Malcolm MacGregor is affectionately known as “The Trail Guy” here at Wildlands. Retired from a lifelong career at Massachusetts Maritime Academy, he now spends much of his time doing what he loves most--hiking. On average, Malcolm gets out on the trails about 3-4 times a week, covering a total of 20-25 miles! He has more experience than most with the wooded trails in his hometown of Plymouth, MA, and he frequently shares his local knowledge (and continues to find and explore new routes) on the group hikes that he regularly leads. One of his favorite places to spend the day is in the woods of Plymouth’s Pine Hills, but Malcolm’s also happy when working on GIS mapping–whether that’s in the Wildlands office, or at home working on other local projects. One such project that keeps him busy in his “spare time” is a Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness (MVP) program with the Southeastern Massachusetts Pine Barrens Alliance, investigating saltwater intrusion on wells near the coast, for which he designed a spreadsheet to track the impact of rising sea levels on groundwater supply. Malcolm is dedicated to using his experience and knowledge to understand and anticipate the local impacts of global climate change. He was drawn to Wildlands because he believes that the protection of land, particularly forest land, is critical. He points out that while forests help to control the amount of carbon dioxide in the air everywhere, they are of particular significance in Plymouth, where vast tree cover currently protects invaluable, extensive groundwater resources. But, if you were to ask Malcolm directly about how he came to do GIS mapping here at Wildlands, he’d probably offer a more humble response, like, “Wildlands needed it, and I could do it.” And since he could, he did, and he’s been doing it for the last 5 years!
Throughout his life, Malcolm has had an extensive public service career. He is currently the chair of the Plymouth Planning Board, where he has been a member for 35 years. In total, he has spent 50 years in Plymouth’s Town government, including positions on the Conservation Commission and as the Chairman of the Board of Health. While serving the Town of Plymouth, Malcolm also established a noteworthy career in higher education. In his tenure at Massachusetts Maritime Academy, Malcolm began as a professor of math and physics, but later shifted his primary instructional focus to GIS mapping for the degree programs in Emergency Management and Marine Safety and Environmental Protection that he created at the school. An academic by nature, Malcolm holds degrees from Worcester Polytechnic Institute and the University of Connecticut, and conducted post-doctoral research at both the Naval Research Laboratory, in Washington D.C., and the University of Chicago.
