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April 18, 2026
Join Joshua's Trust staff, trustees, and volunteers in reflecting on another successful year of protecting land and preserving heritage–our 60th!
RSVPs are encouraged & appreciated!
Joshua's Trust Annual Meetings are open to everyone, but voting privileges are reserved for members. A featured talk will follow a reception and short business meeting.
"Drylands and Wetlands: Legacies of Human Ecology"
Robert Thorson, Professor of Earth Sciences
In early New England history, freshwater wetlands were considered miasma to be loathed, drained, and converted to more productive use. By the early 1970s, however, the values of freshwater wetlands in New England had been recognized and they began to be protected by state and federal regulations, even though the majority had either been created or altered by agroecology and hydropower development. Much the same can be said about New England's gridwork of drystone walls estimated at 200,000 linear miles within an area of about 50,000 square miles. What has turned out to be the region's signature landform resulted from the same human agencies at wetlands. But with respect to wildlife habitat, they are complementary drylands whose ecological functions as volumes, areas, and lines enrich habitat diversity in ways that are only just beginning to be investigated. For decades, Professor Thorson has been trying to make a peer-reviewed science out of stone walls as part of a vision for more effective conservation and management. This talk will be a status report on that emerging science with specific attention drawn to their inventory, classification, and interpretation on Joshua Trust properties.
Questions about the Annual Meeting can be directed to Melica Stinnett, Development & Communications Coordinator at melica.stinnett@joshuastrust.org