Wednesday, October 23, 2019

Wildlife Defender Retires


Dana Michaels Starts New Adventure


Written by SurfWriter Girls Sunny Magdaug and Patti Kishel

Longtime wildlife defender Dana Michaels, a public information and marketing specialist with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, is retiring after 25 years with the agency as a writer, editor and spokesperson.


Michaels put her communications skills and passion for the environment to good use helping to protect the Golden State's natural resources and endangered species.


Working to save sea otters, the California Condor, Northern Spotted Owl and plants from the tiniest flowers to the towering redwoods…


she was as comfortable out in the field as she was writing a news release.     


Starting out in radio, Michaels was an on-air personality at stations from Los Angeles to Anchorage.


After working at Country-105 and COOL-101 in Sacramento, Michaels, who’s one of the Sacramento Valley Broadcast Legends, eventually found her calling at the CDFW.



SurfWriter Girls Sunny Magdaug and Patti Kishel could always count on her to keep us informed about the state’s environmental issues, whether it was a drought or beach erosion, protecting native habitats or safeguarding animals.  


Michaels' last project at the CDFW was reporting on the reintroduction of the endangered Pauite Cutthroat Trout to Silver King Creek in the High Sierras.


The trout, which had almost disappeared, were rescued and returned to their historic natural habitat. Michaels worked on the project for ten years so it’s fitting that it came to fruition just as she retired.


Now, Dana Michaels has other projects to pursue – finishing the novel she’s writing, playing rhythm guitar in a traditional Scottish quartet, and exploring the world she’s helped to make a better place. 




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Sunny Magdaug and Patti Kishel hold the exclusive rights to this copyrighted material. Publications wishing to reprint it may contact them at surfwriter.girls@gmail.com Individuals and non-profit groups are welcome to post it on social media sites as long as credit is given. 


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