Mark Benedict is the Senior Associate for Strategic Conservation and the Senior Advisor for the Conservation Leadership Network at the Conservation Fund. He has his Ph.D. in botany/plant ecology from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst.
Ed McMahon is vice president and director of land use planning for The Conservation Fund and co-author of Balancing Nature and Commerce in Gateway Communities (Island Press 1997).
The Conservation Fund, a national nonprofit organization, acts to protect the nation's legacy of land and water resources in partnership with other organizations, public agencies, foundations, corporations, and individuals. Since its founding in 1985, the Fund has helped its partners safeguard wildlife habitat, working landscapes, community greenspace and historic sites totaling more than 3.4 million acres throughout the nation. Its headquarters are in Arlington, Virginia.