David Warner believes he was born wanting to fly. As a child, he dreamt about flying (still does) and tried jumping off the crib rails and stair banisters. His first plane ride as a sophomore in high school sealed the deal and he got his pilot’s license in 1975 while studying forestry at Southern Illinois University in Carbondale, Illinois (KMDH). David obtained a MS in Forest Ecology, moved to West Virginia in 1979, and started a consulting forestry firm, Timber Land Consulting, (TLC) in 1989. As a forester, his experience, knowledge, and love of the outdoors focused on practicing good forestry and on protecting farms and forests from excessive development through the Cacapon and Lost River Land Trust. He served as president of the Trust for twelve years and was on the original Board of Trustees for the WV Outdoor Heritage Conservation Fund, serving as its president in 2013.
David married his high school sweetheart Ann, over 43 years ago and now retired, they moved from the woods of West Virginia to a wooded lot near Carbondale. They enjoy hiking, camping, canoeing, and of course camping from the plane. The whole family is oriented toward nature and the outdoors. David learned to identify trees and wildflowers from his mother and grandfather on their Illinois farm, which was in the family for over four generations, and is now protected with a conservation easement. His niece works for The Nature Conservancy in San Francisco and his daughter has a MS in Natural Resources Stewardship from Colorado State University and is the Exec. Director of the land trust. His son is an avid skier, backpacker, and graphic designer living in Denver, avoiding avalanches and other mountain mishaps, and making custom graphics for snowboards and skis and trying his hand at ski manufacturing.
David has over 2300 hours, mostly in Cessna 172’s and owns one he keeps at MDH where he learned to fly. He's flown to Mobile AL, Lake Champlain VT, Battlecreek MI, Groton CN, Boulder CO, and many points in between. He particularly enjoys backcountry flying and is active with the Recreation Aviation Foundation (RAF). He is a Volunteer Pilot for both LightHawk and SouthWings and has made many flights for Life Line Pilots based in Peoria, Illinois. He enjoys sharing the unique perspective of seeing the land from the air and has flown for various local conservation organizations. He's looking forward to doing more of that.
