BLOOMINGTON — Sycamore Land Trust is delighted to welcome Alex Sienkiewicz as its new executive director, ushering in a new era of leadership dedicated to protecting southern Indiana’s natural heritage for future generations. Building on Sycamore’s strong conservation legacy, Alex will guide the organization’s continued growth in land protection, habitat restoration, and environmental education across southern Indiana.
Alex has a distinguished record of conservation service, bringing more than two decades of leadership in conservation, wildlife habitat management, and public lands stewardship. Most recently, he served as Chief of Resource Stewardship and Science at Carlsbad Caverns National Park, a 50,000-acre UNESCO World Heritage Site in southern New Mexico, overseeing the Park’s science programs and managing the stewardship of its natural, cultural, biological, ecological, speleological, paleological, and recreational resources.
In his prior position as a District Ranger for the U.S. Forest Service, Alex managed the million-acre Yellowstone Ranger District of the Custer-Gallatin National Forest in Montana. He led complex conservation and public land initiatives, resolving access disputes, restoring critical wildlife habitat, and guiding forest management plans. His leadership emphasized collaboration and building trusted relationships with conservation organizations, Tribes, and local communities to protect public lands. In 2018, he received the Jim Posewitz Professional Conservationist Award from Montana’s Cinnabar Foundation for outstanding contributions to conservation. He was also a member of the U.S. Forest Service’s National Collaboration Cadre, a dedicated group of U.S. Forest Service professionals and community leaders from across the nation that helps public land managers and communities work collaboratively to address challenging conservation and land management issues.
Alex holds a Ph.D. in Forestry from the University of Montana College of Forestry & Conservation, a Juris Doctor from the University of Montana School of Law, and a Master’s of Public Administration in Natural Resource Management / Environmental Policy from the University of Washington. He has served on nonprofit boards including Trout Unlimited (West Slope Chapter), the Surfrider Foundation (Seattle Chapter), City of Missoula Open Space Advisory Board, and Shane Lalani Center for the Arts. His affiliations include the Society of American Foresters, Society for Conservation Biology, Wildlife Society, Wildlife Management Institute, Ecological Society of America, Penn Grapplers’ Club, and Teach For America Alumni Association.
“Sycamore Land Trust is a beloved institution in southern Indiana, and that collective goodwill punctuates my ambition to be effective in my new role and to pursue ambitious conservation outcomes that make a difference in the lives of communities and in the ecosystems of which we are a part,” Alex said.
“I plan to emphasize landscape-scale conservation and ecologically-connected landscapes here in Indiana. Obviously, this can only be done in partnership with diverse stakeholders, communities, government entities, and players… but it’s a vision that could enrich the lives of today’s Hoosiers, while also doing the same for generations to come.
“I bring a sense of optimistic urgency, but also pragmatism, to my work. I have ambitious goals for the Sycamore family at large, which includes staff, Board, members, donors, preserve stakeholders, and all of us Hoosiers. I hope to significantly increase the pace and scale of conserved lands in Indiana and to contribute to landscape-scale networks of ecologically important preserves. The Sycamore family will need a lot of collaboration and support from the communities of Indiana to move this vision forward.
“I am both humbled and excited to be the newest Sycamore Executive Director. I will focus on strengthening the Sycamore family’s goodwill across Indiana and increasing conservation outcomes and open space preservation for people and communities to use and enjoy.”
“The Executive Committee at the direction of the Board of Directors of Sycamore undertook an intensive national search for our new Executive Director,” said Sycamore’s Board Chair Tim Dunfee. “We are unanimous in the belief that we found a person whose experience, education, and personality align strongly with Sycamore’s work and values. We are confident that Alex will be instrumental in continuing the successes of Sycamore in strategic land conservation, stewardship, and environmental education.”
As Executive Director, Alex will work alongside Sycamore’s experienced team to carry forward decades of successful conservation. Founded in 1990, the land trust has grown to protect 11,809 acres across 26 counties in southern Indiana, restoring critical habitats, maintaining more than 30 miles of free public hiking trails, and providing environmental education programs that connect people of all ages to nature. He will support the ongoing stewardship of its protected lands and advance conservation initiatives that safeguard biodiversity, protect water quality, and promote outdoor learning opportunities.
Under Alex’s leadership, Sycamore will continue advancing several of its most significant conservation priorities, including expanding its 2,400-acre Beanblossom Creek Conservation Area in Monroe and Brown counties, a long-term, landscape-scale conservation initiative to protect and restore wetlands and other ecologically important habitats along the floodplain of Beanblossom Creek, a major tributary of the West Fork White River. Sycamore is also developing the Carl Ziegler Wetlands & Education Center on a newly protected wetland property in Monroe County, creating a hub for hands-on environmental education and land stewardship that will help more people experience, learn from, and care for southern Indiana’s wetlands.
Sycamore’s work is guided by a long-term vision for a southern Indiana that is rooted in diverse and abundant habitat for native plants and wildlife, clean air and water, productive and sustainable working lands, and communities that recognize the connection between a healthy environment and quality of life. Alex’s leadership will help ensure this vision continues to guide Sycamore’s work to protect the vital lands and waters that define southern Indiana’s beautiful natural heritage.
