Grace to speak at KNPS talk

On Saturday, Kaniksu Land Trust’s Eric Grace will give a presentation on “Preserving Lands & Waters that Sustain us Today & Tomorrow.” The KLT executive director will speak at 9:45 a.m. at Sandpoint Community Hall. The talk is sponsored by Kinnikinnick Native Plant Society and Sandpoint Parks and Recreation.

Grace will discuss the history of the Kaniksu Land Trust, land trust basics, some past projects, the transition KLT has been undergoing recently, and its vision moving forward, including the campaign to establish a community forest at Pine Street Woods.

Prior to working for Kaniksu Land Trust beginning in 2011, Grace was the executive director for the Genesee Valley Conservancy, a non-profit land trust in western New York, where he worked for 14 years. He oversaw the protection of over 9,000 acres of prime farmland and habitat, and also in- creased recreational opportunities for the public in this rural, agricultural community.

Grace was raised outside of Philadelphia, where he spent many hours on horseback, fishing the streams and exploring the woods. It was these experiences that raised his awareness of the importance of natural land and thus led him to a career in land conservation.

Grace is active on several local and regional boards, including the advisory board for the Friends of the Pend d’Oreille Trail, the Idaho Coalition of Land Trusts, the Montana Association of Land Trusts, and the Heart of the Rockies Initiative.