Pieter Coetzee

Pieter joined AFT in early 2024 after previously working in land conservation in Virginia. Currently, Pieter works with the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service to do outreach and education around the Agricultural Conservation Easement Program – Agricultural Land Easements (ACEP-ALE) farmland protection program. Pieter originates from South Africa, where he started his career as a safari guide. After obtaining a Master’s degree in environmental management, Pieter worked for a land surveying company in the foothills of the Colorado Rocky Mountains and volunteered as a Trail Crew Leader for Boulder County Parks & Open Space. Pieter returned to South Africa for a few years to take a management role with a private game reserve, overseeing various successful environmental restoration projects. Most recently, Pieter was responsible for stewarding a large number of conservation easement properties in Virginia, including farms, and he is excited to continue working towards farmland preservation in New Jersey, where he now lives.