Governor Phil Scott has appointed landowner, forester and conservationist Alan Calfee to the Working Lands Enterprise Board.
Alan resides in Rupert and is a Vermont Licensed Professional Forester who has been practicing in southern Vermont for over 30 years. He has an undergraduate degree in Natural Resource Management from the University of Maryland and a Masters in Forestry from the University of Vermont.
The Working Lands Enterprise initiative, Act 142, created the Working Lands Enterprise Fund (WLEF) and the Working Lands Enterprise Board (WLEB). The WLEB is made up of private sector members throughout the supply chains of agriculture and forestry, and staff from the Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Vermont Department of Forests, Parks & Recreation, Vermont Agency of Commerce and Community Development, Vermont Housing Conservation Board, Vermont Economic Development Authority, and Vermont Sustainable Jobs Fund.
Alan Calfee will hold the seat reserved for a member who is a representative of a membership-based forestland owner organization. Alan was involved with Vermont Coverts since its inception. He ran and taught landowner workshops for many years and is still involved with the Board. Alan is also a founding member of the Forest Stewards Guild and served on its Board for 5 years. Alan’s business, Calfee Woodland Management, helps hundreds of private, municipal, not-for-profit and corporate woodland owners steward their properties with a holistic and sustainable long-term approach.
Alan and his wife Jeanne steward almost a thousand acres of beautiful Taconic land along the Mettowee River. The land includes about 100 acres of prime agricultural land that is leased to an organic dairy farmer. All of the agricultural land and some of the forest is permanently protected under easements with the Vermont Land Trust and also enrolled in Vermont’s Use Value Appraisal Program. The restoration of an historic barn for use as a beloved event and wedding venue has helped sustain the property, as well as sharing the beauty of working farms and forests with guests.
