NEWCASTLE — Gary Best has been named a new board member of the Sheepscot Valley Conservation Association.

Best is the assistant regional manager of the Southern Region of Maine State Parks for the Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry. He was project manager for the Department of Conservation’s Maine State Parks Passport program, and is currently leading a team to expand this program to include a GeoTour that will begin in May.

Best works in the stewardship and monitoring programs for the conservation association’s properties and easements, and is already chairman of the stewardship committee.

In January, Best became the first person from Maine to graduate from the National Association of State Park Directors State Park Leadership School accredited through North Carolina University. He, his wife Tina and their 7-year-old son Nate live in Whitefield.