After his fellowship in 2011, Shane returned to the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies to finish up his master’s degree. He worked for the School Forester’s Office there, first as an apprentice forester, and later as the head of the Quiet Corner Initiative. This initiative was focused on building local capacity around sustainable forest management, small-scale agriculture, and renewable energy in a very rural and overlooked part of the state.

In 2013 Shane started Back Forty Forestry, LLC, a forestry consulting firm dedicated to sustainable land management in the Northeast. His clients range from private landowners to prep schools and land trusts, as well as many other folks. The diversity of projects in Back Forty’s portfolio includes ecological baseline studies, forest management plans, trail projects, and wildlife habitat improvements. Shane finds consulting both exciting and challenging, and is excited to be bringing on his first staff member in 2016.

Shane often relies on his experience as a Wilderness Ranger Fellow. He is familiar with one of the paradoxes of wilderness and wildlands (managing something to look “unmanaged”). According to Shane it’s an important conversation starter with his clients who are interested in both the benefits and challenges to a “forever wild” style of land management. Shane uses many of the same field skills that he practiced at SBFC (map and compass work, cross-country travel, etc.) to accomplish his fieldwork in the backwoods of New England and New York.

Shane is grateful for his experience with SBFC, not only for the skills that he learned but the friends that he made. His experiences in The Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness have left an indelible mark on how he sees land management as a professional, as well as knowing from experience how essential wilderness is to us as a society. He is anxious to get back to Moose Creek and fly fish for more Idaho Westslope Cutthroats.