New Board Members Voted In
Wilton Wildlife Preserve & Park Elects New Board Members and Officers at Annual Meeting
At the Wilton Wildlife Preserve & Park Annual Meeting on January 23, Jennifer Benaman stepped down as Board Chair after serving for four years. Current Board Members Larry Dana and Matthew Miczek were elected as Co-Chairs for a shared three-year term. Larry Dana has been an active volunteer for over a decade. He serves as a Trail Steward for the Opdahl Farm parcel and volunteers for the Historic Cornell Hill Fire Tower at Camp Saratoga. Matthew Miczek served as Vice Chair and has been a Trail Steward for the Fox parcel for more than fifteen years. He also has a “Legacy” standing with Wilton Preserve, meaning he has over 1,500 Lifetime Volunteer Hours. Both Dana and Miczek accepted their Co-Chair position with excitement and gratitude. At the meeting, Dana said, “Matt and I talked about our new role a few days ago and we plan to follow Jennifer’s model of inclusion, consensus-building, rational planning and problem solving.” To replace Miczek as Vice Chair, Board Member Kim Marsella was elected. Board Member Nina Russo also joined Marne Onderdonk as the Co-Secretary. Kurt Smemo will continue in his position as the Treasurer.
Wilton Preserve also said goodbye to Board Members Karen D’Andrea, Scott Harrington, Jenn Hunt Dempsey, and Ryan Riper. Wilton Preserve thanked these Board Members for their dedicated service to the organization and help in its growth. To replace the departing Board Members, four new people were elected-- Bradley Birge, Jaclyn S. Hakes, Howard Lester, and Steve Wilcox.
Bradley Birge is a resident of the Town of Wilton who recently retired after 32 years of public service, including 25 years with the City of Saratoga Springs Office of Planning and Economic Development. His duties ranged from grant writing and administration to long-range planning, short-range project development, oversight of local land use boards, and lots of relationship-building. Birge is a Steward for the Kalabus-Perry Trail and can be found either on foot, or on two wheels, exploring nature trails and country roads both near and far.
Jaclyn S. Hakes is the Director of Planning Services at MJ Engineering and Land Surveying, P.C. She has assisted communities for over 22 years in balancing land use, transportation, environmental and quality of life issues through consensus-based planning. She is a 2013 graduate of Leadership Saratoga and serves on their Leadership Saratoga Advisory Board. Hakes is also a Wilton resident and enjoys hiking, cross-country skiing, and snowshoeing.
Howard Lester is a long-time volunteer who discovered Wilton Preserve in 2013 at the Preserve’s first ever Star Party. Howard has an M.A. Ed. in Counseling & Guidance from Idaho State University, and a B.A. in Psychology from the University of Bridgeport, CT, with advanced studies in psychopathology at the University of Arizona. Lester had a 30-year career at the University of Arizona as a business manager in the astronomy department at the MMT Observatory before settling in Gansevoort.
Steve Wilcox has had a life-long interest in environmental conservation, wildlife protection, and outdoor recreation. He is a civil engineer with a focus in Environmental and Water Resources he spent nearly 39 years with NYSDOT as a bureau director in Maintenance and as the Asset Management lead. He now works for Mott MacDonald, a global civil engineering firm on establishing investment strategies that are environmentally sustainable, and establishing treatment strategies that minimize carbon production. Steve is an avid hiker, road and mountain biker.
Wilton Wildlife Preserve & Park partners with the Town of Wilton, Saratoga County, NYS DEC, and The Nature Conservancy to conserve ecological systems and natural settings while providing opportunities for environmental education and outdoor recreation. Almost 2,400 acres protect significant habitats and 25 miles of trails provide a wonderfully fun, healthy, and educational resource for the community. Educational and recreational opportunities are at the heart of the organization, which provides a full range of year-round programs for the public and for local schools, scout groups, and others at the Preserve & Park and off-site.
The Preserve & Park is part of the Saratoga Sandplains, an area of diverse ecological communities, home to the federally endangered Karner blue butterfly, the threatened frosted elfin butterfly, and the Blanding’s turtle. The Karner blue butterfly was the catalyst to conserve this rare landscape in 1996.
