COLUMBUS, OH -- David B. Mackey, a professional engineer with more than 25 years of experience managing public projects, will head the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) Office of Coastal Management in Sandusky.
David is a man of exceptional skills and accomplishments, said ODNR Director Sam Speck. We are pleased that he will be helping us in our efforts to become more responsive to the needs of coastal residents and more protective of our lake and coastal resources.
As chief of ODNR's Office of Coastal Management, Mackey will direct Ohio's coastal management program, assisting landowners in the management of the Lake Erie coastline. The office administers the submerged land lease program and the coastal erosion program as required by Ohio law, and awards more than a quarter million dollars annually in state grants. The office also coordinates Ohio's coastal nonpoint pollution control program and efforts to preserve coastal wetlands.
A three-time graduate of The Ohio State University, Mackey holds degrees in civil engineering, English literature and psychology. Most recently, he was vice-president of Columbus Engineering Consultants, Inc., where he was senior executive for all environmentally related activities and reviewed all environmental reports for the firm's current projects.
Prior to that, Mackey was federal and state projects section manager for the City of Columbus, where he managed the environmentally sensitive and high profile Spring-Sandusky Interchange project that joined three of the city's major highways. Early in his career, he worked on oceanic engineering projects in California and on a wetlands inventory study of the Great Lakes region. He is an avid sailor and former U.S. Navy officer.
In May, ODNR announced a reorganization of the Coastal Management program to better serve Lake Erie shoreline property owners and local governments along the coast. The reorganization consolidated staff from several ODNR programs into the new Office of Coastal Management and resulted in the transfer of four employee positions from Columbus to Sandusky. Those four employees joined eight others already assigned to coastal management duties in the Sandusky office, which is located at 1634 Sycamore Line Road.