Alexander R. Hoar, Senior Fish and Wildlife Biologist

Regional Conservation Planning and Assistance Program

Alex Hoar has worked for the Service for the last 30 years. Now a resident of Amherst, Mass., he holds two graduate degrees from Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Va. -- one in forestry in 1976 and another in fishery and wildlife sciences in 1980.

Hoar's work has involved hydroelectric and other energy projects in the 13 Northeast states, as well as Montana and Wyoming. He was instrumental in shaping the practice and procedures of the Service in prescribing fishways in accordance with its authority under the Federal Power Act.

Through his work, Hoar developed an interest in the history of fish passage public policy since colonial settlement, and in 1993, he wrote an article titled "Scope of the Prescription for Fishways," which was published by the Bioengineering Section of the American Fisheries Society.

He also played an important role in advancing dam removal as a river restoration strategy and is an author of the book Dam Removal - A New Option For a New Century, published by the Aspen Institute in 2002. Hoar has also published on the public trust doctrine and its application to protecting in-stream flows and the population decline of the American eel.

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