The Land Stewardship Fellows program at the Aldo Leopold Foundation provides conservation professionals who are just starting their careers with practical, hands-on land management experience based on Aldo Leopold’s land ethic philosophy. We are excited to welcome and introduce two new fellows who have arrived and already made their impact felt here at the Leopold Center.
Corrina Marshall grew up in Ann Arbor, Michigan and graduated last May from the University of Michigan with a Bachelor of Science degree from the Program in the Environment and a minor in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology. Stefan DeLong grew up in Madison, Wisconsin and graduated from Northern Michigan University in 2015.
During their nine month fellowship with the Foundation Corrina and Stefan will be working alongside our stewardship staff to manage the property that inspired Aldo Leopold. Following in the Leopold family tradition, much of the work takes place hands-on out in the field– right now the crew is in the heart of burn season. Prescribed fire is an important part of our prairie and oak savanna management regimen. A few of the additional projects they will be working on include timber stand improvement and continuing to advance the management goals set up through the Leopold-Pine Island Important Bird Area. They will also continue our work controlling invasive species, including garlic mustard and Japanese hedge parsley. Hands-on work also provides an opportunity to get familiar with using equipment including tractors and chainsaws to maintain trails for visitors. Another aspect of the fellowship will be collecting and processing prairie seeds for restoration projects, and plant sampling around the Leopold property. And those are just a few of the projects they will be working on during their time at the foundation. It is looking to be a busy year.
Welcome, Corrina and Stefan. We’re very excited to have you on our team!