Tracy Stone-Manning: The answer to today’s conservation challenges is standing up, speaking out
Tracy Stone-Manning, The Wilderness Society's president
The Wilderness Society’s new president ready to defend public lands
The Wilderness Society welcomes its new president, Tracy Stone-Manning, as she leads the organization into the future, fulfilling its mission of uniting people to protect America’s wild places. Stone-Manning has decades of experience working in land management and conservation policy, community engagement and environmental advocacy. She most recently served as director of the U.S. Bureau of Land Management, the nation’s largest land management agency.
We had the opportunity to ask Stone-Manning some of the questions that have been heavy on many people’s hearts and minds. Here is our conversation with TWS’s new leader.
Q & A with TWS President Tracy Stone-Manning
Q: What roles do Wilderness Society members have in driving the mission forward during these particularly challenging times?
A: “Well, for starters, change happens when our members stand up, right? Your passion and commitment, that is what is going to drive us forward and make us successful with our mission.
"The good news is that people are united in their love of public lands. I’m confident and hopeful that that unity will win the day.”
Q: What is your vision for the organization in the next few years?
A: “We're going to defend our nation’s conservation legacy and the public lands and the places that are so special to all people. And we're going to do that with our members’ voices. Because when people come together, they can move mountains.”
Q: What is the best path for advancing conservation efforts given that federal policies have now shifted away from conservation?
A: “Over and over in my career, I've seen that when people work together in community, it doesn't matter what the political landscape is — they work wonders. And so, at TWS, we're going to continue working in-place, and preparing proposals for protective designations so that when the political atmosphere is ready for it, we'll be ready for it.”
Q: What helps you stay positive and focused when we see growing challenges to The Wilderness Society’s vision of people and nature flourishing together?
A: “Being outside. Every time I need to think something through, I go for a walk or a hike on our public lands. It’s what grounds me. I love to go into wilderness, because the problems of our time don’t feel so big there. I feel small personally. So, I try to touch nature and be grounded by it so that we can bring that voice and that wisdom to the work.”
