Thomas Uger is currently the Co-Head of the Media and Communications Team at Kohlberg Kravis Roberts (KKR) in New York. Not only that, but he serves on the board of directors of IPREO and Weld North. Uger holds a B.A. from Dartmouth College, and before joining KKR worked at Lazard Freres & Co, a company that offers investment banking services and initial public offering advisory services.
Tom Uger’s new media career is not what we are profiling; however. Outside of his life at KKR, Uger is doing his part to help out the environment. Thomas Uger is a sponsor for the Dutchess Land Conservancy.
The Dutchess Land Conservancy is a unique non-profit dedicated to preserving the rural character and open lands of Dutchess County in New York. Started in the 1950’s, their mission is to keep the scenic, agricultural, and environmental resources of the county available for future generations, and uses outreach, private development, and education to help reach their goals.
Thomas Uger started to work with the Dutchess Land Conservancy when he donated a conservation easement on his 125 acres of Duell Road in Stanford. The great thing about this land is that it has a circumnatural bog lake on it, which is a rare habitat that is home to a number of rare plants and animals. These plants and animals can include the northern cricket frog, blue-spotted salamander, ribbon snake, river otter, and marsh wren.
The easement that Thomas Uger donated also is potential habitat for Blanding’s Turtle, a semi-aquatic, colorful turtle that has a range that centers on the Great Lakes , but has a few, isolated populations in Southeastern New York- specifically Dutchess County. It’s general habitat is wetlands with clean shallow water, and is considered an endangered species over much of its range.
This easement will help to protect the forest areas, as well as preserve the wetlands on the land. Thanks to Thomas Uger, and to the Dutchess Land Conservancy for working to preserve our natural wetlands!
To find out more about the Dutchess Land Conservancy, read more here.