Fran came to Alaska 43 years ago to attend graduate school at the University of Alaska, Fairbanks, where he earned a MS degree in zoology in 1974. He began his professional career with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in 1974 as a wildlife biologist. From 1976 to 1980, Fran served on a FWS planning team which provided resource data and analysis in support of the proposed Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act (ANILCA) which ultimately established new National Parks, Wildlife Refuges, Wilderness areas and Wild Rivers in Alaska. He worked as a wildlife biologist at the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge from 1981 to 2002. In addition to studies of moose, Dall sheep, and caribou, Fran conducted field surveys for peregrine falcons and golden eagles in the Refuge and studied interactions between caribou and golden eagles on the calving grounds of the Porcupine caribou herd. He retired from the Fish and Wildlife Service in 2002. In 2005 he was the recipient of the Alaska Conservation Foundation’s Olaus Murie Award for his professional contributions to conservation in Alaska. Fran is currently the Alaska Chapter Representative for Wilderness Watch and serves on its board of directors.
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