Michael Donovan

Michael Donovan

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Adjunct Instructor
Department of Fisheries and Wildlife

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Natural Resources Manager, Michigan DNR

Biography: Mike has a bachelor’s degree in wildlife ecology and a master’s degree in remote sensing and wildlife management both from the University of Michigan. He worked as a remote sensing engineer for Eastman Kodak Company and as a physical scientist for NOAA before starting with the Michigan DNR Wildlife Division in 1990. Mike was hired as a wildlife biologist in Lansing, tasked with bringing GIS and remote sensing technologies into wildlife management.  Mike chaired multiple teams that set early standards for GIS in the DNR and was heavily involved in the initial development of GIS-based forest inventory systems within the DNR. In 1999, he left the Wildlife Division to manage, what was then known as, the Michigan Resource Information System (MIRIS).  In this position, he had primary responsibility for managing many of the DNR’s department level GIS initiatives.

Mike rejoined the Wildlife Division in 2002 as a Resource Specialist focusing on habitat research, inventory, and planning; biodiversity conservation, sustainable forestry certification, and technology. In this role, Mike has worked extensively with MSU on DNR funded wildlife habitat research projects as a PI. He also consults with other MSU wildlife researchers on GIS data needs and sources. He has taught in the GIS program at Lansing community college since the mid-1990s. Mike currently leads the Wildlife Division’s Management Information Unit which is focused on better Enterprise Information Management within the Division.