Staff Spotlight: Daniel Wear
Daniel’s all about building relationships between folks on the ground, the timber companies, and local communities who all depend on forestlands. In his work, he balances the needs of communities and private landowners with timber companies to promote well-managed forests that support healthy drinking water. “It’s having those tangible benefits and being able to have a conversation with diverse audiences.”
Growing up in Madison, WI, Daniel Wear was never far from that boundless, Midwestern expanse of farmland or the small lake near where he lived—fixtures of a landscape that had made him interested in the environment from a young age.
Pursuing his interest in the economic drivers of environmental decisions, he studied at Lawrence University, where he focused on environmental studies and economics and led the school’s environmental responsibility committee.
Daniel later moved to Chicago and began working for the National Audubon Society, a land conservancy organization based around bird habitats. And in 2020, he moved to Washington to complete his MPA in environmental policy at UW.
During the program, Daniel interned for the Washington Association of Land Trusts, which connected him with Sustainable Northwest. Needing someone to elevate the profile of community forests and forestry, Daniel contracted with Sustainable Northwest to do that work, and was later hired as the Forest Program Manager.
Now, Daniel helps private landowners manage their forests to protect their drinking water supply and works with communities to answer questions about community forests.
A big part of the job involves traveling to different parts of the Northwest. For Daniel, visiting community forests is one of the best aspects of his work, especially being able to hear the stories of people who’ve been on their land for generations
“At Sustainable Northwest, we emphasize that we engage with rural communities, and I really feel that with the work that I’m doing.”
If you blink, you might miss Daniel speeding by on his bike. He loves spending his weekends traveling around Washington and Oregon with his partner to ride bikes and enjoy the landscape. Daniel’s book recommendations: The Winemaker’s Daughter and The Big Burn by Timothy Egan.
