Bob Ziehmer Will Be Conservation Department’s Eighth Director

By Jim Low, Missouri Dept. of Conservation

11-09-2009

The Missouri Conservation Commission today announced that Conservation Department Assistant Director Bob Ziehmer will be the agency’s eighth director.

Current Conservation Department Director John Hoskins announced at the August Conservation Commission meeting that he intends to retire in January. The Conservation Commission immediately launched a national search for Hoskins’ successor.

Conservation Commission Chairman Chip McGeehan announced Ziehmer’s appointment as director-designate at the close of the November Conservation Commission meeting at College of the Ozarks.

Ziehmer, 42, is a native of California, Mo., where he lives with his wife, Beth and their daughters, Emily, 14, and Lauren, 11. His personal interests and pastimes include fishing, wildlife photography and hunting, especially bowhunting for deer and other big game.

Ziehmer holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in fish and wildlife management from the University of Missouri-Columbia. His Conservation Department career began as an assistant natural history biologist in 1991. He also has worked as an environmental consultant, an endangered species, and aquatic services biologist, a policy specialist, a government relations specialist and, most recently, as an assistant director. He also worked as a wetlands specialist for the Missouri Department of Transportation for three years.

Ziehmer traces his interest in a conservation career to childhood experiences trapping, hunting and fishing with his father. He also notes that Conservation Agent Richard Schroeder, who was scoutmaster of Ziehmer’s Boy Scout troop, took him on work patrols, providing exposure to on-the-ground conservation work at an early age.

“One conservation worker really can make a difference,” Ziehmer said of his mentor.
All four conservation commissioners expressed high expectations for Ziehmer’s administration, which will begin with Hoskins’ retirement Jan. 15.

“The next director of our conservation department must be a visionary to face the challenges and opportunities we have today and in the future,” said McGeehan. “He must be a communicator, a leader, a business thinker and a person on the forefront of Conservation all wrapped into one. Bob Ziehmer is that person.”

McGeehan said Ziehmer’s strong work ethic will serve as an example to all conservation workers, and he has a passionate commitment to Missouri’s unique system of conservation governance.

“There is no doubt in my mind that Bob’s every action as director will be guided by his devotion to citizen-led, science-based conservation,” said McGeehan.

Commission Secretary Don Johnson, Festus, led the search for a new director. He said the commission sent job announcements to professional societies, a wide range of outdoor groups and to research and nongovernmental organizations and identified “extremely good candidates.”

“Each commissioner got information on every single candidate who applied,” said Johnson. “Several candidates were from large states that have very distinguished conservation programs. In the end, we felt that Mr. Ziehmer was absolutely the best candidate for the position.”

Johnson cited the breadth of Ziehmer’s education and experience and exceptional leadership ability as reasons for his selection.

“We think he has a vision to lead the department into the future,” Johnson said.

Johnson said he was particularly impressed with Ziehmer’s capacity to reach out to a wide range of constituents.

“He is a good listener,” said Johnson. “I have seen him work with many different interest groups and find common ground to solve problems. He also has a strong interest in reaching young Missourians. The best evidence of that is the way he does it in his own family, introducing his daughters to the outdoors.”

Conservation Commission Vice-Chair Becky Plattner, Grand Pass, said Ziehmer has been very helpful to her in making informed policy decisions since her appointment to the commission two years ago.

“He has always gone above and beyond his call of duty to find answers and respected each of our opinions on subjects that come before the commission,” she said. “He has handled a wide variety of responsibilities during his time with the Conservation Department, giving him a firm grasp of every aspect of its operations. His steady increase in responsibility resulted from hard work and continued leadership. He not only is good at his job, he enjoys it. I look forward to working with him as the Department’s eighth director.”

Conservation Commissioner Don Bedell’s six-year term began in July. Bedell, Sikeston, has served on many corporate and nonprofit boards of directors and has started dozens of companies.

Asked what qualities Ziehmer possesses that suit him to be, in effect, Missouri’s conservation CEO, Bedell said, “I think his organizational skills – the ability to get things done through teamwork. It isn’t ‘I’ and ‘me’ with Bob. It’s ‘We have a big job to do, and together we can make it happen.’

“Any type of CEO job today is demanding,” said Bedell. “I look for willingness to work, but also someone who is willing to stand up for what they believe in and bring people together with a common goal. I think Bob has that.”

The Commissioners also took the occasion to praise Hoskins.
“John has done a masterful job of managing the department,” said Johnson. “He has created a platform from which our new director can step off confidently into the future, and I have no doubt that Mr. Ziehmer will lead our department and the state into new areas that we need to address and will take us to the next level.”

“There are seasons and cycles in nature,” Hoskins said when he announced his retirement in August, “and a season is changing in my life. The cycle of service as Director of the Department is nearing an end. I have enjoyed this work, but I look forward to the next season of my life. Janet (Hoskins’ wife) and I intend to move to our Carter County farm, where we can live simply, close to the land, and close to our family.”

Missouri’s previous conservation directors, in order of their service were I. T. Bode, William E. Towell, Carl R. Noren, Larry R. Gale, Jerry J. Presley, Jerry Conley and John D. Hoskins.