Michael Whittemore is the Land Steward for The Nature Conservancy on Martha’s Vineyard. He is a vegetation ecologist interested in the effects of land use on vegetation. Previously, he worked for Woods Hole Research Center where he coordinated a cranberry restoration research project and collaborated with a regional committee to develop a guidebook for managing sandplain grassland. Mr. Whittemore’s graduate research focused on classifying and mapping plant communities, evaluating floristic quality, and developing a database of vegetation composition and environmental characteristics at a state nature preserve in southeastern Ohio. He has also assisted with multiple long-term vegetation studies with the US Fish and Wildlife Service, US Forest Service, and The Ohio State University. He holds a B.S. from University of Rio Grande and an M.S. in Environmental Studies from the Voinovich School of Leadership & Public Affairs at Ohio University.