Buck O’Herin, Board President

Buck O’Herin has worked in the education and conservation fields for more than 35 years. He was a board member of the Sheepscot Wellspring Land Alliance beginning in 1999 and was the group’s first executive director. He taught semester-long environmental field study programs with the National Audubon Society Expedition Institute and Sterling College, and environmental and outdoor recreation courses at Unity College. From a young age he was drawn to the wild fringes of the built environment and has continued these sojourns in widening circles that eventually included the Arctic and deserts of the American southwest.

For ten years he ran a guiding business that offered wilderness canoeing and backpacking trips around the U.S. and Canada. He is a founder of the Waldo County Trails Coalition (WCTC) that in 2016 completed the 46-mile Hills to Sea Trail from Belfast to Unity and he is currently the part-time coordinator. Buck has a M.S. in Environmental Education and a B.S. in Secondary Education. He lives in Montville with his partner Lisa Newcomb and daughter Zaela.

Joanne Steneck, Vice-President

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Joanne graduated from the University of Maine School of Law in 1987 and spent her legal career with the state regulatory agency, the Maine Public Utilities Commission. She was an attorney with the Commission until 1997 when she became General Counsel. As such, she supervised the legal division and was a member of the senior staff advising the three member commission on gas, electric and telecommunications matters. She oversaw the connection to the internet of Maine’s schools and libraries and was the manager of the first in the nation project providing laptops to all Maine seventh and eighth graders. She retired from the Commission in October 2014. Joanne has lived in Whitefield, Maine along the Sheepscot River since 1981 with her husband Robert, a professor of marine science at the University of Maine. She was a board member of the Sheepscot Valley Conservation Association, a Midcoast Conservancy legazy organization, since 2008 and served as the Chair of their Lands Committee.

Justin Ward, Treasurer

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Justin Ward worked for more than 35 years with two leading environmental organizations – Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) and Conservation International. With NRDC, he was deeply involved in successful efforts to reform U.S. Forest Service timber sale policies, and to promote enactment of landmark soil and wetland protection provisions in the federal farm bill. At Conservation International, he helped to launch the Center for Environmental Leadership in Business, which engaged with major corporations to promote best practices for conservation. During the 1990s, Justin served on the international Board of the Forest Stewardship Council. He is the recipient of an American Farmland Trust Conservation Award for National Public Education.

Justin has a BA in Geography from the University of Montana, and an MA in Public Affairs from the University of Minnesota. He regularly takes advantage of the abundant opportunities in Maine for activities such as skiing, hiking, kayaking, and live music. Justin lives in Edgecomb with his wife, Anne Carver, and their energetic border collie named Dusty.

Sally Butler, Secretary

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Sally Butler was a frequent visitor to Maine before moving to Waldoboro along the Medomak River in 2005.  A childhood in the English countryside gave her a life-long appreciation of animals and the natural world. She completed a three-year certification program for landscape design at Radcliffe; Sally chaired her town’s Open Space Committee and served for ten years as a Conservation Commissioner upholding the Massachusetts Wetlands Protection Act. Since settling in Waldoboro, Sally has been especially active in Medomak Valley Land Trust and has served on the board and the majority of the committees.  Conserving land for wildlife habitat is of particular importance to her.

For over 24 years she and her husband, Bob, owned The Jojoba Company where they worked together until the end of 2018 when they sold the company.  They traveled extensively for their company and now look forward to enjoying some personal travel adventures, as well as having more time for gardening.