The Nature Conservancy - Kate Hackett

Prior to joining the Conservancy’s Delaware chapter staff in September 2007, Kate Hackett worked for a County government in New York’s Finger Lakes region to develop and implement programs and policies that would benefit natural resources. Throughout her career, Kate has had a special interest in ecosystem management and protection, and has worked on these issues with the United States Forest Service, The Great Lakes Commission, and non-profit organizations in Nairobi, Kenya and Asmara, Eritrea. She received bachelors’ degrees in Political Science and Environmental Studies from Yale University, and a Masters of Public Policy from the University of Michigan’s Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy.

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Kate Hackett and her family compost and recycle so religiously that they have considered discontinuing weekly curbside garbage removal. They also ride bikes instead of driving whenever possible. When they must drive, they take their hybrid car!

Nature.org: What led to an interest in conservation?

Kate Hackett: The great outdoors! I spent my childhood in rural West Virginia where I felt like the whole world was mine. All of my time was spent outside whether it was helping my dad tap maple trees for syrup or exploring the woods behind our house. As an adult, being outside still rejuvenates and focuses me.

Nature.org: How did your career path lead to working with Delaware’s landowners?

Kate Hackett: My job responsibilities as a water resources manager in upstate New York had begun moving in this direction. We were just starting to tap into private landowners as vital links to protecting natural resources. It was something that really captured my interest. When I learned of the opportunity to do this on a full-time basis in Delaware, I jumped at the chance.

Nature.org: What’s the most important project on which you’re working?

Kate Hackett: As we all know, land is in great demand for a number of reasons. As a result, one of my priorities has been working with partners to identify the large tracts of land within Delaware, and working together to protect them into the future. Protecting land becomes more challenging each year, as the amount of available land dwindles, and land values continue to rise.

I’m also working with other organizations to develop a coordinated, state-wide land protection strategy to ensure that the conservation community is ready for opportunities presented by the State’s new administration.

Nature.org: What’s on the horizon in the next couple of years?

Kate Hackett: We’re exploring the possibility of paying landowners for "ecosystem services" provided by their lands, which can include air and water filtration, river and stream protection and flood mitigation. These processes are often taken for granted, and become more and more important as landscapes become compromised by development, pollution and other byproducts of population growth. Since Delaware has land areas draining into the Chesapeake Bay and Delaware Bay – two environmentally and economically critical estuaries – we are hoping to tap into this growing market.