David Leff
Deputy Commissioner of the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP)
David Leff has been Deputy Commissioner with the Connecticut Department
of Environmental Protection since February 1995. He is
principally responsible for Department conservation programs, including
parks, forests, fisheries, and wildlife. Among his primary
concerns are preservation of open space and protection of sensitive and
unusual natural communities. In 1997 he chaired the Governor’s
Blue Ribbon Task Force on Open Space. Since that time over 50,000
acres of land have been protected. He is currently Chairman of
the Connecticut Invasive Plants Council.
Prior to joining the DEP, he spent over 16 years with the Connecticut
General Assembly as a researcher, legal and policy advisor to the
legislature’s Environment Committee. Mr. Leff has been active in
environmental affairs for many years and has served on the Board of
Directors of the Appalachian Mountain Club. He is a long time
avid hiker, canoeist, and fisherman, who also enjoys hunting, biking,
and cross- country skiing.
Mr. Leff lives in Collinsville where he is Chairman of the Collinsville
Historic District Commission and has served as a member of the board of
directors of the Canton Historical Museum. He is a volunteer
firefighter acting as safety officer in his hometown fire
department. Mr. Leff is a maple sugar maker and has been on the
board of directors of the Maple Syrup Producers Association of
Connecticut. He also engages in freelance writing, and is a
member of the Hartford Courant’s “Place” Board of Contributors.
His essays and fiction have appeared in newspapers and magazines.
His non-fiction book, The Last Undiscovered Place, was published by the
University of Virginia Press in 2004. It is a first person
narrative about the way in which people relate to their landscape and
communities. Mr. Leff is a 1978 graduate of the University of
Connecticut School of Law. He was admitted to the practice of law
that same year. He is the father of the two most beautiful and
intelligent children on the planet.