Michael Zagata 
A Journey Toward Environmental Stewardship 

Raised in upstate New York, Mike earned a BS and MS in secondary science at SUNY-Oneonta and Cornell and then a Ph.D. in wildlife ecology at Iowa State University.  His varied career included an assistant professorship at the University of Maine-Orono’s School of Forest Resources, Field Director for The Wildlife Society, Audubon’s Director of Federal Relations, program development officer for the National Research Council (National Academy of Sciences)—where he formed a committee to address renewable natural resources issues—and tenure with Tenneco, Inc., a Fortune 50 Company.  While there, he graduated from the University of Virginia’s Darden Business School’s “The Executive Program.”  Mike was promoted to Director of Environmental, Health & Safety (EH&S) for Tenneco Oil E&P.  From there, he became VP of EH&S for Transco Energy Co. Under his leadership, the companies received the National Wildlife Federation’s “Conservation Achievement Award, ”  Ducks Unlimited’s “Silver Teal Award, ” and The Conservation Fund’s “Calder Award.” He then served in Governor Pataki’s cabinet as Commissioner (CEO) of New York’s Dept. of Environmental Conservation.  After leaving the DEC, he helped found and served as president of the Conservation Alliance of New York and recently retired as President and CEO of the Ruffed Grouse Society—an international wildlife conservation organization promoting sound forest management for the benefit of both hunted and non-hunted wildlife. His awards/recognition include a letter from President Carter thanking him for his help in passing the Fish & Wildlife Conservation Act of 1980 (later known as CARA); induction into the “Hall of Fame” by the offshore energy industry for his work at Tenneco on wetlands mitigation banking and “Rigs to Reefs” (converting retired offshore energy production platforms into functioning artificial reefs); and into the NY State Outdoorsman’s Hall of Fame. 
 

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