Family Forest Blog

Forester Spotlight: Nate Hartley

Cristina Zepeda-Almazan

April 18, 2022

Whether they are experienced stewards of their forest or just trying to figure out where to even begin, landowners go to foresters with their goals for their land and trust their forester to guide them along the process. Meet Nate Hartley, one of AFF's staff foresters. He'll walk your forest's trails and works with landowners in Pennsylvania.

Nate Hartley

State: Pennsylvania

Educational Background: B.S. Botany (Millersville University); M.S. Ecology (Duke University)

Nate is a Lancaster native who has since found a home in south-central PA's Ridge and Valley. With 10 years of experience coordinating botanical and forest inventories on private and public land, Nate is always eager to talk about plants, trees, pests and diseases. Before joining the American Forest Foundation he worked for the North Carolina Forest Service’s Forest Inventory and Analysis program and served as Stewardship Coordinator for the Central Pennsylvania Conservancy.

AFF_Forester_Nate Hartley_Credit Jackson Family

He believes that sustainable forest management by family forest owners is going to play a critical role in stemming the ongoing climate and biodiversity crises and he feels fortunate to get to meet with landowners, learn about their goals, and help them identify strategies that benefit them, their land, and the environment at-large. Working with AFF and the Family Forest Carbon Program affords him the opportunity to work with woodland stewards and to encourage their continued efforts to foster resilient and diverse forested ecosystems.

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