Rob Karner is retiring from the Glen Lake Association, closing out 12 years as the organization’s watershed biologist — a role he calls “an honor,” built on collaboration rather than solo effort.
“It’s been an honor to work on behalf of the watershed, together with the association and my network of collaborators,” Karner said. “It’s not just a oneperson effort, it’s a team effort. And I’ve been working with really high-caliber people. It’s just been a real joy.”
Karner was born in Dundee, Michigan, and grew up along the Crystal River halfway between there and Glen Arbor. A job offer brought him north in 1977, when he was hired straight out of student teaching to work at the Leelanau School — landing, in his words, his “dream job” on his very first interview.
