North Florida Land Trust's Stewardship Director Makes Educational Advancements in Natural Resources

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - May 23, 2019 - PRLog -- North Florida Land Trust's Stewardship Director Elizabeth Guthrie has earned her master's degree in ecological restoration and will now be entering a prestigious program for natural resources leadership. Guthrie recently participated in a graduation ceremony at the University of Florida and will now be entering UF's Natural Resources Leadership Institute.

"We are so proud of Elizabeth for working so hard to get her advanced degree and for being accepted into the institute which has a highly competitive selection process," said Jim McCarthy, president of NFLT. "It is amazing how she has been able to balance her studies while also keeping up with all her duties to manage and monitor about 18,000 acres in our portfolio. We are lucky to have someone of her caliber on our team."

The Natural Resources Leadership Institute, or NRLI, program has about 20 Fellows in each class who participate in the eight-month professional development curriculum. The program brings together professionals from a variety of sectors that impact or are impacted by natural resources. It runs August through April and includes intensive three-day sessions held in different parts of Florida which focus on a specific natural resources issue. The Fellows learn the skills, tools and strategies necessary to lead their organizations through natural resource issues, including conflict management, to become an effective leader.

McCarthy said, "The knowledge that Elizabeth will gain from the program will be extremely valuable to us as we move toward our goal of preserving 20,000 acres of land by 2020. The skills and tools will help us navigate some of the issues that come up during our negotiations, due diligence and acquisition of preservation lands and conservation easements."

Guthrie joined NFLT first as a part-time employee through a partnership with Talbot Islands State Parks and became a full-time stewardship manager in 2014. She was promoted to stewardship director in 2017. Guthrie manages 10,000 acres of land and monitors 8,000 acres of conservation easements for NFLT. She also oversees the stewardship department.

Guthrie earned her bachelor's degree in medical anthropology and a minor in environmental sciences from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and now has a master's degree in ecological restoration from the University of Florida. She also holds a certificate in geographic information systems (GIS) from The Pennsylvania State University and is a Florida Master Naturalist. She currently serves as a Board member for the Friends of Talbot Islands State Parks.

About North Florida Land Trust

North Florida Land Trust is a nonprofit organization that champions environmental protection in its primary, 11-county focus area of Baker, Bradford, Clay, Duval, Flagler, Nassau, Putnam, St. Johns, Union, Columbia and Volusia counties. NFLT is also expanding its reach to the west of the state. NFLT was founded in 1999 and has protected thousands of acres of environmentally significant land including property at Big Talbot Island, Ortega River, Guana River, Little Orange Creek, Keystone Heights and, along the St. Mary's River and other valued natural areas predominantly in Northeast Florida. NFLT is funded largely by private and corporate contributions and works closely with private landowners and public agencies at all levels of government, not-for-profit partners, and foundations. For more information, visit nflt.org (http://www.nflt.org/).