Jon Kachmar Email & Phone Number

Southern Maine

80+ miles of trail in Greater Portland for recreation, transportation, and community connections. We are making Greater Portland a more walkable, bike friendly, and equitable place.

Portland, Maine Area

Commissioner for the Land Bank focused on conserving natural areas for habitat value and recreation for people. Commissioner for the Parks Commission as a liaison between Parks and the Land Bank focused on enhancing and stewarding parks for cultural and recreational values.

Greater Boston Area

Direct urban conservation work in Greater Boston for The Nature Conservancy. The focus is on flood resilience using nature-based solutions for benefits to both people and nature. Working to implement large-scale green infrastructure to mitigate expected increased flooding from larger, more frequent flooding events.

Manage the Conservancy’s regional program for Southeast Massachussetts, Cape Cod and the Islands to identify ecological targets and strategies for the conservation and restoration of the landscape. Focus areas include land conservation for the Taunton River watershed and other areas; stewardship of forested areas, particularly fire-adapted landscapes, and promoting sustainable restoration of shellfish, eelgrass and other coastal resources in Massachusetts. Efforts include developing new strategies and case statements for the identified focus areas, working with local, state and federal policy makers to enhance opportunities for conservation, and undertaking on-the-ground land acquisition, stewardship and restoration projects with various conservation partners.

New Haven, Ct

Manage the Conservancy’s regional program for Long Island Sound to identify ecological targets and strategies for the conservation and restoration of the Sound. Focus areas include adaptation to coastal climate change, restoration of migratory fish populations, promoting sustainable shellfish populations, and facilitating habitat restoration and coastal lands conservation projects. This includes responsibilities for all Connecticut and New York coastal and marine waters in Long Island Sound. As the program’s first director, my efforts are focusing on capacity building, which currently includes integration of Conservancy staff members from the Connecticut, Long Island and Rhode Island chapters. Significant contributions as a member of the CT Chapter Government Relations team focus on securing public and private funding for coastal and marine conservation and restoration projects. Recent federal funding secured includes $700K for seagrass research and restoration as well as recent efforts to secure FY11 funding of $2.4M for the NY/CT Coastal Resilience Project and $250K for Long Island Sound shellfish restoration. Federal agency engagement with NOAA, EPA and the Army Corps of Engineers.

Portland, Maine

Develop monthly meeting agendas and policy discussions, interpret waterfront policy making initiatives, and provide consensus-based guidance on harbor issues for nonprofit entity. The membership includes businesses, non-profits, municipal governments, and individuals with vested interests in waterfront activities. The Alliance is a driving force in waterfront policy setting, including planning and zoning topics. The mission of the Alliance is to promote a sustainable working waterfront that is vibrant and economically productive. The membership base of waterfront interests provides a monthly forum for discussing waterfront zoning, redevelopment, and other waterfront initiatives. Recent efforts have focused on waterfront zoning ordinance development aimed at protecting the working waterfront while stimulating economic development in Maine’s largest port.

Provide coordination and technical assistance to state agencies, municipalities, and non-profits to undertake coastal habitat restoration projects. Develop capacity to strategically restore coastal areas based on the habitat functions and values of subtidal, intertidal and riverine areas. Restoration objectives include dam removal and/or improved fish passage, removal of tidal restrictions to salt marshes, and river channel enhancement for diadromous species, among others. Administer Gulf of Maine Council / National Marine Fisheries Service Habitat Restoration Partnership grant program for meeting restoration objectives. This program provides funding and technical assistance for restoring coastal habitats throughout the Gulf of Maine, including Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Maine, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia, including several projects on Cape Cod. Over $2.5 million has been granted and administered. Highlights of these efforts include development of a regional strategy and improved technical assistance to municipalities, non-profits, state and provincial agencies.

Portland, Maine

Develop agendas for Board work pertinent to core responsibility of safe navigation and commerce in the Port. Specific duties include permitting of marine construction projects, licensing and regulation of harbor pilots and docking masters, and enforcing the Board’s rules for safe, efficient recreational and commercial vessel movements. Over the past seven years I have contributed to the development of harbor management rules for safe, efficient vessel transits and improved marine development activities. This includes extensive amendments to improve standards for pilot licensing, clarification of waterfront development rules to ensure adequate navigation needs, and the development of a personnel manual for office staff.

Portland, Maine

Acted as board member and president during the upstart of this nonprofit organization. The mission of the organization is to provide at-risk youth opportunity to excel through interactive boat building and rowing activities. Tasks included oversight of the annual budget, development efforts, and marketing and outreach to expand the program. Seven years after inception, the organization is still providing services to at-risk youth and greatly expanding programs to accommodate additional users.

Coordinated three-year regional beach management plans for beaches in southern Maine, comprising five coastal municipalities. Provided professional staffing to multi-jurisdictional coastal resources steering committee as well as local stakeholder planning committees to develop and implement beach management plans in three geographic regions in southern Maine. Offered technical assistance to municipalities regarding state and federal regulatory requirements for buildings and structures in coastal areas, regulatory and nonregulatory conservation laws, rules and strategies. Prepared and presented beach management information, including fund requests and public policy analysis, to municipal councils and boards of selectmen. Assisted coastal municipalities with technical information and research as requested, including watershed management and local, state and federal natural resources laws. These efforts resulted in the development of multi-stakeholder management plans that are the basis for on-going beach management efforts in the region.

Augusta, Maine

Provided policy and legal research for legislative committees with jurisdiction over marine and natural resources, transportation, fish and wildlife, utilities and energy, and labor. Compiled and prepared technical background information and reports for committees and staff members. Assisted with drafting laws and rules regarding natural resources management. Staffed interim study commissions and task forces as needed.

Ma, Public Policy/Coastal Policy

New England-Quebec Exchange, Earth Sciences

Ba, Marine Affairs