David Galat Bio | The Nature Conservancy

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Freshwater: David Galat, Ph.D.

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David Galat serves as science advisor for The Nature Conservancy’s Great Rivers Partnership. © Robb Jacobson

David Galat, Ph.D.

Science Advisor, Great Rivers Partnership

Contact Information

E-mail: dgalat@tnc.org

Brief Biography

“Publishing scientific papers is important but it isn’t enough. We need to move scientific information into the political arena where it can inform land and water management policy.”

As science advisor for The Nature Conservancy’s Great Rivers Partnership (GRP), David Galat helps guide protection of the world’s largest and most significant river systems. Central to his work is the development of a GRP global network of river scientists and policy experts. This network will share solutions to common land- and water-use dilemmas, and ultimately help advance sustainable river basin management.

For over two decades, David has worked for the U.S. Geological Survey in Missouri as a research fishery biologist and as a cooperative associate professor at the University of Missouri, where he currently remains as adjunct faculty. While he has been an academic most of his life, David also sees himself as an applied scientist.

He has served on numerous national and international committees and science advisory boards related to river-floodplain ecology and restoration. A notable example is the U.S. Interagency Floodplain Management Review Committee—which was formed after the devastating flood of 1993 on the Upper Mississippi River to examine existing management policies and make recommendations for improvement.

Through his research and in his capacity as former Americas’ editor and current editorial board member of River Research & Applications, David has connected globally with river scientists. Drawing from this experience, he hopes to help the GRP capitalize on the expertise of others working on large rivers.

David received his undergraduate degree in natural resources from Cornell University and master’s degree and Ph.D. in aquatic ecology from Colorado State University. He is author of over 100 professional publications and over 90 invited platform presentations in aquatic and restoration ecology. He and his wife Diana spend much of their free time managing 130 acres in the Ozark border region of central Missouri. There they focus on natural communities, sustainable food production and general nature study.