By: Juliette Quenioux

Derrick Rosenbach’s (MS ‘13) passion for environmental planning is clear throughout his career. However, his path has not always been linear, first studying political science and philosophy here at U-M’s College of Literature, Science, and the Arts for his bachelor's degree.

After finishing his undergraduate education, Derrick worked in Uganda for a volunteer teaching program. Sixteen months teaching environmental ethics and the philosophy of science overseas facilitated discernment about his future and career. He reveals that the “environmental and socioeconomic conditions around him heightened his awareness of the effects of human activity on the natural world.” This is when Derrick decided to apply to SEAS, discovering a love for environmental planning.

Since departing from SEAS with his MS in Conservation Ecology and Environmental Policy and Planning, the most memorable experience in his career has been assisting with the planning efforts to reintroduce wolves to Isle Royale National Park here in Michigan in 2018. The project aimed to reintroduce 20 to 30 wolves over the course of 3 years in order to counter a rapidly declining wolf population, as well as combat the consequences of that decline, such as large increases in the moose population on the island.

Other notable projects in his career include restoring a watershed affected by acidic deposition in Shenandoah National Park. Derrick also managed the environmental compliance process for the reconstruction of a failed road on the sensitive landscape of the badlands in Theodore Roosevelt National Park in 2022. He says that “each of these projects required me to think critically about the impacts of federal actions on natural and cultural resources and effectively collaborate with the interested public.”

These are important considerations for the future of our environment; how do these federal agencies inform their decisions concerning the environment?

Derrick examines this question in his current role in Lakewood, Colorado, with the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA), where he manages the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) Program for the Rocky Mountain Region.

Most of his work falls under the procedural processes of NEPA, where, Derrick says, a recent challenge has become navigating the multitude of changes to the implementing regulations of NEPA. However, “my passion for environmental policy,” Derrick adds, “routinely helps me overcome this challenge and keeps me intellectually engaged in current regulatory affairs.”

Reflecting on his time as a student at SEAS, Derrick fondly remembers conducting research in Nepal with his then-faculty advisor Dr. Arun Agrawal, researching greenhouse gas reduction strategies through community forest management. He found that this experience provided him with “a fundamental understanding of a planning process, the evaluation of a project’s impacts on communities, and how to influence decision-making in the public interest.” Derrick is grateful that his years at SEAS have provided him with “the necessary tools to become a successful planner within the federal government.”