This past November, we lost a dear friend, Matthew Heineman.

A true and spirited River Rat, Matt's love of the Thousand Islands ran deep and was adored by many.  His support of TILT first began in 1996 and continued throughout the years.  Most recently, Matt helped expand TILT’s Treks & KidsTreks programming.  

Matt was committed to ensuring that TILT had the financial resources needed to provide our education programs to youngsters.  Matt never let us forget the importance of getting the next generation involved in environmental conservation and the outdoors.

For those who did not have the opportunity to get to know Matt, he was a friend and a neighbor.  Above all, he was a man of enormous generosity and compassion.  Like four generations of Heinemans, he had a passionate concern for the environment.  Most importantly, Matt realized that he had the capacity to make a difference and he had the will to do so.  Alongside his sister Deborah Heineman, Matt played an integral role in making the conservation of Picton Island possible.

The Heineman’s conservation legacy began with Matt and Debbie’s grandparents, Bernard and Lucy Heineman.  Bernard and Lucy were early environmentalists who, early on in life, developed an incredible affinity for the Thousand Islands.  During their lifetime, Bernard and Lucy pieced together many parcels on Picton, later forming what would become the largest unsubdivided island on the US side of the Thousand Islands.  

In 1995, their sons, Jack, Bill and Andy, honored Bernard and Lucy by helping TILT establish the 230-acre Heneman Family Songbird Forest & Nature Preserve on Grindstone Island.  The Preserve is a haven for neotropical songbirds, like the Cerulean Warbler, whose natural habitat has been lost to overdevelopment and fragmentation.  The Preserve is also home to a variety of other wildlife.

The Family’s conservation legacy was further ignited in 2014, when Matt and Debbie, working closely with their cousins, partnered with TILT to advance the Picton Island Conservation Initiative.  By the end of 2018, Matt and Debbie had guided TILT through the protection of 200 acres of mature mixed forest and over 20,000 linear feet of undeveloped shoreline.  

There is no question that Matt’s love and passion for nature and the outdoors was forged at an early age, born from the Heineman Family’s unwavering appreciation, awareness, and understanding of our region’s natural resources and their selfless efforts to restore and protect them.  One of Matt’s last acts of kindness and generosity was a financial bequest to TILT.  Considering Matt’s love for getting kids out on the land and introducing them to nature, TILT’s Board of Trustees has designated the gift as part of its permanent Environmental Education Fund.

Land conservation is an investment in our future.  And leaving a legacy is one of the most valuable, enduring gifts one can ever give.  As a member of TILT’s Thousand Islands Forever Legacy Program, Matt planned a bequest gift to TILT to honor his legacy and his family’s impact on the region. Members of Thousand Islands Forever represent a group of passionate individuals who have made a perpetual commitment to the conservation of the Thousand Islands and St. Lawrence River Valley regions.

While we mourn the loss of a member of our River family, we celebrate the meaningful and lasting impacts that Matt made possible.  We are forever grateful.  

Matt Heineman’s Obituary – https://www.cummingsfuneral.com/memorials/item/893-matthew-d-heineman.html