Meet Tom Saxton

Restoration Ecologist

Contact Tom: Tom@newriverconservancy.org

Tom Saxton is a Certified Ecological Restoration Practitioner (CERP) with more than 15 years of experience in natural resource management across federal, academic, nonprofit, and private sectors. His work spans riparian, wetland, and upland ecosystems, with expertise in riparian habitat restoration, integrated species management, and stakeholder engagement. At NRC, Tom manages river restoration projects across Virginia and West Virginia.

His background includes federal service with the U.S. Forest Service and National Park Service, where he’s worked in forestry, fisheries, wildlife, soils, hydrology, botany, and wildland fire. Tom has also coordinated thousands of volunteers through community-based projects at Virginia Tech, including The Big Plant, and he continues to teach applied restoration techniques as a field course instructor for Virginia Tech’s Ecological Restoration Field Practicum. He holds a B.S. in Natural Resource Management, with minors in Forestry and Urban Forestry, from Virginia Tech.

When Tom isn’t planning a riparian reforestation project, he’s likely packrafting down a wild river somewhere in the world.

Interested in a stream restoration project in Virginia or West Virginia? Feel free to reach out!