The Stony Brook-Millstone Watershed Association appointed a new Executive Director at the most recent meeting of its Board of Trustees, according to Chairman Swep Davis. After conducting a national search, the board selected James R. Waltman, a Princeton native who most recently served as Director, Refuges and Wildlife for The Wilderness Society, headquartered in Washington DC.

At The Wilderness Society, Mr. Waltman conducted the national campaign to protect the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge from proposed oil drilling. For ten years, he represented the Society on issues relating to the National Wildlife Refuge System, Alaska public lands, endangered species, and other wildlife matters. The Hill newspaper named Waltman one of Washington’s "top lobbyists" on natural resources conservation and the prestigious National Journal credited the Society with "leading the charge" to defend the refuge.

In commenting on his move from a national to a regional environmental organization, Mr. Waltman said, "I feel a strong pull to work at the local level, where conservation and environmental education happen in earnest, and I have fond memories of exploring Stony Brook as a child while growing up in Princeton."

Mr. Waltman graduated from Princeton University with honors in biology and received a Master of Environmental Studies from the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies. While pursuing his degrees, he conducted field research in Guarico, Venezuela, on the reproductive and behavioral biology of the green-rumped parrotlet (Forpus passerinus) and in Galapagos Islands, Ecuador, on the breeding biology and behavior of Darwin's finches (Geospiza conirostris) that was published in several scientific journals.

He began his career as a Conservation Intern with the National Wildlife Federation in Washington, D.C., and then joined the National Audubon Society as a Wildlife Specialist.  He represented Audubon before Congress, federal agencies, the media, and the general public; organized grassroots efforts of Audubon chapters and membership in support of federal wildlife legislation and other initiatives.

The Stony Brook-Millstone Watershed Association protects water resources in the 265- square miles of central New Jersey drained by the Stony Brook and the Millstone River. The Association’s headquarters is located on a now 830-acre reserve in Hopewell Township that includes a nature center, pond, and 14 miles of trails, as well as an independent organic farm. Visitors are welcome from dawn to dusk all year long. For more information, call 609-737-3735 or visit online at www.thewatershed.org.

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