Meet Needham’s Conservation Specialist

August 18, 2025
• Tim Puopolo joined the town staff a month ago after a stint as a ranger in Cambridge.

When Tim Puopolo accepted the role as Needham’s conservation specialist, turtle rescue services were not in the job description. But there he was, in his third week on the job, doing just that.

Out at the Needham Reservoir, just a couple hundred feet from Puopolo’s office, a 20-pound snapping turtle appeared on the shore with a large fishing hook stuck in its neck. The Amity Path by the reservoir is a popular fishing spot.

With the help of leather gloves and Assistant Town Engineer Justin Savignano, Puopolo successfully manipulated the hook out, garnering a round of applause by onlookers. After assessing the turtle, he determined its injuries were superficial, and it was released back into the depths.

“There was one point when I was playing around with the hook, trying to see the best way to pull it out, the turtle really stopped fighting once it knew that we were here to help,” Puopolo said. “The interesting thing is, once the hook was out, that relaxed state ended, and it started thrashing and snapping again. So it knew it was time. ‘Put me down. The hooks out. You’ve done your job. Let me go back into my waters.’”

The rescue mission was thrilling, but his typical day-to-day involves wetlands permitting and filing and working with homeowners to determine how their projects can leave certain surrounding areas undisturbed. He also is a trails coordinator and hopes to breathe new life into the 2008 trails master plan.

Puopolo comes to Needham with an extensive background in hands-on wildlife studies and interventions.

For nearly eight years, he worked as a ranger for the City of Cambridge, where he physically protected and patrolled the area and educated residents. He has served as a ranger at a number of other state and federal agencies, including U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services, the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation and the National Park Service, and he chaired the volunteer-led Dedham Conservation Commission.

“I’ve always been interested in nature since I was a kid, and my fondest memories growing up was just going out and catching toads,” he said in an interview. “In school, my favorite subjects were the sciences, so I studied biology, and I loved conservation science and biology and wetland science.”

His first day as Needham’s conservation specialist was July 21. Having worked in park maintenance, education, trails and enforcement, Puopolo said the Needham position with the Planning and Community Development Department combined his areas of interest and expertise.

Since the pandemic, Needham’s outdoor spaces seem to be as popular as ever, Director of Conservation Debbie Anderson said. Residents’ renewed interest in the natural world and open spaces offers an opportunity to educate people about the environment around them, she said, and Puopolo is the person for the job.

“We are always excited to teach people about what we have in Needham, and we’re excited to have Tim working with us,” Anderson said. “We lucked out.”

Over her 15 years in her position in Needham, Anderson recalled several close town encounters with interesting animals, including young bears and bald eagles at Rosemary Lake taking advantage of a “fish smorgasbord,” she said.

Needham Conservation has previously held educational talks on wildlife, including how to live alongside coyotes and turkeys and on tick safety, Puopolo said. In his capacity as a trail coordinator, he has an interest in leading guided walks, improving signage and maps at places such as Ridge Hill Reservation and establishing a volunteer program.

“It’s one thing to learn and love and want to protect places, but then when people want to be active stewards and give back, who am I to say ‘No, we don’t need your help,’” he said. He plans to create a trails advisory group to assist in this effort.

In his new role, Puopolo fortunately still makes it outside, often to check sites in person, as well as to visit Needham’s miles of trails. On an unusually chilly August morning, he walked along the boardwalk at Amity Path, pointing out a pair of swans at the opposite end of the reservoir. A sign along the path contains information about, incidentally, snapping turtles.

Since his start date, Puopolo has explored Ridge Hill, “with its open grasslands and bird nesting boxes,” as well as High Rock, “which was a nice jaunt of elevation.” He considers Needham to be “a wonderful, shining example of every habitat of Massachusetts.”

Over the next year, Puopolo said he hopes to walk “every single trail Needham has to offer,” both to acquaint himself with the town but also to learn more about the current conditions and needs.

“This really is the diversity of conservation overall that I was looking for,” he said of the job. “My turtle rescue adventure was also a great way to better familiarize myself with the town staff and meet a lot of them and get myself introduced to them in such an exciting way.”