Matt Dallman
Northwoods Strategy Director, Midwest Division
Wisconsin
Matt Dallman Deputy State Director, Wisconsin © Jim Schumaker
Areas of Expertise
Sustainable forest management, Forest climate adaptation, Northern forest birds
Biography
Matt Dallman has nearly 30 years of experience working on a variety of conservation projects throughout Wisconsin and the upper Midwest. He is currently responsible for overseeing the Midwest Division’s Northwoods strategic actions.
The Northwoods geography spans some 60 million acres across the northern parts of the states of Michigan, Minnesota, and Wisconsin. In this role, he is working with TNC staff and a wide array of public and Indigenous partners across the three states to advance forest conservation measures for terrestrial and freshwater outcomes to benefit the health of the Great Lakes and the Mississippi River, as well as to maintain and enhance biodiversity and to ensure people have access to healthy, resilient forests for generations to come.
Before his current position with the Midwest Division, Matt spent more than 28 years with TNC in Wisconsin in various positions, most recently as the Deputy State Director, to align and coordinate TNC and partner organization conservation efforts to make the most significant contribution possible to address the climate and biodiversity crisis.
Since joining TNC, Matt has been involved with projects that have protected more than 110,000 acres of natural areas and working forests. Working with partners to implement science-based strategies to develop climate-resilient forests in the Northwoods has been a central focus. At one of these protected locations, Caroline Lake, he helped create a sustainable forest management plan that focuses on managing forests for biodiversity and water quality. This work has evolved to include managing for climate adaptation and resiliency, using TNC lands as test cases to export the lessons learned through field guides, online demonstration sites, and other tools for use by land managers. Matt is currently working to expand those efforts to explore how to connect resilient forest management to carbon markets, to influence how both public and private owners manage forests.
Before joining TNC, Matt held positions with both the Wisconsin and Michigan Departments of Natural Resources, the U.S. Forest Service, and the National Park Service at Apostle Islands National Lakeshore. Education - undergraduate studies at the University of Wisconsin Stevens Point (Wildlife Management); graduate studies at Central Michigan University (Conservation Biology).
Read More
Great Lakes Northwoods
The Great Lakes Northwoods are a critically important landscape that filters and provides high-quality freshwater, maintains species biodiversity and naturally stores carbon.
Shaping Future Forests at Caroline Lake
We adapted our forest management at Caroline Lake Preserve to keep these Great Lakes forests healthy and productive as conditions change in Wisconsin’s Northwoods.
The Nature Conservancy in the Midwest
The Nature Conservancy’s mission is to protect the lands and waters on which all life depends, and for more than 60 years, we’ve been working in the Midwest to do just that.