Abbott tapped as HVA’s new executive director

CORNWALL — Following a six-month national search, the Board of Directors of the Housatonic Valley Association has selected Timothy B. Abbott, a well-known conservation leader in the region, as its new executive director.

Abbott, 57, succeeds Lynn Werner, who retired on July 1 after 42 years with the Cornwall Bridge-based organization and 30 years as its executive director.

Abbott, who has been a resident of North Canaan since 2002, has focused on conservation leadership for 27 years in western Connecticut and eastern New York, with national and regional nonprofits, including 17 years at HVA, where he most recently served as conservation director.

James H. Maloney, search committee chair and president of the HVA board of directors, said Abbott was selected from a field of about 60 applicants from all over New England and one from the West Coast.

“We actually narrowed the field down to Tim and one other. Tim became the clear choice when it became clear that no one had a stronger background,” said Maloney. He noted that the process of utilizing a formal search committee “was done deliberately, looking at the highest standards.”

The committee, he said, narrowed candidates down to a dozen, and from that, five were selected for interviews, then the field was narrowed down to two, Abbott and one other. “The board really did think over this decision very carefully,” Maloney explained. “We are convinced that Tim is the strongest candidate and the best candidate for us.”

The HVA Board of Directors, said Maloney, is highly confident that Tim will make a “dramatic and substantial contribution” to the wellbeing of the tri-state Housatonic River Watershed as HVA’s new leader.

“It is going to be an exciting time working with Tim and making, we hope, very significant progress. He has huge experience in environmental conservation and in the work that an organization like HVA does. He also has a tremendous network of people that he knows in the community at large. It’s a great and unique combination of professional skills and personal relationships that are so valuable.”

Referring to the overwhelming response from applicants, Maloney said HVA is a very well-regarded organization in the environmental community. “It’s not a position that comes up very often, so there was a lot of pent-up interest.”

Abbott said he is grateful that, in the end, the board was enthusiastic about his candidacy. “Now there is no question in their minds. They had a chance to kick the tires,” he said of the search committee’s full vetting and national search.

“It allowed the board to think hard about what they want in Lynn’s successor, and for the organization, and it has allowed me to present a strong case for my vision of HVA, said Abbott. “I am very grateful that in the end, the board was enthusiastic about my candidacy.”

Land protection work began with the Nature Conservancy

Abbott is a well-known and respected conservation leader who grew up in Dutchess County, New York, and began his land protection work with The Nature Conservancy in the Berkshires of western Massachusetts.

He is an appointed member of Connecticut’s Natural Heritage, Open Space and Land Acquisition Review Board and a member of the Steering Committee of The Nature Conservancy’s Staying Connected Initiative.

During his long tenure with HVA, Abbott championed the federal Highlands Conservation Act, and he represents HVA as Connecticut’s nonprofit member of the four-state Highlands Steering Committee.

A skilled fundraiser, effective advocate and creative problem solver, Abbott created and led HVA’s Litchfield Hills Greenprint Collaborative, an innovative regional conservation partnership among northwest Connecticut’s land trust community. He holds an M.A. in International Development from Clark University and a B.A. in English from Haverford College. He was the winner of a J. William Fulbright Scholarship in 1997.

Abbott said this is a time of tremendous opportunity for HVA and conservation urgency for the region. “The climate crisis is a paramount concern, and HVA’s Follow the Forest and Clean, Cold & Connected conservation programs represent vital and effective ways to make an impact at local and regional scales.”

He noted that he is excited to work closely with his HVA colleagues, its board, supporters and conservation partners to advance these and other conservation initiatives across the watershed and beyond.

“I have been working in conservation within this tri-state region and focused on this geographical region since 1995. I have institutional knowledge and fully recognize the conservation goals. I am ready for this level of leadership.”

Vast watershed impacts tri-state region

The 1,248-million-acre Housatonic River watershed encompasses parts of 83 communities in Connecticut, Massachusetts and New York and contributes 11% of the fresh water that enters Long Island Sound. It includes habitats as ecologically diverse as fens and seepage swamps, extensively forested uplands and a tidal estuary.

Some of its villages have fewer than 2,000 people, while more densely populated areas and significant cities include Danbury, Waterbury and Pittsfield. The intersection of human communities with natural ones is at the core of HVA’s work and the organization specializes in strategic, collaborative conservation action with a wide range of partners.

“HVA’s strategic plan for climate adaptation and resilience,” said Abbott, “recognizes the need to adapt bridges and culverts to accommodate both increased water flow and wildlife, to protect and connect forest habitat and allow for safer wildlife passage between them, to enhance riparian area and wetland conservation and to ensure that everyone has access to nature, wherever they live in the watershed.”

HVA has always been solution-oriented, said Abbott, “and that will serve us well as we and our conservation partners advance this vital work.

‘An essential partner’ for NW Corner land trusts

John Landon, committee chair for the Salisbury Association Land Trust, said he feels Abbott is “the perfect choice” to lead HVA and advance its goals.

“I have known Tim for many years. Over that time, he has been razor focused on preserving the important ecosystems in the Northwest Corner and beyond. He has always been available to assist local land trusts in identifying the most important parcels in need of protection and then helping secure necessary funding,” said Landon, who noted that Abbott’s strong connections with state and federal agencies has frequently helped overcome bureaucratic obstacles.

“He can be very persuasive in a friendly, non-confrontational way that advances the region’s conservation objectives. Without Tim’s help,” said Landon, “the Salisbury Association Land Trust would not have been able to protect several important parcels.

Shelley Harms, co-president of the Norfolk Land Trust, executive director of Cornwall Conservation Trust and Conservation Director of the Salisbury Association, said she is thrilled to hear about Abbott’s appointment.

“Tim is an essential partner for the land trusts of the Northwest Corner. His relationships with the state and other important funders brigs grant dollars to our area for land conservation,” said Harmes. “He has a deep understanding of the ecology and the history and the economy of our towns and the Housatonic River Watershed.”