The Inland Northwest Land Conservancy recently welcomed David Schaub as their new Executive Director. An outdoorsman with deep ties to Spokane, Dave has the ideal combination of qualifications and experience: conservation, education, and business. Welcome Dave to the land trust community!
Background
Conservation runs deep in Dave’s blood, beginning with his early involvement with the Boy Scouts. The numerous scouting adventures solidified his love of the outdoors. Following college, Dave hiked the entire Pacific Crest Trail, from Mexico to Canada. In his own words, this experience “immersed me in both the vast wildernesses as well as the ongoing assaults on the wild lands of the West.” He has also been a whitewater raft guide on the Salmon and Snake rivers and a NOLS instructor in Alaska.
In addition to many years as an educator, Dave also worked as a leader in the sustainable building industry. He created and ran the Refuge Sustainable Building Center in Bozeman, Montana, a company that sold green building materials. Through his business experience Dave learned how to collaborate with diverse institutions and people.
Ties to Spokane
Although Dave has lived in Seattle and Bozeman, he and his family have chosen to call Spokane home, where he has deep roots. His great grandfather was a farmer in the Spokane Valley, and Dave’s mother continued to raise the family there. Dave graduated from Lewis and Clark High School in Spokane.
Upon returning to Spokane, Dave’s keen sense of needing to protect the environment as well as his seminal belief in the importance of public service led him to become involved in conservation. He is on the boards of the Dishman Hills Conservancy (also past president), Spokane County Parks Advisory Committee, and New Priorities Foundation.
Connecting People to Land
Dave is eager to work with the INLC staff, board, donors, and all involved—notably including the current and future holders of conservation easements—“to promote regional conservation work.” He is also excited about collaborating with other conservation groups in the Spokane area. Notable areas of interest for him are protecting the Spokane River, the aquifer and watershed, and local farmlands and forest resources. A special focus is connecting people to the land in meaningful ways. Ultimately, his hope is to encourage and expand “a human community that values and protects its natural resources both as a buffer of resilience within a changing climate and as plant and animal habitats with their own rights.”
Welcome, Dave!