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Eco-Tip

Andrew drives a five-speed 1997 Honda Civic stick shift with 248,000 miles that gets up to 40 miles per gallon. On weekends, he and his wife spend time at her family’s farm in Clayton, Delaware where every minute is packed with adventures that include rehabilitating farm buildings, tending compost piles, restoring wildlife habitat, planting sunflowers, taking blown down oaks to the local Amish mill and waking up to awesome sunrises.

Nature.org:

Andrew Manus:

Yes. Getting out of doors in my native New Hampshire was always a priority. That’s where I became involved with scouting, eventually becoming an Eagle Scout. My interest in the marine environment also began at an early age while spending summers with relatives in Gloucester, Massachusetts. At the age of 17 I completed one of the first Hurricane Island Outward Bound courses in Maine. Getting to and being on the water has always been a passion.

Nature.org:

Andrew Manus:

I had worked in partnership with the Conservancy earlier in my career on the largest ever land acquisition and protection project in the state of Delaware – the Chesapeake Forest lands deal in 1999-2000. It was an excellent collaborative conservation experience. A few years later when the Conservancy’s state director Roger Jones approached me about an opening with the organization, I welcomed the opportunity to join the team.

Nature.org:

Andrew Manus:

I am working with colleagues in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and New York on developing a shared set of conservation and restoration priorities to ensure coordinated action among the many organizations involved in protecting the Delaware River Basin. I also serve on teams that are developing and implementing similar initiatives in the Chesapeake Bay watershed and off the Mid-Atlantic coast.

Another hat I wear includes weighing in on offshore wind development. This includes engaging with regulators and wind energy companies to ensure they make use of the Conservancy’s data to locate sites for wind facilities that have minimal conflicts with sensitive marine habitats and migratory species.

Nature.org:

Andrew Manus:

It’s a big list. I’d love to see a coordinated and cost-effective conservation approach across land and seascapes like the Delaware River Basin, the Chesapeake Bay watershed and off the coast of Delaware. I also hope to see Mid-Atlantic wind energy facilities located and operated in an environmentally responsible way. It would also be rewarding to see the state’s Clean Water Advisory Council approve several forestland conservation easement projects.

After all of that, perhaps I’ll retire to the farm in Clayton and become a farm handyman!

Andrew Manus has more than 36 years of experience in environmental affairs and conservation program delivery. Prior to coming to the Conservancy, he held numerous leadership positions in the non-profit, academic and government sectors. During his tenure as Director of the state’s Division of Fish and Wildlife, Andrew served on the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission, the Atlantic Flyway Council, and the North American Wetlands Conservation Council where he played a role in dedicating millions of dollars towards enhancing and restoring 5.9 million acres of wetland habitat in the U.S., Canada and Mexico.