Who we are
RiverStewards Collaborative is a 501c3 non-profit organization.
Founder and President – Mark Gutshall
Mark Gutshall is the Founder and President of RiverStewards Collaborative. He is a professional wetland scientist (PWS), a licensed Pennsylvania charter boat/fishing guide (permit #767) and founder of LandStudies, Inc. a recognized leader in the field of environmental restoration and land planning. He has more than 35 years’ professional experience in designing, permitting, and constructing ecological restoration projects in the mid‐Atlantic region. During that time, he also founded Octoraro Native Plant Nursery, a wholesale source of native woody plants (1990).
His diverse professional background emphasizes land stewardship and community‐based planning, which he has applied to numerous projects in watershed planning, open space planning, stream corridor restoration, flood reduction and stormwater management, habitat improvement, and wetland creation.
Mark researches and advocates pioneering land management techniques that are functional, cost effective, and environmentally beneficial. He has been a leading voice in the acceptance of “legacy sediments” along stream corridors as a major contributor of sediment and nutrient pollution in waterways throughout Pennsylvania.
He also has been a groundbreaker in adopting regional or watershed‐wide natural resource management as an effective way to create partnerships among private, public, regulatory, non‐profit, and educational interests. Both he and LandStudies have earned accolades for his innovative approaches to natural resource management and land planning.
Executive Director – Laurel Etter Longenecker
Laurel Etter Longenecker is the Executive Director of RiverStewards Collaborative, the nonprofit arm of the RiverStewards initiative. Laurel has over 10 years of experience working in the environmental field and is committed to making the world a better place for future generations to thrive. Laurel has a B.A. in Anthropology from Marshall University and a M.S. in Resilient and Sustainable Communities from Green Mountain College.
Communications and Outreach Coordinator – Hunter Goerman
Hunter Goerman is the Communications and Outreach Coordinator of RiverStewards Collaborative. Hunter has experience in both environmental restoration and communications and has an interest in educating people in regard to the importance of restoration and conservation. Hunter graduated from Allegheny College in 2025 with a B.A. in Communications where he wrote a formal thesis regarding the possibility of ecotourism in Meadville, PA.
Board of Directors
- Mark Gutshall – Founder and President
- Jim Frederick – Board Member
- Linford Good – Board Member
Photo credit: Alyssa Hannigan