Mason Overstreet

Age: 38
Home: East Barnard
Family: Wife J.J.; son, George (7); and daughter, Eleanor (5)
Profession: Environmental Lawyer
Primary sports: Whitewater canoeing, fly fishing, cycling (mountain biking, adventure and gravel), and skiing (backcountry, meadow skipping and lift served)

By Phyl Newbeck

Mason Overstreet was intrigued by the Vermont whitewater canoe scene long before he visited the state. He was in college in Alabama when friends he canoed with told him about a Vermonter named Tony Shaw who was an influential part of that community. Mason moved to Vermont in 2012 and immediately looked up Tony who has since become a mentor and a friend. 

Mason grew up on a farm nestled under Shenandoah National Park in Virginia. Both his parents were academics, and his mother was a naturalist. Water was a big part of Mason’s childhood. “We always had a beat-up canoe on top of the car,” he said. Mason started fly fishing at age three and he and his brother grew up canoeing. The boys used to read the classified ads in the Sunday newspaper and one day they saw an ad for a whitewater canoe. They were only familiar with the old aluminum models the family had and decided to check it out. 

The canoe they found was made by Nolan Whitesell, a legend in the whitewater world. “We bought that canoe,” Mason recalls, “and the rest is history.” Initially the brothers shared the canoe, but when Mason went to college, he bought a Dagger canoe for $125. “It was patched all over,” he said, “and it was one of my prized possessions, but I sold it for gas money when I moved to Vermont.”

For Mason, a canoe has always felt better than a kayak. He loves the history of the sport, the elegance of the single blade, and the better sightlines. “I love the provenance of the legendary early boaters,” he said, “and the knowledge that has been passed down.” Mason noted that canoeists are vastly outnumbered by kayakers in the Vermont whitewater world. “We’re like dinosaurs,” he said. “There are only a handful of us.” Mason believes there are probably only half a dozen active whitewater canoeists but knows there are others who were active years ago and still have their old boats. He described the one-person open canoe (OC1) culture as similar to telemark skiing and steep creek fly fishing. “I’ve never met a whitewater canoeist in an OC1 that I haven’t made friends with,” he said. “They’re all such good people.”

Mason currently has four boats of his own and two that he recently picked up for his kids. Whitewater canoes for children are hard to find although they are more popular in Canada. “I analogize acquiring kayaks to adopting dogs,” he said. In the winter, when the kids are asleep, Mason heads down to his basement to restore old whitewater canoes to rehome them. “Over the years, I’ve loved helping boats find homes and folks find new boats to keep the sport alive and plastic out of the landfill,” Mason said. “All boats have personalities so it’s fun matching them with the right people. I also love the history of the early boat designers and the evolution of hulls to the present.”

Mason said Vermont is amazing for whitewater and he bemoaned the fact that he has missed out on part of the spring season due to work constraints. “Vermont and New England are whitewater paradise,” he said. Mason’s favorite river is Patterson Brook in Granville which comes out of the Breadloaf Wilderness. He said it is the true headwaters of the White River. “You feel like you’re in a remote wilderness,” he said. “It has this slot canyon, gorge-like feel. The elevation drop, the rapids, and the ambience of the gorge is like no other.”

Mason canoes with the Vermont Paddlers Club and American Whitewater. He tries to be as active in those groups as possible and said that he is grateful for their work and stewardship and the community they have built. He also gave a shout-out to CreekVT which is run by Scott Gilbert and is a compendium of information about Vermont streams. Mason contributes to the groups by providing run descriptions and photography for local rivers and taking part in open canoe trips. His day job with the Conservation Law Foundation also helps protect the rivers he loves.

Mason was in fifth grade when he decided he wanted to be an environmental lawyer, even if he didn’t fully understand the job. He used the computer in the school library to find Vermont Law School and knew that was where he wanted to get his degree. There were a few detours first. Mason attended the University of Alabama where he graduated magna cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa with a degree in environmental studies, conservation and policy. He helped ensure that his fraternity became completely green by his sophomore year and then assisted other fraternities in following suit. 

