Above: Joe Stieglitz participates in the ribbon cutting for the new boardwalk in 2016.
At our April meeting, the Great Bay Stewards Board of Trustees were excited to add two new members to its board – one of whom is a very familiar face.
Joe Stieglitz has been an invaluable volunteer to both the Great Bay Stewards and the Reserve for nearly 30 years, and previously served on the Stewards’ board in the role of secretary. Joe is a spring and fall volunteer educator for school field trips, interpreting the natural and cultural significance of the estuary for hundreds of elementary students annually. He has also volunteered to manage the store within the Discovery Center, and often organizes workdays on the grounds with his church group. Joe is also a major part of the success of the Stewards’ two major fundraisers, Art of Great Bay and the Great Bay 5K | Race for a Healthy Estuary. In the last decade alone, he has given more than 2,000 hours of his time toward protecting and conserving Great Bay. A resident of Sanbornville, N.H., Joe has also been a UNH Marine Docent for decades, leading squid dissections for high school classes, Rocky Shore, and Coast outreach programs.
The second new member, Hampton resident Dana Bisbee, retired in 2020 from the Devine Millimet law firm, where he served as the head of the firm’s Environmental Practice Group. Dana’s focus was on environmental and land use law as well as government relations. He was also a member of the firm’s Government Relations Practice Group, representing clients on environmental issues in the state Legislature and on state agency rulemaking. Prior to his more than a decade at Devine Millimet, he worked six years as a partner in the Environmental and Land Use Practice Group at the Portsmouth, N.H. office of Pierce Atwood LLP. Additionally, Mr. Bisbee was the Assistant Commissioner at the state Department of Environmental Services for seven years, and served 18 months as acting commissioner.
“I’m honored and excited to join the Board of Great Bay Stewards,” says Bisbee. “It is an active, effective, and important organization helping to protect this vital Seacoast resource and to promote public awareness of the challenges and opportunities ahead.”
The Great Bay Stewards are thrilled with the confirmations of Joe and Dana to the Board of Trustees. “As we continue our work on opening Glenn Cove for public access, improving access to sites around the Bay, supporting fieldtrips for socioeconomically challenged schools, and advocating for the health of the Estuary, Joe and Dana will be terrific additions with a breadth of experience in environmental issues and a passion for Great Bay,” says Steve Paquette, board chair.