Emilee Nelson

Emilee is the Minnesota Associate State Director at The Conservation Fund. She specializes in conservation real estate and financing innovative conservation solutions throughout Minnesota. Emilee’s role involves collaborating with private landowners to ensure their properties leave a lasting legacy, partnering with the Department of Natural Resources and local hunting groups to enhance wildlife habitats and accessible hunting lands, and leading public-private land exchanges that connect expansive forest and wetland complexes. This includes the creation of the nation’s largest wetland mitigation bank and an internationally recognized birding hot spot. Additionally, Emilee works with Camp Ripley National Guard training facility to acquire and protect surrounding lands, which safeguards habitat for rare and threatened species while supporting the Guard’s training mission.

Emilee joined The Conservation Fund in 2015, bringing experience from the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources and Pheasants Forever. She holds a B.S. in Fisheries, Wildlife, and Conservation Biology from the University of Minnesota – Twin Cities.

As a Minnesota native, Emilee loves spending weekends at the cabin, ice fishing for big northern pike, golfing and waterfowl hunting with her loyal dog.