I grew up in Havana, a small Illinois River town, surrounded by its rich floodplain and enjoying everything it had to offer from fishing and camping with my grandparents at Anderson lake and Otter Creek, canoeing down the Sangamon River and Quiver Creek every weekend, anticipating the beautiful site of waterfowl migrations, mushroom hunting in the spring and enjoying the Spoon River Scenic Drive every fall.

I began working for the Illinois River Biological Station in the summer of 2004 for internship credit at Western Illinois University. After graduating with a Bachelor of Science in May 2005 I rejoined the staff and have been here ever since. As a technician I assist in different projects such as the Long Term Resource Monitoring Program (LTRM) fish and water quality component and Long Term Illinois River Fish Population Monitoring Program (LTEF). I have also assisted in other temporary projects such as the Environmental Management and Assessment Program of Great River Ecosystems (EMAP-GRE) and Illinois River Tributary Monitoring.

My duties as a technician include fish and invertebrate collection using nets, seines, trawls and electrofishing, identification of fish and invertebrates, measuring and weighing fish, collect, prepare and read otoliths for age and growth analysis, collect water quality parameters and water quality filtration, data entry and verification, maintain boats and equipment and attend meetings and outreach events.

My current research interests include determining trends of sport fish populations on the La Grange Reach of the Illinois River, age, growth and populations of Asian carp.

Nerissa's CV