I AM UAA: David Tessler

M.S. Biological Sciences '01
Hometown: Denver, Colorado
Fun Fact: Met his wife at UAA

Imagine a career where observing nature and enjoying the outdoors is part of the package. UAA alum David Tessler has just that as a Regional Wildlife Biologist for the Wildlife Diversity Program at Alaska Department of Fish and Game. "I just love being outside; experiencing the natural world in its purest form," he says. "Biology is a way to explore nature and act as a caretaker at the same time. I'm living my bliss when I'm outdoors, and working in conservation biology makes me feel like I'm giving something back."

David has a broad professional background in wildlife biology and ecological research, including many rare and threatened species. In his career he has studied deer, bears, bats and other terrestrial mammals; amphibians; songbirds, seabirds and shorebirds; marine mammals; Alaska salmon and marine forage fish; rare plant habitats; fire history; and invasions of exotic flora.

His thesis research at UAA concerned the responses of alpine plant communities to a changing climate. His current research centers on biodiversity conservation, investigating the relationships between species, habitats and ecosystems of concern and the array of potential threats they encounter, including climate change. David is based in the Anchorage Regional Office, but works throughout Alaska, and has projects in Canada and the Lower 48 as well.

David graduated with a B.S. in Wildlife Biology from Colorado State University in 1989, his passion for the outdoors engendered by a childhood of family camping and backpacking trips. With graduate school on the horizon, he received two offers from acclaimed universities outside to work on funded research projects with scientists he admired, but he couldn't decide which school he wanted to attend. "My mom said, 'If you're having trouble making the decision, you're probably missing something important: decisions have a way of making themselves when you have all the information you need.'"

Sensing that his "missing information" was knowing what possibilities existed for him in Alaska, David made a last minute, impromptu trip to the "Last Frontier"-and UAA. David said, "My decision was immediately obvious." David was captivated by Alaska's vast terrain, and decided to turn to UAA for graduate school, even though UAA's graduate program in biology was not yet well established. He ended up becoming one of UAA's first biology graduate students. "UAA turned out to be a great program for me. I couldn't have asked for a better place to earn my master's," he says. "I learned the nuts and bolts of conducting ecological research, and made professional contacts in Alaska that have been invaluable."

UAA didn't just provide David with a Master of Science, either. During his first week of classes David met his wife, Tracey Gotthardt, at the Biology Graduate Student Seminar. The two earned their graduate degrees together. Tracey also works in conservation biology as the state zoologist at UAA's Alaska Natural Heritage Program, and the two occasionally collaborate on projects. Married for 11 years, the couple has a 16-month-old son named River. And when David's not working, he's still playing outside. A former wilderness guide, he enjoys mountaineering, rock and ice climbing, backcountry skiing, sea kayaking, boating, whitewater rafting, hunting and fishing.