With backgrounds rooted in academia, the authors of Wildlands and Woodlands recognized that colleges and universities represent an untapped source of energy, skill, and commitment for land protection. In 2013, ALPINE was formed to tap into the capacity of the four pillars of every college and university in New England: students, faculty and staff, administration, and alumni.
Alarmed that every state in New England was losing forests to development, a group of academics launched Wildlands and Woodlands in 2010, creating a bold regional vision for land protection. Capitalizing on New England’s remarkable conservation capacity, the vision calls for the permanent protection of 70% of the region as forests—most actively managed as woodlands, with some large wildland reserves, and maintenance of existing farmland—by 2060.
With backgrounds rooted in academia, the authors of Wildlands and Woodlands recognize that an untapped source of energy, skill, and commitment for land protection lies in the four pillars of every college and university in New England: students, faculty and staff, administration, and alumni. In 2013, a dozen representatives of New England institutions convened the first ALPINE (Academics for Land Protection in New England) meeting. The number of institutions participating has reached 45 and continues to grow. Participating institutions include all of the main campuses of the six state universities, many small private colleges, community colleges, rural institutions, and urban institutions in densely populated areas.
The Wildlands and Woodlands Initiative, centered at Harvard University, initiated ALPINE in collaboration with Highstead Foundation and the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy out of recognition of the tremendous history and potential future for the region’s academic institutions in advancing conservation in the region, nation, and world.
