are especially proud to have produced 150 gallons this past year – their most ever – after recently welcoming their then four-month-old daughter, Winslow, into the family.

EAB Training Opportunity

As the devastating impact of emerald ash borer becomes more apparent in the Upper Valley every year, seeing more than two dozen people from various backgrounds (state agencies, NGOs, private landowners, foresters, and municipal conservation commissioners) learning how to identify and report lingering ash at our recent collaborative training instills a source of hope. In Connecticut and New York, the Ecological Research Institute (ERI) has identified 266 lingering ash and they ask Upper Valley residents to be on the lookout for lingering ash as EAB advances through the region.

When found, these trees can provide genetic material (e.g., scions or twigs used to cultivate new trees) that can be bred in research nurseries to create specimens that are more resistant to EAB for future restoration efforts. A lingering ash is yet to be identified in the Upper Valley, but there is every reason to hope we will find them with help from people who dedicate their time and energy to this effort.

Ways to get involved:

UVLT is offering an in-field training on how to set up an ash monitoring plot at our Old Town Farm Conservation Area in Pomfret, VT, on Friday, August 21, from 9-11 a.m.
Contact Naturalist and Outdoor Programs Leader Holly Henderson, Holly.Henderson@uvlt.org.

Learn more and register.

Come work with us!

Or tell a friend! UVLT is a great place to work for talented people who care about the Upper Valley and want to make a difference. We currently have an important job opening for our new Conservation Project Manager.

Learn more and apply.

Upcoming Events

Stargazing Party
Sunday, August 9, 7:30 p.m.-9:30 p.m.

Join the Upper Valley Land Trust and the Orford Conservation Commission for one of our most anticipated events of the year, the Annual Stargazing Party at Mountain View Farm in the Quinttown region of Orford, NH. It’s the perfect place to take a tour of the night sky with a remote location, 360-degree view, and lack of electric light pollution, which allows you to see the whole sky on a clear night.

Important note:

The date of this event has changed to Sunday, August 9.

Learn more and register.

Monitoring and Managing Ash (MaMA) Field Workshop at Old Town Farm

Friday, August 21, 7:30 p.m.-9:30 p.m.

This field workshop will walk participants through data collection components associated with the Ecological Research Institute’s Monitoring and Managing Ash (MaMA) program. We will discuss how to identity black and white ash in the field and take participants through how to set up a long-term ash monitoring plot. We will also go over how to conduct a Rapid Ash Assessment (MaMa RAMA) and how to report suspected lingering ash.

Learn more and register.

Overabundant White-Tailed Deer and Our Forest Health
Monday, August 31, 3-5 p.m.

Are you curious how to determine whether high deer populations are negatively impacting your property or a forest you manage or enjoy? Then join us at Brookmead Conservation Area for an educational walk led by VT Windsor County Forester Dan Healey and NH Grafton County Forester James Frohn. They will guide us through use of VT's deer browse assessment index. Partners for the event include the Vermont Department of Forest, Parks and Recreation, the Hanover Biodiversity Committee, and UNH Cooperative Extension. For more information contact Naturalist and Outdoor Program Leader Holly Henderson, holly.henderson@uvlt.org.

We know you love the Upper Valley. We do too.

Become a part of the conservation solution and DONATE or VOLUNTEER today!