Mark Thorne is current Board President of the Moscow Food Co-op, Moscow, Idaho, and was first elected to the Board in 2019. Mark has worked enthusiastically with the General Manager, other Board members, and our Columinate consultant to create the best possible working environment for the Board and our General Manager. Mark is passionate about supporting local farmers and food equity issues and has been involved with agriculture and land issues their entire life. They are originally from northeast Oregon where their family raised small grains and cattle and were very supportive of the local grower’s cooperative. The cooperative brought people together and provided products and services, and access to markets otherwise not available. Mark became interested in soil health, native plants, and land restoration in a large part because protecting soil from erosion was fundamental on the farm. In college, they earned a B.S. degree in Crop Science from Oregon State University, an M.S. degree in Natural Resources from Washington State University, and a Ph. D in Environmental Science from The Ohio State University. In Ohio, Mark also participated with the Ohio Invasive Plants Council, a statewide collaboration of land managers, private citizens, businesses, and academics active in managing invasive plants in a wide array of landscapes. Mark is currently working at Washington State University doing agricultural research with weed management in crops. Mark lives near Viola, Idaho, with their spouse, Deborah, two horses, a dog, and two cats.