Staff Profile: Steve Swenson

Steve Swenson is the Ecologist for the Aldo Leopold Foundation (ALF) headquartered at the Aldo Leopold Legacy Center in Baraboo, WI. Employed with ALF since 1999, Steve is responsible for the science and stewardship work on foundation property and in partnership with private landowners. Steve’s work builds on the critical connection between people and land – the land ethic. The land ethic was articulated in Aldo Leopold’s most famous work, A Sand County Almanac. Steve engages citizens through education and active stewardship to elevate their appreciation and capacity for conservation work on their own land. With over 75% of Wisconsin in private ownership, landowners are the unsung heroes of conservation. Steve participates in the foundation led, Woodland School, hands-on classes in land management planning, prescribed burning, chainsaw safety, prairie planting, plant identification, timber stand improvement, invasive species control, and many more. Steve also interacts with dozens of private landowners each year, building their capacity for management of land. Most recently, Steve has been working to better communicate and measure outcomes of our conservation work. Steve is using Leopold’s concept of Land Health to build a collective and easily understood destination for conservation work. Steve received his Bachelor’s degree (1995) in environmental science and biology from the University of Wisconsin – Green Bay and a Master’s degree (1999) in plant ecology from The Ohio State University. Steve, wife Heidi and sons Aaron and Soren live in Baraboo, WI.