Richard Leopold
| Organization | |
|---|---|
| State | |
| Title/Position | Science Applications Asst. Reg. Dir. |
| Department | Midwest Region |
| Send e-mail | |
| US Eco Regions | |
| Wildland Fires |
Richard is the Assistant Regional Director for Science Applications within Midwest Region of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service which includes Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Ohio and Wisconsin. He provides leadership, direction, and coordination in the development and execution of high-priority science activities, including those involving climate change, adaptive resources management, and landscape conservation. This includes oversight of three Landscape Conservation Cooperatives, which are landscape-scale conservation-science partnerships.
Richard was the Director of the Iowa Department of Natural Resources from 2007 to 2010 under Governor Chet Culver. Prior to the Iowa DNR, Richard was the Executive Director of the Iowa Environmental Council. He has held a variety of biologist, naturalist, and administrative positions within the U.S. Forest Service, the National Park Service, the Minnesota and Iowa Department of Natural Resources and served as the coordinator for IOWATER, Iowa's statewide volunteer water-quality monitoring program.
Richard holds an M.S. in Animal Ecology from Iowa State University. He obtained undergraduate degrees in biology from Minnesota State University and natural resources technology from Central Lakes College in Brainerd, Minnesota. Richard has been the past chairperson of the Iowa Conservation Education Council, a recipient of the Izaak Walton League of America's "National Honor Roll Award" in 2001, and more recently has been recognized as a Henry Toll Fellow by the Council of State Governments.
