We lost Joselin Matkins last Friday. Words are hard to find as we experience the weight of her loss.
She was, among many things, the executive director of the Teton Regional Land Trust and the president of the Idaho Coalition of Land Trusts for our first six years.
She was a bright star in our firmament. We felt the warmth of her glow whenever we were with her. She was our friend, a conservation leader of vision and courage, and a person who connected deeply with the natural world. At this moment of grief, we look back and feel lucky that we had her in our lives and that we got to play a role in her life. She endures in our hearts and in the many beautiful places that she protected for all of us.
Please read the words of her colleagues at the Teton Regional Land Trust, below, and send some love their way.
—Will Whelan, ICOLT Executive Director, Emeritus
From Teton Regional Land Trust:
It is with the heaviest of hearts that the Teton Regional Land Trust staff and board of directors share the news of the sudden passing of our beloved Joselin Matkins, our Executive Director on January 8, 2021. Joselin will be remembered for her dedication, passion, and exceptional work in conservation, primarily in the Upper Snake River region in eastern Idaho. She was a loving daughter, partner, mentor, and friend to many. The legacy she leaves behind is a lifetime accomplishment and an amazing gift that all of us and future generations will benefit from.
Our hearts go out to her family, friends, and colleagues as we all try to make sense of this unimaginable loss. The Land Trust is committed to continuing to advance the work Joselin was so passionate about and to honor her memory.
Michael Whitfield, the Land Trust’s first Executive Director and Joselin’s friend and mentor, shared his memory of his last day with Joselin. It exemplifies the multi-layers of Joselin Matkins.
"Last Saturday, January 2, Joselin, Katie Cecil Fisk, and I skied along Teton River together for the annual Christmas bird count. About a mile into our ski Joselin got a call she had to take. For the next half-hour she was negotiating as the snow fell around us, working the phone on a conservation deal, as Katie and I moved ahead to glass for birds. We skied together for almost five hours along a reach of the river that has almost entirely been conserved through the work of the Land Trust, your Land Trust. Later as Joselin drove me to my car, she seemed particularly introspective, even somber. She spoke of her love for the valley, for the valley’s wild nature, and of her concern for the future of nature in our rapidly changing world. Despite that deep concern for global threats, Joselin spoke of her “all in” commitment to doing all she could for nature here in Teton Valley and the Upper Snake Region. As she left a weary me at my vehicle, Joselin was off to take dinner to a seriously ill friend, thinking of another despite that long slog of a ski. I cannot fathom that we will not do any more of those skis or share those talks." – Michael Whitfield
Information about honoring Joselin will be forthcoming.
Joselin, on the lands she loved so dearly.