Board of Directors
We are fortunate to have a strong board of directors with diverse backgrounds.
Richard Biggins
After receiving a Bachelor of Science from the University of Connecticut and a Master of Science in Fisheries from the University of Arizona, Dick was a fisheries biologist for the Vermont and Utah Fish and Game Departments for over 10 years in the late 1960s and early 1970s. From 1978 until his retirement in 2002, he worked for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service specializing in the listing and recovery of endangered aquatic species. He received the U.S. Department of the Interior’s Meritorious Service Award, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Recovery Champions Award, and the Freshwater Mollusc Conservation Society’s Lifetime Achievement Award for his work in the conservation and recovery of aquatic endangered/threatened species. Dick and his wife Margaret spend summers at their home on Georgian Bay near Parry Sound, Ontario, and winters in the Smoky Mountains near Asheville, North Carolina.
Chris Cameron
Chris grew up in Knoxville fishing the banks of Beaver Creek. He graduated from the University of Tennessee . For the past eight years he has been Vice President of Investments for UBS Financial Services. Chris has served on other area boards, including:
Vice President Moses Teen Center
Treasurer of Senior Citizens Home Assistance
President Appalachian Anglers
Chris's favorite hobby is saltwater fishing. When not fishing, he enjoys reading, cooking, and spending time with his wife, Julie, and their daughter.
David Etnier
David A. Etnier received his PhD in Zoology at the University of Minnesota in 1966. He has been on the faculty of the University of Tennessee since fall 1965. Currently, he is emeritus professor of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology. Dr. Etnier has probably contributed more to the understanding of the distribution and taxonomy of southeastern freshwater fishes than any other single person. His current publications and research deal primarily with the systematics, biology, and biogeography of North American freshwater fishes and caddisflies. He is perhaps best known for the discovery and naming of the snail darter.
Patrick Rakes
Pat has been studying rare fishes since he began his master’s degree project at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville in 1982. Pat studied the distribution and life history of the Barrens topminnow. This work laid the foundation for efforts that continue to try to protect this beautiful little spring dwelling fish. Pat's years of maintaining aquaria have instilled a sense of intuition for keeping fish alive and healthy. He has a "wet thumb" as we say! Pat is one of the original founders of Conservation Fisheries.
Steve Scarborough
Steve Scarborough attended Middle Georgia College, Georgia Institute of Technology, and Southern Polytechnic Institute. He is active in river conservation and works as a design consultant for Watermark Sports. Steve holds five patents related to recreational products and manufacturing processes and has designed nearly two hundred canoes and kayaks that are produced and sold worldwide. A founder of Dagger Canoe Company, he is an avid river enthusiast and now lives on White's Creek in Roane County, Tennessee.
J. R. Shute
J.R. has been studying rare and endangered fishes in the southeastern U.S. for over 25 years. He and his wife Peggy were involved in one of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s earliest projects funded under Section 6 of the Fish & Wildlife Service’s Endangered Species Act of 1973 as employees of the University of North Carolina at Wilmington . During the course of this project, as they surveyed the rare, endemic fishes of Lake Waccamaw, NC, many of the non-invasive surveying techniques currently used by CFI were developed. J. R., along with Pat Rakes, founded Conservation Fisheries.
John Tullock
John has written 13 books on aquarium keeping and a book on native orchids. His Natural Reef Aquariums has sold over 100,000 copies and is in its fifth printing. In 2006, his Growing Hardy Orchids was named one of the year's five best garden books by the American Horticultural Society. John graduated with a Master of Science from the University of Tennessee. He worked with Conservation Fisheries from its inception. John has always been a champion of environmental protection and worked hard to promote ethical collection and handling practices within the marine aquarium industry. He is the founder of the American Marinelife Dealer's Association. During his spare time, he enjoys hiking, photography, gardening, and, of course, writing.