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A jack of all trades, The Nature Conservancy’s Russ Schnitzer once spent his summers as a Forest Service Smokejumper, parachuting into remote areas to mitigate fires with a highly trained, highly coordinated crew, sometimes under very dangerous circumstances. “It was a risk worth taking," says Russ. "Ten years later, I still get the ‘itch’.”
So how does a wildland firefighter become an Associate Director of Philanthropy for the Conservancy? “All I’ve ever wanted to do was work in conservation,” says Russ, “and the people side of conservation has always been my primary interest. Understanding people’s motivations and passions and connecting those to the kind of conservation work we do allow me to contribute to the Conservancy’s goals.”
A fly fisherman who used to guide professionally, an award-winning photographer and an avid cyclist, Russ recognized at a young age that the natural world he loved to work in, play in and photograph was susceptible to change. “I realized that the ‘it will always be there’ mentalities needed to change in order to preserve these natural places. Now I get to share the impact of meaningful conservation with our donors and supporters, building relationships and hopefully, a deeper understanding of the importance of nature.”
Russ’ talent for building relationships that benefit people and nature was recently acknowledged with an Environmental Achievement Award from the Environmental Protection Agency. Through on-the-ground legwork, policy coordination, proposal-writing and passion, Russ’ creative strategies led to a clean-up of one of Colorado’s worst polluters: orphaned mine sites that leak heavy metals and chemicals into the state's watersheds and rivers, sometimes rendering them barren of life. His efforts led to 33,000 cubic yards (about 20 surface acres, or roughly 20 football fields) of waste rock and mine tailings being safely removed, restoring clean water to 10 miles of the American Fork River and providing vital habitat for the rare, native cutthroat trout.
His precedent-setting accomplishment while working for Trout Unlimited and with partners Tiffany and Co. and Snowbird Ski Resort is part of the “Good Samaritan Initiative,” an EPA initiative designed to encourage voluntary clean-ups for some of the half million orphaned mine sites in the U.S., most of which are in the Western states.
In the past, the Clean Water Act required those involved in a mine site clean-up effort to assume some legal responsibility for the site. For example, if the effort was not thorough enough, or if future erosion revealed more pollutants, the clean-up party would be held liable. Recognizing that this requirement inhibited individuals, organizations and corporations from being good stewards of the land, Russ helped implement a series of clean-up activities, including removal of the tailings and permanent, safe encapsulation of these wastes, allowing for good corporate citizenship while restoring a vital watershed.
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