Lou Sanson

Lewis Vernon Sanson (born 1957) is the former director of the New Zealand Department of Conservation.

Early life Sanson was born in Hokitika on the West Coast of the South Island in 1957 Sanson's father, who died in 2003, was an engineer who spent a year in the 1960s supervising studies in Antarctica, to which Sanson attributes his early interest in the continent. Growing up in the West Coast was the source of his "love of conservation and the natural environment"; his mother first took him to the mountains at the age of five. As a teenager he regularly explored the forests of South Westland, staying in forestry huts. For two years, he was an environmental forester in the Forest Research Institute, followed by work in pest control and forest surveying, eventually becoming District Forester in Southland.

Sanson made the first of around 50 trips to Antarctica in 1981, spending five months working as a field assistant.

Sanson arrived at DOC at a time when repeated budget cuts had created an unsafe work culture, culminating in the Cave Creek disaster.

When leaving his role at DOC, it paid over $5,000 on leaving presents for Sanson. The expense was criticised by the Taxpayers' Union and Sanson had suggested returning the presents after learning the value and that DOC had paid for them. He thought they had been bought by staff and ministers.

Honours In the 2015 New Year Honours, Sanson was awarded the New Zealand Antarctic Medal for his services to Antarctic science and conservation. In the 2022 New Year Honours, he was appointed a Companion of the Queen's Service Order, for services to conservation and public service.

Personal life Sanson and his wife Jan have two daughters. After Sanson's retirement, the couple moved in December 2021 from their Miramar, Wellington home to Wānaka.