Nature Conservancy Land Steward Dan Grenier '00 maps and monitors use of the nearly 2,000-acre Basin Preserve in Phippsburg, Maine

Story and Photos by Marc Glass (Winter 2008 issue)

As two Canada geese shepherded a gaggle of downy goslings on the low-ebb waters of Casco Bay, it was hard to tell who was casting a keener eye on the nearly 2,000-acre Basin Preserve in Phippsburg—the osprey circling above or Dan Grenier ’00, the land steward charged with mapping and monitoring one of the largest parcels of once-private land donated to The Nature Conservancy in Maine.

Since The Nature Conservancy took possession of the Basin Preserve in fall 2006, the land and all its craggy coastline have been added to Grenier’s purview for stewardship—a catch-all term for his multifaceted land-management job.

As a Nature Conservancy land steward, Grenier crisscrosses the state inspecting conservation easements to make sure land is managed according to easement specifications. The work involves meeting with landowners to discuss changes in land use, ranging from forestry management to making sure buildings are properly sited. He documents land use (as well as occasional misuse), erosion and invasive species with GPS and GIS maps, photographs and written narratives that form historical records about land-use changes and biodiversity in Maine. At the Basin Preserve and other sites in Maine, he also works with local recreational clubs and organizations to identify areas where impacts from human use such as horseback riding as well as snowmobiling and ATV use might be compatible with conservation. (Public access for a range of activities, including legacy pastimes of hunting and fishing, is the mainstay of Nature Conservancy land management in Maine.)

Despite what he said are the joys of “getting to touch nature” and “seeing places in Maine very few people have ever walked,” Grenier has witnessed what he calls “disheartening” treatment of the land, such as illegal waste dumping and destructive use of off-road vehicles. Even with its abundant beauty, the Basin Preserve has its share of blight, as evinced by a cast-off television used for target practice in a crude rifle range and the charred bottle-strewn remains of a bonfire party.

“Some people have a different value system about land, but you have to look at that as an opportunity to educate people. Conservation begins in your own back yard,” he said. “The main goal is to make sure development doesn’t inhibit biodiversity in Maine. I think I’m part of a group that will have a positive impact on conservation, making life better for everybody.”

Grenier wasn’t always as connected with his environs. After 10 years of working as dairy/frozen foods manager and ultimately as evening manager for a local supermarket, the Rumford native craved more invigorating career options. His father, Don ’62, and sister, Jacqueline Grenier-Falwell ’93, suggested he enroll at their alma mater, and, at 27, Grenier carried on the family tradition.

Among his first-year core courses was a biology class for non-majors taught by Sarah Sloane, associate professor of biology. Grenier said at the end of the course his appetite was whetted, and Sloane, spying a major in the making, suggested he declare. And so it was that he registered for General Botany (the first for-majors biology course) with Drew Barton, associate professor of biology.

“At the end of the course, he stepped away from teaching strictly botany to focus on the natural history of Maine, showing how the landscape is evolving due to human influence. It really resonated with me,” Grenier said.

And something about Grenier resonated with Barton, who invited his advisee to see the research upper-class biology majors were conducting on Maine’s Great Wass Island, another Nature Conservancy preserve.

“That was like a big light bulb going on,” said Grenier, who not only declared biology as a major, but also joined Sloane and Barton on a May-Term research trip to Arizona, helping with Sloane’s study on the behavior of bushtits (a small, highly social bird common in the Southwest) and Barton’s study on the pines of the area.

In his upper-class years, Grenier assisted Barton with researching the health of jack pine forests and rare coastal plateau bogs on Great Wass Island. During that time Barton introduced Grenier to Yves Bergeron, a forest ecology expert and professor at Université du Québec à Montréal, where Grenier went on to earn a master’s degree in forest ecology. His research on southwestern Quebec forest fire cycles has been published in the Canadian Journal of Research (in both English and his second language, French). After nearly 10 years of collaboration, Grenier and Barton recently submitted a jointly prepared article on their jack pine research to the same academic journal.

As the mid-day sun sparkled on the basin shoal, Grenier had no more words about his work or the trailhead on his career path. The coastal tranquility was broken only by the occasional crack of a quahog smashing on the rocks, a noon-time repast expertly breached by a gull. Thanks to Grenier, the Basin Preserve’s rocky boundary was littered with just the right kind of detritus—shells, inches deep in places, bleaching in the sun and salt air. Grenier leveled his gaze over the still-emptying basin, grinned and shook his head.

“Sometimes I cannot believe I get paid to do this,” he said.