Berrien Conservation District

Monthly Board Meeting will be Monday, January 11th, at 12 noon.  Please join us using Google Meet  meet.google.com/xbh-ovja-xpu  or by phone                                                           +1 419-677-0448 (PIN: 840755435)

If you wish to ask a question of a board member or manager:

Board Chair/Director, Brandy Wise-Tenter, email brandy_wise_tenter@whirlpool.com

Treasurer/Director, Ryan Postema, email rpostema@chikamingopenlands.org

Director, Bette Pierman, email bette49022@yahoo.com

Director, Alan Martin, email alan@parkviewhills.net

Director, Terry Holloway, email THolloway@welchs.com

Manager, Nancy Carpenter, 269-471-9111 x3 or email nancy.carpenter@macd.org 

Berrien County Conservation District Virtual Annual Meeting and Election

Thursday, February 18th, 7 p.m. Candidates for election for members to the board of directors are Kaitlyn Lemon, Alan Martin, and Bette Pierman. Terms are for four years and two positions need to be filled. Voting this year will be by absentee ballot only. Ballots may be requested by email to the manager at Nancy.Carpenter@macd.org, or by phone to the office at 2369-471-9111 ext 3. A ballot and voter registration card will be mailed to you. You must be over 18 and a legal resident of Berrien County to vote. Ballots and registration cards must be returned by 4:30 pm Thursday, February 18th by mail, or in the drop box at the office at 3334 Edgewood Road, Berrien Springs, MI. Election results will be announced during the virtual annual meeting. To access the annual meeting and election results please join us on-line with Google Meet Meet.google.com/iwf-nivb-yra or by phone 1-269-388-1601 using pin 568309973. Special guest speaker, Matt Meersman, President of the Friends of the St. Joseph River and Director of the St. Joseph River Basin Commission will present on the changes to the St. Joseph River throughout the years.

KAITLYN LEMON

Kait Lemon was born and raised in southwest Michigan and has recently moved back to the area to work on her family's fruit farm and vineyard.  She is an avid gardener and loves to grow unique heirloom varieties.  A graduate of Grand Valley State University, Kait holds a bachelor’s of Science in Natural Resources Management, and is currently enrolled in the forest carbon graduate program at Michigan State University.

Kait spent the last three years of her natural resources career working as a field and program coordinator for the Idaho Conservation Corps, overseeing a variety of conservation crews for the state.  She has experience working as conservation crew leader in Oregon and Washington, as a wilderness ranger with the US forest service in Colorado, and as a field biologist in Montana, Hawaii and Michigan.  She is excited to return to her home state and use her conservation experience to better the coastal and local ecosystems of Berrien County.  

ALAN MARTIN
Alan Martin has been a Berrien Conservation District Director for eight years and is running for the position again. 

BETTE PIERMAN

Bette Pierman works to protect and value our environment after retiring from careers as a public educator and project manager/technical writer in the private sector.

Her environmental action began with the fight to protect Jean Klock Park in Benton Harbor, Michigan. That work progressed to involvement with the Committee to Ban Fracking in Michigan’s petition drive while at the same time becoming a founding member of Michigan Safe Energy Future-Shoreline Chapter (MSEF-SH) which provides public education on the importance of sustainable, renewable energy. It has continued with community cleanup activities on the Paw Paw River and along Ox Creek and with the Alliance for the Great Lakes Beach Cleanup at Jean Klock Park.

Currently, she serves on the board of the Two Rivers Coalition  (TRC), acting chair of MSEF-SH, member of Bangor-South Haven Heritage Water Trail (B/SH HWTA), member of The Friends of the St. Joseph River, member of South West Michigan Land Conservancy (SWMLC), member of the Chikaming Open Lands (COL), member of Sarett Nature Center, active volunteer with Van Buren Conservation District (VBCD), committee member planning for the Paw Paw River Water Trail, member of the Michigan Sierra Club, and member on an advisory board with an upcoming project on Ox Creek with the South West Michigan Planning Commission (SWMPC) and TRC. She is also a member of the Michigan Democratic Party Rural Caucus working to educate, protect and preserve the agriculture community for a future generation. She kayaks on area rivers and lakes whenever she has the opportunity and enjoys hikes in many of the Southwest Michigan nature preserves and parks.

Bette’s interest in agriculture began with time spent with her grandfather on his area farm. She currently enjoys providing part-time care throughout the year for two Arabian horses when their owner travels.