WILTON — The Heald Tract, a 975-acre piece of protected land in Wilton, was hit especially hard by the 2008 ice storm, but today the area shows little evidence of the downed trees and branches that once blocked the miles of winding trails primarily because of a Wilton man who coordinated its restoration.

The restoration effort, combined with Wilton resident Bart Hunter’s 14 years of keeping watch over the tract, led the Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests to name him Volunteer of the Year.

“I think most people would have looked at those trails and thrown up their hands in despair. Bart looks at those miles of trails that had been obscured by wreckage and rolled up his sleeves to get to work,” said Dave Anderson, director of education and volunteer services for the forest society.

Hunter has put in about 500 hours of volunteer service into cleaning up the Heald Tract — and to other forest society efforts — over the last two years alone.

“The interesting thing about the forest society is that they manage the property. They do log them, and they take care of them, but at the same time they preserve them. So for me it’s a good combination. That’s why I keep doing it. That’s why when I retire I’ll probably just do more of it,” Hunter said.

In addition to the hours Hunter has spent recently on his efforts for the Heald Tract, he is also one of the forest society’s longest serving land stewards. Since 1993, the forest society has trained volunteers to help monitor and manage its conservation lands through its land-stewardship program, according to Land Steward Coordinator Carrie Deegan.

“Bart was one of the first land stewards we ever had. He has put in thousands of hours over the years. One of the reasons we selected him for volunteer of the year is he has gone above and beyond what our typical land steward duties are. He recognized there was more work than one or two people could do, especially after the ice storm, so he organized a local group of community volunteers who met every weekend to work on the land,” Deegan said. “Since then he’s kept up the Saturday work crews building bridges, maintaining a small building on the property and keeping a dam there from being clogged up by beavers.”

Hunter, who is also a Wilton Conservation Commission member, said he began volunteering for the forest society because he wanted to be able to preserve the state’s natural resources from development. In addition to being a land steward, Hunter also works as a community ambassador for the forest society, by creating presentations and raising awareness about what the organization does. He said he is especially interested in the Heald Tract because of its natural beauty, interesting history, and the people who have lived there.

“There are three large ponds on the property. It is an enormous, wild, very diverse habitat. It’s just a beautiful place,” he said.