Bill Palmisano Oral History Transcript

Bill was born and raised in the city of New Orleans. Formatively, he was interested in hunting, fishing and other wildlife experiences. He went to the University of New Orleans (LSU-NO) receiving his Bachelor’s degree in 1965, Master’s degree in wildlife management in 1967 and Ph.D. degree in 1970 in botany while part of the Louisiana Cooperative Wildlife Research Unit eventually transferring to become Assistant Wildlife Unit Leader in Baton Rouge, LA. He enjoyed a short stint in Washington, DC in the newly formed Office of Biological Services in Washington, DC, a program as the manager for coastal ecosystems. He worked in Alaska in Region 8 and wrote the comprehensive plan for research of ANILCA. The research program in Alaska expanded and when the Alaska Fish and Wildlife Research Center was created, he was assigned Director of the Laboratory where he remained for 10 years. He transferred down to the lower 48 in preparation for retirement and was Director of Leetown National Fishery Research Center in Leetown, West Virginia, where he retired in 2015. In this oral history, Bill describes the eventual transfer of scientific research over to the USGS, talks about his personal mentors, valuable training he received over his career and relates a stimulating story of a polar bear expedition in the Arctic.