Rainforest Program Officer

Brian McNitt

Tongass Permanent Protection Campaign

bmcnitt@akrain.org

Brian was born and raised in the Great Lakes State of Michigan, where he gained a love of the outdoors and a B.S. degree in fisheries biology from Michigan State University. However, his real life began in 1984 when he moved to Sitka, Alaska for a volunteer fisheries position with the US Forest Service. After a short time with the Forest Service, Brian worked for the next five years as a biologist for the Northern Southeast Regional Aquaculture Association as well as commercial salmon trolling during the summers. Brian spent two years in the Environmental Studies Master’s Degree Program at the University of Montana and then returned to Sitka in 1990 to own and operate two small restaurants. During this time, he was very active on the board of the local conservation group and eventually decided to leave the food business and got into conservation full-time by becoming the executive director of the Sitka Conservation Society. Brian now oversees ACF's rainforest program work, including the Tongass Protection Campaign. He loves living in the paradise of southeast Alaska and enjoying its incredible wild places by kayaking, camping, hiking, free diving, and fishing.