About

I’m Mike Snyder — and I believe it’s cooler in the woods. How about you?

My perspective comes from more than four decades working in the woods: as a forester, teacher, scientist, and public servant — including 12 years as Vermont’s Commissioner of Forests, Parks and Recreation. And during that time, I’ve come to believe that most debates about forests aren’t really about trees.

They’re about stewardship: how we balance our values with ecological and economic realities, and whether we’re willing to think beyond the short term.

Early in my career, I was shaped by Aldo Leopold’s Thinking Like a Mountain — his account of watching the “green fire” fade from a wolf’s eyes and realizing that ecosystems understand consequences more deeply than we often do. The lesson stuck: good stewardship requires humility and a long view.

I carried that idea into public leadership, where I learned that forest decisions are rarely just technical. They’re human. Economic. Sometimes political. Often misunderstood.

People care deeply about forests. But forests operate according to natural law — not talking points.

The name Greenfire comes from that insight: a reminder to see clearly, think longer, and work with complexity rather than against it.

Today I advise leaders, work with landowners, and create space for better conversations about land and stewardship. If you are making consequential decisions about forests and people, I can help you see the woods clearly and move forward thoughtfully. Especially if the stakes are high or the path is complicated.

Most of it begins the same way — with a walk, a question, or a conversation about what matters and what comes next.

Greenfire exists for people willing to engage complexity without pretending it’s simple.

— Mike Snyder