New State Director for TPL-Colorado

DENVER, 9/7/2007: The Colorado office of the Trust for Public Land (TPL) today announced that Timothy J. (“Tim”) Wohlgenant has been hired as Colorado State Director. Wohlgenant brings more than 15 years of leadership experience to TPL, successfully completing numerous complex, multi-party transactions in his career involving the acquisition of conservation properties in Colorado and throughout the West. His appointment is effective September 4, 2007.

Since 1997, Wohlgenant served as a principal with Western Land Group, Inc., Denver, CO, a private consulting firm specializing in public land exchange facilitation. He was also an Associate and Editor for World Wildlife Fund’s RESOLVE Center for Environmental Dispute Resolution in Washington, D.C. from 1993 to 1995, where he also implemented international training projects and facilitated domestic consensus-based mediations. In Colorado, Tim has consulted to local governments and land trusts on open lands and natural resources planning. His work includes preparation of open lands plans for several towns and counties, the drafting of Standards and Practices for the Stewardship of Conservation Easements (adopted by the Colorado Coalition of Land Trusts in 1996), and serving as the first Director of the Colorado Cattlemen’s Agricultural Land Trust.

“Tim is a proven problem solver in the areas of environmental conflict and complicated land transactions,” said Roger Hoesterey, TPL’s Regional Director of the Northwest and Rocky Mountain Region. “I am confident that he will be an extraordinary plus in the transactional work that TPL does best, and with his diverse background bring new thinking and strategies to bear. We are fortunate to have him on board.”

“TPL’s focus on ‘land for people’ has resonated with me since I first learned about TPL twenty years ago as a college student, when TPL was working with newly emigrated Vietnamese people to build community gardens in downtown Providence, Rhode Island,” said Wohlgenant. “I’m honored to bring the experience I’ve gained since then to TPL’s mission today, and to begin new and exciting projects with an outstanding TPL team.”

Wohlgenant’s accomplishments are exemplary. In previous projects, Tim worked in collaboration with the Colorado Cattlemen’s Agricultural Land Trust to raise over $8.7 million from public and private sources to purchase agricultural conservation easements on 10,000 acres in the Saguache Creek corridor. He also facilitated the Emerald Mountain Land Exchange project which resulted in the public acquisition of the 4,000 acre Emerald Mountain property adjacent to the Town of Steamboat Springs. In addition to working closely with the Colorado State Land Board, Bureau of Land Management, and the Emerald Mountain Partnership throughout the process, Tim represented a group of 57 private participants in the exchange, who acquired a total of 15,000 acres of isolated tracts of Federal land.

A native Coloradan, Tim holds a Master’s degree in Conservation Biology from the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies and a bachelor’s degree from Brown University. In addition to his new TPL post, Tim currently serves on the Board of the Colorado Cattlemen’s Agricultural Land Trust and Volunteers for Outdoor Colorado. He is active in mountaineering, white-water rafting, backcountry skiing, mountain and road biking, international travel, beekeeping, and plays guitar. He is also the proud father of two wonderful girls, Zoe (age 11) and Clio (age 8).

The Trust for Public Land (TPL) is a national nonprofit land conservation organization that conserves land for people to enjoy as parks, gardens, and natural areas, ensuring livable communities for generations to come. Since its founding in 1972, TPL’s has helped protect more than 2 million acres of land in 45 states. In the last 12 months, TPL has protected 6,200 acres in Washington valued at more than $30 million. TPL depends on the support and generosity of individuals, foundations and businesses to achieve our land for people mission.