Craig Malone
Community lands steward
Craig’s love for nature began in the chaparral forests and coastal tide pools of Southern California, where he spent his early years exploring local ecosystems and volunteering at the Scripps Birch Aquarium and nearby nature preserves. For his high school capstone project, he documented the diversity of kelp forests along the Southern California coast, an experience that sparked a lifelong curiosity to understand the natural world around us.
Craig earned a B.S. in Environmental Biology from Michigan State University in 2018. While at MSU, he participated in long-term ecological research at the Kellogg Biological Station and collaborated with the U.S. Forest Service to study the spread and impacts of the invasive emerald ash borer across the Midwest. After completing and publishing research in Ohio, he worked as a natural resource specialist in North Carolina, where he focused on watershed protection, reducing pollution impacts, and restoring stream systems affected by development.
In 2021, Craig returned to the Pacific Northwest, a region he first fell in love with during a seven-day kayaking trip around Orcas Island nearly a decade earlier. While earning his Master’s degree in Biology at Washington State University, he used remote sensing to study how human-driven deforestation affected native tree species in tropical forests. Throughout his career, Craig has combined skills in remote sensing, plant identification, invasive species management, and habitat restoration all towards a better understanding of how to protect natural systems.
Today, as Community Lands Steward for the Palouse Land Trust, Craig applies his scientific background to conserving and restoring local landscapes across the Palouse region. Outside of work, Craig enjoys backpacking, exploring new trails, birding, photography, and creating maps simply for the joy of discovery. For him, the boundary between work and wonder is always blurred by a profound respect for the world around him.