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Dave Sanger
NNREC is pleased to honor Dave Sanger with the 2006 Environmental Educator Award. Though Dave now has job responsibilities that keep him from doing direct environmental education, he was one of the key people in developing the field of EE in Nevada, and also one of the founders of NNREC, so it seems appropriate in our 20th year to recognize Dave for his long service to EE.
Autobiography
1970 – B.A. degree in education from UNC, student teaching at local high school
Dec. 1970 – attended Officer Training School, flight school, combat tour in Vietnam for a year and Alaska Air Defense Command for 5 years in F-4C fighter aircraft
1976 – moved to Nevada, entered Wildlife program and flew for Air National Guard 19 more years, worked as PSI Stream Survey every summer
1980 – B.S. degree from UNR in wildlife and began formal career with NDOW at Washoe Station, culturing and stocking trout for 7 years
1986 – promoted to Conservation Ed. Bureau as staff coordinator for Environmental Education for 10 years.
- Developed and implemented adult education program for teachers, conducting 25-30 workshops/yr and 4 Facilitator workshops/yr to teach educators how to infuse wildlife in their everyday curriculum, using Project WILD
- Weekly classroom visits, wildlife education
- Testified to the Legislature Education Committee on the subject of requiring environmental education in the formal school curriculum, statewide.
- Developed contract and education variables (educational plan, reader boards, interpretive trails, curriculum, volunteer staffing) for the Oxbow Nature Study Area, published brochure for the Oxbow
- Initiated an expanded e.e. coverage in the bureau by requesting and receiving authority to hire aquatic education coordinator, seasonal angler education coordinator and interpreter (Oxbow), was exploring Trout in the Classroom just before leaving
- Developed and published Wild Tales, a quarterly newsletter about wildlife education for all teachers who attended a workshop or were prospective attendees
- Researched and coordinated the offering of WILD workshops for college credit through UNR and UNLV. Grew to Project WILD II, an advanced workshop in the field (Elk, Ely, NV)
- Wrote and published Color Nevada WILD (Dangberg Foundation), also contracted to do same kind of book for Colorado, California and Wyoming
- Correlated Project WILD activities to statewide science objectives
- Participated in development of state science curriculum, state Department of Ed.
1997 – Career opportunity, promoted to Employee Development Manager with State Industrial Insurance System.
- Initiated needs assessment for large company, established and maintained training records and requirements for 1100 employees, professional and career training
- Published monthly employees newsletter
- Established entire professional employee curriculum and policy for training
- Signature authority for outside training (nurses, lawyers, accountants, blue collar)
- Supervised 7 staff, 2 program assistants and 1 deputy manager (WPS and performance evaluations)
- Selected and coordinated professional supervisors curriculum for 150 supervisors through UNR outsource training (business college, 6 courses over a year period)
- Developed training program for specific workers compensation hardware change-over
- Developed and held responsible for $1M operational budget
- Semi annual report to CEO and Executive Committee (cost effectiveness)
1999 – Returned to NDOW as Staff Fisheries Biologist.
- Re-instated successful spawning operation of rainbows at Marlette Lake
- Responded to needs of biologists and public to provide cutbow eggs, Big Spgs Reservoir.
- Hatchery Refurbishment project, inventoried and defined hatchery problems (Published the Plan), legislative committee testimony during 2001 and 2003 legislature, successfully implemented trout stamp increase, Contract proposals/interviews, coordination of plan
- Initiated upgrades for all 4 hatcheries, computers, e mail, internet (electronic reporting and correspondence)
- Initiated new production health testing combined with broodstock testing
- Write 3 federal grants (F-32, F-33 and F-38 – Hatchery Refurbishment)
- Supervise 3 hatchery managers
- Re-write of Water Sampling requirements and reporting protocol, assumed data management
- Writing: newsletters, monthly reports, annual reports, budget reports
- Deal with fish importation issues and disease certification
Special Interests/Involvements:
- High School basketball official, 1985-present
- Ski Instructor – Reno Junior Ski program for 5 years, 1997-2002
- Refurbished/restored two vintage cars: 34 Ford, 3 window coupe (Hot August Nights winner, 2002) and a 62 Nova SS, 1999-2003
- Certified NSCA (National Sporting Clays Ass.) Level I Instructor – led two 6 week shotgun classes for kids 12-16 (one at Sage Hill, one at the Carson City Trap Club), 2004-present
- Field trained and competed with German Wirehaired Pointer, “Gus”, 2nd place out of 36 dogs, August 2005, Nevada Chukar Championships, Fallon, NV. 2004 - present
