Alec Giffen on the Land Conservation Assistance Network

Alec Giffen
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last updated: February 2024

A hike through a New Hampshire forest in the fall, a Vermont barn made from locally milled trees, and the clear, clean waters of a Maine river—these are just a few of the many gifts that New England’s forests offer. Across the region, forests provide timber for construction, local jobs, wildlife habitat, clean air and water, and recreational opportunities. These benefits support a vibrant and thriving region, and New England Forestry Foundation (NEFF) works to protect them for future generations.

Alec joined NEFF in 2012, and also currently works for the Clean Air Task Force. In addition to representing NEFF in Maine, he leads projects like determining how New England's forests could be managed to mitigate climate change, and defining NEFF's Exemplary Forestry standards. Alec previously served as director of the Maine Forest Service and has more than 40 years of experience in natural resource planning and program administration. Alec has an M.S. from the University of California, with an emphasis in ecology, and a B.S. in Forest Science from the University of Maine.

How does NEFF work to accomplish our mission?

We conserve forestland for future generations through purchases, gifts, and bequests of land and easements.
We actively manage NEFF-owned lands as demonstration and education forests, applying advanced practices in Exemplary Forestry and modeling tools and techniques that private landowners may wish to adopt.
We advocate for policies and incentives that encourage and sustain private forestland ownership, ensuring that landowners have economically viable alternatives to selling their land for development.
We keep more than 150 NEFF lands open to the public as Community Forests, with no charge for admission, ensuring New Englanders have access to all the recreational opportunities that forests provide.
We are a resource for forestland owners in our region, helping them to achieve their own land management and legacy objectives.
We educate landowners and the general public about the importance of forestry through outreach and programming.
We steward conservation easements that have been entrusted to us, ensuring that landowners’ conservation intents are sustained in accordance with their expressed wishes.
We are future-focused, and committed to innovation and integrity. NEFF helps prepare the region for a future where forestry is increasingly important, not only to keep forests healthy in the face of climate change, but also as a part of a global environmental solution to climate change. We engage in numerous strategic initiatives to expand the region’s land protection capacity, further forest education, and ensure that NEFF fulfills its mission.
We endorse and partner with organizations and supporters to work towards the Harvard Forest Wildlands and Woodlands vision to conserve 30 million acres of New England forest.

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Alec Giffen is not employed by or affiliated with the Land Conservation Assistance Network, and the Network does not certify or guarantee their services. The reader must perform their own due diligence and use their own judgment in the selection of any professional.