FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

April 14, 1999

Fairbanks, Alaska - Taking a walk on the wild side is nothing new for University of Alaska Fairbanks professor emeritus David Klein. For more than 45 years Klein's favorite companions, second to his students, have been a bunch of animals- musk oxen, caribou, deer and moose, that is.

His research work with these animals has now been recognized nationally by The Wildlife Society. The group has given Klein, a wildlife biologist and professor emeritus with UAF's Institute of Arctic Biology, it's highest honor- the Aldo Leopold Award. The award, which recognizes distinguished service in wildlife conservation, memorializes the man considered the founding father of the wildlife management profession.

Leopold was a mentor whose philosophy, work and writings have guided Klein's success in wildlife management, Klein said. Although Leopold died in 1948 fighting a brush fire when Klein was an undergraduate student, his ideas of environmental values, protection of wildlife habitats and management of wildlife resources made Klein want to pursue a career in wildlife management.

Klein has been active in research and management in Alaska since 1953, when he earned his master's degree at the University of Alaska Fairbanks.

After graduating and a stint in the U.S. Army during the Korean War, Klein worked with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in Petersberg, Alaska, then joined the Alaska Department of Fish and Game in 1959. Three years and one doctoral degree from the University of British Columbia later, Klein returned to his alma mater as a faculty member with IAB's Department of Wildlife Biology and was also named director of the Alaska Cooperative Wildlife Research Unit.

During commencement ceremonies in 1997, Klein was named professor emeritus, a title given to those who have served with distinction in teaching, research or public service, and symbolic of the university's desire to maintain an identification with those ending formal, fulltime university employment. Klein continues to advise students in graduate and doctoral programs at UAF.

He is also actively involved in conservation issues throughout the Arctic and the United States, including his continued studies on foraging dynamics and ecological habitat relationships of Arctic species. Klein also promotes sustainable use and management of fish and wildlife resources throughout the circumpolar north by working with several international organizations.

He has published more than 120 technical articles and book chapters and continues to be a productive researcher and author of professional papers.

In addition to his Arctic research, he also currently serves as chair of the National Research Council committee evaluating management of elk, bison and other species in the northern Yellowstone area of Wyoming.

-30-

UAF NEWS RELEASES AVAILABLE ELECTRONICALLY AT:

http://www.uaf.edu/univrel/media/

JCS/4-14-99/99-067