The director of the Missouri Department of Conservation will retire in June. Sara Parker Pauley became the first female director of the agency in November 2016.
Some of her accomplishments include restructuring MDC; developing a partnership with Columbia Public Schools to create the Boone County Nature School; and working with the University of Missouri, the Missouri Conservation Heritage Foundation and others to create the Johnny Morris Institute of Fisheries, Wetlands & Aquatic Systems to train the next generation of conservation professionals.
“Sara has been a trailblazer throughout her years of dedicated public service to Missourians, and we will certainly miss her as part of our Cabinet team,” said Governor Mike Parson in a news release. “As a proud outdoorswoman, Sara’s passion for Missouri’s natural resources and great outdoors and efforts to conserve them for the next generations has been welcomed and greatly appreciated. Under her leadership, Missouri has maintained our status as a leader in all things conservation, and we look forward to that continuing. We thank Sara for her service and wish her the best in retirement.”
The Conservation Commission will launch an executive search next month to recruit MDC’s next director.
