Melissa Reichert has spent 30 years working in land use and natural resource planning. For eighteen of those years, she worked for the US Forest Service Green Mountain and Finger Lakes National Forests as the Forest Planner, and then the Recreation Program Manager. As the Forest Planner, she led the team that developed the 2006 Green Mountain National Forest Land and Resource Management Plan. She worked closely with the Green Mountain Club and the Appalachian Trail Conservancy to develop the Management Area direction for the Long Trail and Appalachian Trail. As the Recreation Program Manager, she continued to work with GMC and ATC on management and funding issues. As a licensed Landscape Architect, she also conducted scenic analysis for projects that could impact the trail environment.
Since retiring in 2019, Melissa has been an active GMC member. She serves on the Land Conservation committee, is secretary of the Killington section, and is a volunteer corridor monitor. She has spent many years advocating for the importance of trails in Vermont.
Melissa holds a Bachelor’s in Psychology from the University of Vermont and a Master’s in Landscape Architecture from the University of Massachusetts.
Melissa lives in Shrewsbury, which hosts a beautiful section of the Long Trail, and serves on the Shrewsbury Planning Commission. She loves hiking, cross-country skiing, kayaking, and gardening.
