35 Innovators Under 35: Meet Dominic Aiello

Dominic Aiello’s passion for wilderness protection arose from constantly seeing his favorite Michigan hiking spots become littered with trash.

“Raised in the Midwest, I was always disappointed with how far reaching urban sprawl had become and the general lack of respect for our limited public land,” he said. “Moving to Oregon, I realized that generations before us understood that the Pacific Northwest is a treasure to be protected. I was inspired by the dedication to land stewardship that exists here.”

Aiello turned this inspiration into action. He began volunteering at SOLV, Oregon Hunter's Association, Clackamas Dump Stoppers, Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, the US Forest Service, and Tualatin River Keepers. He worked for passage of the bill protecting the Metolius River from destination resorts, as well as bills concerning the Rogue River, Devil's Staircase, and Crater Lake wilderness areas.

“The humbling interactions with wildlife and nature in our national forest, timber lands and state parks really rejuvenate and motivate me to work harder,” he said. “It's important for me to spend as much time as possible in the woods.”

Last July, Dominic founded Project Wilderness, an effort to “improve and expand public land for the benefit of citizens, wildlife and the environment.” The group has performed four site cleanups, various habitat restoration projects, and donates twenty cents of every dollar raised to public land expansion. 

“I hope that conservation and preservation of northwest forests will be my life long career. Development of farm and forest land isn't going to stop, so neither can I,” Aiello said. “Looking forward, I want to make Project Wilderness self-sustainable. Currently, I’m working to create a for-profit arm of Project Wilderness that will support the majority of the funding needs.”

Highlighting the dire need for such an organization, he easily references facts and figures that should alarm Oregonians concerned with the preservation of our open spaces.

“Back at the office, the inspiration is in the numbers. According to the US Forest Service, by 2030 we're expected to lose 44 million more acres of private forest nationally to low density housing development,” Aiello said. “Oregon annually loses around 2,800 acres and Washington is estimated at 8 times that!” 

Aiello has some simple advice for those looking to make a positive contribution to their community.

“Get involved, volunteer, find your passion,” he said. “Things seem to fall in place from there.”