EXPANDING SERVICES

In our ongoing effort to conserve and invest in the Upper Susquehanna watershed community, Otsego Land Trust has hired two talented local individuals to join our professional staff this spring. Both will work to expand and improve fundraising, community events, outreach, stewardship and monitoring of conservation properties.

Catherine Nolan

Community Outreach & Development Manager

Catherine Nolan is a Cooperstown native, partly raised in Australia. She enjoys exploring the local landscape and the wider world. Catherine is drawn to stories of people and the land. With experience in marketing, an eye for design, and a lifelong passion for conservation and preservation, she hopes to encourage others to explore the natural world and develop a deep love of the land. Catherine will spearhead community events, outreach efforts, and fundraising to sustain the organization and advance the mission to protect land and connect people to nature.

Emma Drake

Conservation Easement & Stewardship Manager

Emma Drake holds a degree in Environmental Science from Union College. She had previously helped to map hemlock stands in Otsego County, evaluating mitigation strategies for the invasive hemlock wooly adelgid. Emma is an Albany native now living in her great-grandfather's homestead on the west side of Otsego Lake. She is proud to continue the family tradition of stewarding the land and actively contributing to the local community. Emma will be organizing the annual monitoring visits to easement properties and assisting landowners with stewardship of fields, forests, and waterways.