Zachary Handke is a graduate student at Oklahoma State University, pursuing a master's degree in collaboration with the USDA Southern Plains Climate Hub through the Fellowship Program. His academic focus is on Rangeland Management, with an emphasis on extension services. In 2015, Zachary earned a bachelor's degree in Natural Resource Ecology and Management, with an option in prescribed fire. He subsequently worked for the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks and the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation before returning to school for his master's.
His career goals are focused on being able to help educate people on how to reach their objectives by using better management practices. After starting a career in natural resources it didn’t take Zach long to realize that natural resources is a service industry and that he enjoyed talking with stakeholders about different types of management. Zach plans to work with individuals and organizations to restore and maintain native rangelands while still utilizing renewable services for agricultural production and recreation.
Zach has experience with multiple types of agriculture production and has been a part of managing hundreds of thousands of acres that consist of wetlands, oak/pine forests, cross-timbers, tall grass prairie, mixed grass prairie, and short grass prairie. During this time, he has assisted on over 100,000 acres of prescribed burning, been involved with grazing leases, logging leases, a variety of habitat manipulation practices, management research, GIS collection and editing, wildlife surveys, area use surveys, infrastructure maintenance, etc.
Outside of his education and career, Zach is a small business owner, a loving husband, and a caring father. As a family, they enjoy hanging out in the backyard, gardening, going to the lake, visiting national parks, hiking, fishing, cooking, and playing games. In Zach's free time he enjoys hunting, wildlife photography, college sports, and leatherwork. In the future, Zach hopes to retire on a small piece of land and enjoy his family's and friend's company.
