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Young people enjoying outdoors is chief’s goal

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By Jim Morris, Contributing writer 7:22 PM Saturday, June 4, 2011

Once a 40-year-old rookie trying to “stay up with those young kids at the academy,” Dave Lane has had a rocket ship ride through the ranks of the Ohio Division of Wildlife ... all the way to the top.

Lane was appointed as the new chief of the division on May 16 by Ohio Department of Natural Resources director David Mustine.

“It’s been a whirlwind so far,” Lane said. “There are many things for me to learn.”

Lane didn’t begin working for the Division of Wildlife until he was 40. He had risen to vice president of a West Virginia timber firm, but decided it was time for a change.

“I had a great job, but I was never home,” said Lane, now 48. “I wanted to spend more time with my boys (ages 16 and 10) in the outdoors. I saw Ohio had an opening for a wildlife officer, so I went for it.”

Lane started as a county wildlife officer in Fayette County in 2002. He then became a supervisor of officers in 2005 and was named acting manager of District One (Central Ohio) in 2009, the position he held until being named chief.

“As chief, I’m not going to change the Division of Wildlife, but I may tweak it a little bit,” he said.

Lane and his family continue to live in Washington Court House.

Q: Back when you were sweating at the academy, did you ever have any idea you would be chief of the division within a decade?

A: It never entered my mind. I have always just done what had to be done to do the job. People who work for the Division of Wildlife have a passion to pass the traditions along to future generations.

Q: What are some of the priorities you have as you begin as chief of the division?

A: As I begin, I want all the people working here to know I have trust in all of our employees and I want them to trust Fountain Square (where the state offices are located in Columbus) in the same way. We have very talented employees and every job in the field is just as important to our mission as any other job in the division. I want all of them to understand the vision and the direction we want to go and I want them to have input to the things that are happening in the division.

I also want to make sure we do a good job of reaching young people and help them enjoy the outdoors. We need to work more with the schools. We have very talented people in each county and they can have a very big impact in the schools.

Q: What are the greatest challenges facing the division?

A: Again, I think we have to focus on getting more young people into the outdoors. Hunting, fishing and trapping are tremendous family activities. We have to give them every opportunity we can. I want to make sure we continue to look for areas to purchase land that will provide more places for people to go hunting and fishing.

Q: What role do you see the Division of Wildlife playing in the resurrection of Grand Lake St. Marys?

A: Although we are not the main division working on the problems at the lake, we can help. (Parks, Soil and Water, the EPA and the Department of Agriculture are the main players.) We have expertise in many areas and I am very much for us helping our sister agencies whenever we can. I am not sure exactly what it will be, but you can be assured we will do our part.

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