Dave Marcouiller
Professor - Urban and Regional Planning
Office: 101 Music Hall
Office Hours: By appointment only
Phone: (608) 262-2998
Email: dwmarcou@wisc.edu
Research and Outreach Expertise: Rural development and integrative tourism planning.
For the 2008/2009 academic year, I have been on sabbatical leave in Norway and France.
My work deals with issues of resource-dependency and the unique planning needs of remote rural regions. Current areas of research include amenity-based rural development, land use compatibility & conflict, integrative tourism planning, and outdoor recreation. My extension programs address developmental issues associated with amenity migration, the compatibility of alternative natural resource uses, forestry and wood products, outdoor recreation planning, water economics, and tourism analysis. I teach a variety of graduate courses including regional economic problem analysis, integrative tourism planning, and, upon occasion, our planning workshop.
I have affiliate appointments with the Department of Forest Ecology and Management and the Nelson Institute of Environmental Studies. In addition, I serve as an Extension Specialist with UWEX Cooperative Extension providing technical assistance to an array of local clients throughout the Lake States. In particular, I work closely with the network of community resource development educators on the variety of issues listed above.
Formally trained in agricultural economics (Ph.D.), forest policy (M.S.),and resource management (B.S.), my analytical work focuses on the linkages between natural resources and rural economic development with a particular interest in the mechanisms behind income generation and distribution to rural households. In addition to planning, I interact professionally in related fields of regional science, resource economics, community development, natural resource management, and tourism/recreation/leisure science.
My path into the interdisciplinary field of planning occurred with little pre-destiny. A certified professional planner, my past practical experience is highly varied. Early formative years were spent as a radio broadcaster & cab driver in Minnesota and a lift-operator/ski bum in Utah. After marrying the love-of-my-life, Margaret Otto, and finding some direction, I worked for the U.S.D.A. Forest Service in Idaho and South Dakota. Before Ferdinand Marcos was deposed, Margaret and I served in the U.S. Peace Corps in the Republic of the Philippine Islands for a few years. Subsequently, I've worked in several Extension capacities in Minnesota and Oklahoma before finally ending up, now for 16 years, in Wisconsin.
On a more personal note, my life revolves around family and skiing. When not at work, you can find me at home in Portage, Wisconsin. Margaret and I now have five kids and, together, we serve as Portage Music Boosters, school advocates, soccer parents, and out-of-door enthusiasts. Margaret works as a substitute teacher, soccer coach, stained glass artist, social worker, and gardener. In the winter, I volunteer as a National Ski Patroller at one of my local ski hills.