After college, Mason and his high school sweetheart turned wife, J.J., moved to Lake Tahoe where he ran a small environmental/conservation group, but in 2012, they packed up the car and moved to East Barnard, VT. Mason found the landscape similar to his childhood home before that area became overdeveloped and the roads were paved. In contrast, the center of East Barnard is five miles from paved roads in any direction. 

Mason graduated magna cum laude from Vermont Law School and was the Vermont editor of the Vermont Law Review. Looking for a job in public interest and advocacy, he found a home at the Conservation Law Foundation where he works in the Clean Air and Water Program. Previously, he taught environmental law and policy at Colby-Sawyer College and then at Vermont Law School’s Environmental Advocacy Clinic, a position he gave up when his kids were born. “I already knew about CLF when I was in college,” Mason said. “There are so few folks doing environmental law so that was my dream job. It is a privilege and an honor to work there and be part of the team.”

Mason is part of other teams as well. He volunteers with the Broad Brook Volunteer Fire Dept. and serves on their board. He said the fire department gives him hope for the world with their volunteer spirit. He’s also on the board of the East Barnard Community Hall and used to be on the board of Greater Upper Valley Trout Unlimited.

In the winter, Mason loves to ski. He describes the type of skiing he prefers as meadow skipping although he noted that his friend Dr. Hugh Hermann prefers the term pasture skiing. Mason used to skin up Saskadena Six with Hugh, now 97, who only recently gave up the sport, leaving Mason to skin up solo. He also enjoys the Old Skyline Trail which runs from East Barnard to Saskadena over ridges and high meadows, which he describes as having amazing views as well as the potential for amazing turns. He has skied at various locales in the Green Mountain Forest using both backcountry and light telemark skis. 

Mason is also an avid mountain biker, a sport that he has done since the age of seven, as well as a gravel rider. He noted that the Vermont scene has really exploded. He is not particularly interested in downhill mountain biking, preferring what he calls “homegrown organic trails” that he can reach from his front door, and which can include singletrack and logging roads. When he moved to Vermont, his brother bought him a Salsa Fargo which he describes as the pioneering bike for that kind of riding. Since then, he has upgraded to a much-loved Tanglefoot Moonshiner made by Analog Cycles in Poultney. 

Mason said the whitewater canoe season in Vermont can be year-round. “If there’s a thaw in January, we’re there,” he said. “In the dead of winter if it’s safe and there aren’t ice shelves, we’re out there. The coldest I’ve boated in is 9 or 10 degrees. We’ll go until the ice fully forms and after ice out, we’ll go again.” In summer, when things dry out, Vermont isn’t ideal, but canoeists will go to Canada, the Deerfield River (VT/MA), or Winnipesaukee in Franklin, NH.

Mason has spent his life looking for mentors and is pleased that he has found so many in Vermont. With Tony Shaw in the water and Hugh Hermann on the snow, he has found people he respects and whose company he enjoys. He organizes an annual OC1 instruction clinic in Vermont with Andrew and Carole Westwood with whom he has travelled to Costa Rica and who he considers mentors as well as boating partners. 

While whitewater canoeing is a central activity for Mason, he describes it as part of a broader push to be outside including fly fishing steep headwater streams, cycling, and skiing. He also enjoys gardening, hiking, backpacking, mushrooming, canoe camping, and splitting and stacking wood. “What makes all of those pursuits so meaningful is being out there with friends,” he said, “and experiencing the beautiful landscape we are so fortunate to live in.”  Still, the most important part of his life is spending time with his children and his wife who thankfully also enjoy being active outdoors.

Mason believes his work as an environmental lawyer is a natural extension of his passions. “The files on my desk and desktop represent the rivers, communities, and landscapes where I spend my time and that I care deeply about,” he said.

You can usually find Phyl Newbeck outdoors, cycling, swimming and kayaking, and skiing and skating in winter. She moved to Jericho in 1995 and although still a flatlander, she stacks a mean woodpile. Phyl (vtphyl72@gmail.com) has written for regional newspapers and magazines and is the author of Virginia Hasn’t Always Been for Lovers: Interracial Marriage Bans and the Case of Richard and Mildred Loving.