We are excited to welcome Kevin Mason to the Driftless Area Land Conservancy team as our new Preserves Manager!
Kevins first came to Wisconsin to attend Lawrence University, and aside from a brief chapter in the Pacific Northwest, the state has been home ever since. Over the years, he has built a career centered on restoring landscapes and helping people connect to them in meaningful ways. Most recently, Kevin spent nearly eight years working with Quercus Land Stewardship Services, where he partnered with private landowners, municipalities, and public agencies to design and carry out ecological restoration projects across southern Wisconsin.
At DALC, Kevin oversees the management and monitoring of our nature preserves and Driftless Trail segments. His work helps guide these lands towards long term ecological health through practices such as prescribed fire, grazing, and other restoration tools. Just as important, Kevin works closely with partners and staff to ensure stewardship efforts are collaborative, thoughtful, and grounding in care for both the land and the people who experience it.
Kevin is especially drawn to stewarding publicly accessible lands and to the many ways people form connections with natural places. He believes those relationships strengthen individual and community wellbeing, and a perspective that aligns closely with DALC’s mission.
Outside of work, Kevin enjoys spending time outdoors hiking, camping, paddling, skiing, and biking, often alongside his family. He is also a musician and songwriter who finds inspiration in the natural world, and on clear nights, he can sometimes be found in his backyard gazing at distant galaxies through a telescope.
“I love that the Driftless Area can surprise even lifelong Midwesterners. It is an utterly unique ecological and cultural landscape with many nooks and crannies and hidden surprises. I love watching a half frozen stream gurgle through a valley in the winter, or a bluff prairie bursting with color in July.”
We are grateful to welcome Kevin to DALC, and look forward to the care, curiosity, and leadership he will bring to our preserves and trails across the Driftless Area!