David L. Trauger, professor emeritus, a key architect of Virginia Tech’s Master of Natural Resources program, and a longtime wildlife biologist, died peacefully Sept. 20. He was 83.

Trauger was born in 1942 and earned a Ph.D. in wildlife ecology from Iowa State University in 1971 and thereafter began a career in federal natural resources service. Over 32 years at the U.S. Department of the Interior, he held roles including division chief of Wildlife Research in Washington, D.C., director of the Patuxent Research Refuge in Maryland, and senior biologist with the U.S. Geological Survey.

Upon retirement from federal service, he joined Virginia Tech, where he served 13 years as faculty, mentored graduate students, and was conferred the rank of professor emeritus by the Board of Visitors in 2008. He received the Washington Academy of Sciences Leo Schubert Award for teaching science in college in 2011.

Trauger served as interim associate dean of the Graduate School for the greater Washington, D.C., area from 2007-08 and provided 13 years of dedicated service to the College of Natural Resources and Environment as a member of its advisory board.

Along with Professor Robert Bush, Trauger conceived and championed the Master of Natural Resources program, structuring it as an evenings‑and‑weekends, in‑person program that, at the time, was delivered from Falls Church.

Their goal was to broaden access to graduate education for employees of federal natural resources agencies in the D.C. area and to raise the profile of what was then the College of Natural Resources in Northern Virginia. The program later evolved into hybrid and online formats as part of Virginia Tech’s Center for Leadership in Global Sustainability.

His professional and academic work reflected a lifelong commitment to conservation and ecology. Trauger combined field research, policy engagement, and teaching in a career that bridged government and higher education. Throughout all of this, he held a passion not only for the science, but for people.

He is survived by his wife, Alice; brothers Daryl and Dean; his son Brent; daughter Amy; stepson Brendan; and grandchildren Alexis, Taylor, and Sitara.