About Us

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Sustainable ecosystems, robust economies, cost-effective infrastructure, and preservation of cultural values are too often viewed as zero-sum conflicts.  Nobody wakes up each day with an objective of destroying the environment or economy, but organizations and people do resist activities they perceive as a threat to their personal and organizational priorities. At HansonRM, we believe that win – win outcomes are possible and necessary to achieve sustainable and resilient environmental, economic, and social outcomes. We use structured decision making to supplement traditional policy analysis and environmental assessments to address environmental, economic, and social interactions. 

Decision support systems do not dictate outcomes or values, but rather are used to create shared understandings among potentially competing perspectives to reach more resilient and sustainable outcomes.  Our work understands and respects the value of information … we can keep it simple, create simplified frameworks to enhance stakeholder understanding, or create innovative approaches based on global best management practices. 

Hanson Resource Management Inc. (aka HansonRM) was founded by David A. Hanson in late 2008.  Dave began his professional career working for the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (WDNR) first managing sport and commercial fisheries of Lake Michigan and inland waters and then serving seven years working as a fisheries research biologist. Dave was an early pioneer recognizing the need to better integrate socioeconomic considerations into environmental and natural resource management decisions. Based on his research, Dave was awarded the prestigious Bush Mid-career Leadership Award which he used to study economics and policy analysis as part of an MPA at Harvard University. 

Since 1987, Dave has provided consulting services on challenging environmental issues across the U.S. He has been involved in complex water quality, habitat restoration, river system operation, endangered species recovery, protection of old-growth forests, climate resilience and and much more. His experience has ranged from serving as a technical expert to senior management roles for large consulting and engineering organizations. Dave's educational training includes a B.S. in biology, chemistry, and math; an M.S. in Zoology (limnology and fisheries focus); an MPA (economics and policy analysis focus); and two years of Ph.D. studies in fisheries and statistics.