Opacum Land Trust

2009-2010 Volunteer Board of Directors & Officers

Jennifer M. Ohop
Holland, MA
President
info@opacumlt.org

  • Volunteer President and Director, Opacum Land Trust
  • Served as Opacum's Vice President 2000- 2008; also updates website & edits newsletter
  • Staff Naturalist, Norcross Wildlife Sanctuary, Monson, MA 1998-present. Duties include natural history programs for adults & children; GIS mapping; environmental research, data collection & monitoring.
  • Bachelor's Degree in Biology, summa cum laude Framingham State College, Framingham MA
  • Born and raised in Sturbridge, MA. Volunteer experience includes Moose & Wolves Earthwatch Project, Isle Royale National Park; Yellowstone Wolf Project; Mass Audubon Christmas Bird Count; Keeping Track. Interests include birds, reptiles, amphibians, and large predators.

Leslie A. Duthie
Monson, MA
Vice President & Clerk
leslie@opacumlt.org

  • Volunteer director, Opacum Land Trust.
  • Staff Horticulturalist at Norcross Wildlife Sanctuary for over 25 years. Duties include propagation of a variety of native plant species, field ID, adult programs and maintenance of habitat gardens.
  • Chair, Town of Monson Conservation Commission
  • Volunteer for New England Plant Conservation Program.
  • Active in conservation land purchases, member of the Community Preservation Committee, and promotion of conservation efforts within Monson.
  • Covert Forestry Program cooperator
  • All around mom.

Jennnifer V. Morrison
Sturbridge, MA
Treasurer
jvmorrison@opacumlt.org

  • Volunteer Treasurer and Director, Opacum Land Trust
  • President & Director of Operations of Sterling Engineering; responsibilities include finance and accounting, contract negotiation, risk management, client development, personnel, strategic planning and IT
  • Member of the Sturbridge Planning Board
  • B.A. Liberal Arts, Cum Laude; Double Major in Psychology-Based Human Relations and Religious Studies; Connecticut College, New London CT
  • Volunteer Class Agent & Alumni Council, Worcester Academy, Worcester MA

Alan F. Smith
Worcester, MA
Chair, nominating committee

  • Volunteer Director, Opacum Land Trust
  • Bachelor's Degree: Geology, Clark University, Worcester, M
  • Archaeologist, Naturalist
  • Has volunteered for environmental causes for over 30 years; on-call with Tri-State Bird in Newark, which rescues and treats birds & other wildlife endangered by oil spills.
  • Chair, Northern Worcester Resource Preservation Society; Trustee w/MA Archaeological Society; has received numerous environmental awards over the years.

Howie Fife
Holland, MA
Director, Stewardship & Properties
e-mail (Click here)

  • Howie is one of the founding Directors of Opacum Land Trust. Originally from West Springfield where he spent his childhood enjoying the woods and streams of his neighborhood, state and region. He received an Associate’s Degree from Stockbridge School of Agriculture in Arboriculture& Park Management, continuing his education at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst for his Bachelor’s Degree in Park Administration.

  • He began career in 1971 with the then Massachusetts Department of Natural Resources; now known as Department of Conservation and Recreation, retiring after 32 years with the Department. Twenty-five of which were at Wells State Park in Sturbridge. He has also been very active in local government as a member on several boards and committees in Holland, serving as Selectmen from 1997 to 2000. He is presently serving on the Conservation Commission and as one of the town’s Tantasqua Regional School Committee Representative.

Larry Lowenthal
Brimfield, MA
Director
e-mail (click here)

  • Larry Lowenthal worked many years as an historian for the National Park
    Service, retiring at the end of 1999. Since then he has continued as a
    consultant, working on General Management Plans for parks such as Morristown
    (NJ), Saratoga (NY), Roosevelt-Vanderbilt (NY) and New Bedford (MA); an
    administrative history of Morristown National Historical Park, and other
    historical research thruout the Northeast. He has participated in several
    Special Resource Studies, which consider the creation of new National Park
    units or National Heritage Areas, such as New Bedford. Many of these involve
    assessments of large cultural landscapes, among them the Quinebaug-Shetucket
    (CT), Boston Harbor Islands (MA), Champlain Valley (VT and NY), Erie Canal
    (NY), and Hudson River Valley (NY). His historical studies include
    considerable work on the landscapes and structures of Cape Cod, especially
    the Truro Highlands and Fort Hill in Eastham, the agricultural landscape of
    the Martin Van Buren National Historical Site, and historical summaries for
    Morristown, Saratoga, Roosevelt-Vanderbilt, and Governors Island. He has
    also done historical research, interpretive planning, and preparation of
    National Register documentation for municipalities and historical societies.
  • In addition, he has written books on railroad history, canals, Civil
    War, Revolutionary War, and local history. He earned a B.A. from Rutgers
    Univ. and an M.A. from Yale Univ., both in history. He resides in Brimfield,
    Mass.