Greet the Newly-Named Shirley Heinze Land Trust by Paula Mchugh
Volume 19, Number 18 Thursday, May 8, 2003 Greet the Newly-Named Shirley Heinze Land Trust by Paula McHugh Beware purple loosestrife and rejoice, Karner Blue butterfly: the Shirley Heinze Land Trust, Inc. continues to serve as stew- ards for the native flora and fauna in LaPorte, Porter and Lake Counties. There have been several changes within the nonprofit envi- ronmental organization in the past year, including a new name and new staff. The former Shirley Heinze Environmental Fund name, according to new executive director Maureen Swed, was perceived too often as a funding source by non-local environmental organizations, rather than as a solicitor of funding for its acqui- sition of environmentally-significant parcels of land. The “inc.” added to the name is a legal formality. Maureen, a former National Park ranger, naturalist and inter- pretive guide who has served at parks in California, Arizona, and most recently, Alaska, took over duties of the Heinze Land Trust executive director last summer. The Rochester, Michigan native has already supervised the acquisition of 20 new acres of significant landscape in LaPorte County’s Amber Flatwoods, bringing the total acreage in this biodiverse area to 160. The Heinze Land Trust is not just about acquiring ecological- ly valuable lands, but also serving to restore, protect, preserve and educated people about native wetlands, prairies, savannas, —Maureen Swed assumed the Executive Directorship of the newly-named Shirley Heinze Land Trust last summer. Maureen is a former National Park ranger and naturalist who has served at Yosemite, the Grand Canyon, Glen Canyon, the Painted Desert, and Denali National Parks.
[Show full text]