Meet the Orleans County Team
Ted is the newest member of the Orleans County NRCD. As Conservation Specialist, he will be the lead on natural resource restoration programs that primarily deal with aquatic environments like streams, rivers, and wetland/floodplains, as well as web based information sharing about the OCNRCD.
Prior to moving to the Northeast Kingdom, Ted was a research fish ecologist with the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife in La Grande, Oregon leading monitoring efforts on Snake River Pacific salmon. Ted earned his Master’s of Science from Montana State University, and for the last 25 years, he has been involved in the development, coordination, and implementation of large-scale aquatic habitat and water quality monitoring programs throughout the Pacific Northwest and Rocky Mountains. Ted’s passion is in the conservation and recovery of watersheds for both human use and natural flora and fauna through restoration of ecosystem functions, especially in aquatic and riparian environments. As such, his interests include developing relationships and collaborative problem solving among stakeholders; finding sustainable solutions for the community, aquatic organisms, and riverine systems; evaluating and designing restoration of ecosystem processes to promote clean water and sustainable habitats; and building resilient a landscape for future generations. As is in common with most Vermonters, he and his family enjoy everything that involves being outdoors whether it’s in the woods or on the water and exploring the world at large.
Bevin Barber-Campbell is thrilled to join the Orleans County NRCD as the Conservation Assistant/Community Engagement staff. She is looking forward to assisting the District Manager in general district procedures and leading outreach and communications efforts for our programs and services. This summer she will increase her hours to include community engagement work with lake associations on lake restoration work.
Bevin comes to us from the Memphremagog Watershed Association and bike advocacy/alternative transportation work. She has been in Vermont for a few years and lives in Westmore with her family. She is passionate about her work, uses personal connections, communications and education to inspire individuals and leaders. At the same time, she values listening and learning about people’s experiences. These interactions provide the basis for constantly evaluating her strategies and programs, leading to thoughtful and creative innovations and solutions.
Nathanael joined the Orleans County Conservation District in May 2023 as a Conservation Specialist. He will be managing the Memphremagog RCPP, NRCS Local Fund Pool, and Nutrient and Land Management Plans including the Vermont Pay for performance program.
Nathanael was born and raised in Montana, where he received his B.A. in Environmental Studies and M.S. in Environmental Science from Montana State University. He moved to Vermont in August of 2022, taking on a position in Newport with NRCS as a Soil Conservation Technician. Before working for the NRCS, he had an internship with the Gallatin County Conservation District and MSU Water Quality Extension Office and spent two years working for the Farm Service Agency. He also volunteered with the Fish and Wildlife Service and Gallatin Watershed Council.
Nathanael’s main passion since he was six years old has been amphibian conservation. He is looking forward to addressing water quality concerns and helping farmers in Orleans County through his new position. He has been inspired by conservation efforts to restore trout populations in Montana’s pristine streams, which were once highly degraded from mining waste and nutrient and sediment runoff. He hopes to implement similarly effective projects here in Vermont. He and his wife live within walking distance of Lake Memphremagog, and in his spare time he enjoys hiking, biking, fishing, composing music, and taking care of his many houseplants and pets.
Joanna Lidback is a dairy farmer, business consultant, and lifelong farmer advocate. She and her husband Adam own and operate the Farm at Wheeler Mountain, a diversified dairy farm located in the Northeast Kingdom of Vermont. The farm consists of 80 registered Jerseys and Holsteins and a direct farm sales business for beef and composted cow manure.
Off the farm, Joanna is CFO for Adirondack Farms, LLC and the principal consultant for Adirondack Management Services, LLC. Previously, she was a business consultant with Yankee Farm Credit and has also held various positions with Farm Credit East including loan officer, director of Knowledge Exchange, and lead author of the Northeast Dairy Farm Summary.
She was inducted into Vermont’s Agriculture Hall of Fame in 2019 as an Emerging Leader and recognized with the Young Jersey Breeder national award in 2016. She volunteers as a board member for the Global Farmer Network, she is first vice president of Orleans County Farm Bureau, and can be found judging youth dairy cattle shows throughout the summer and early fall.
Joanna has a bachelor’s degree in applied economics and management from Cornell University and an MBA from Babson College. She and Adam are raising three children on the farm: Thomas, Eli, and Audrey. You can find Joanna at Facebook.com/TheFarmatWheelerMountain and @JoannaLidback on Instagram and Twitter. You can read her blog at farmlifelove.com.