My name is Carie Nixon. My husband, Phil Nixon, and I joined NANFA a long time ago, at least 30 years. Hey, they used to include my name on the membership, too, but about 20 years ago, decided they only wanted one name on the membership. They assured me that I am still a member. I worked with the Illinois Natural History Survey for 25 years, doing aquatic ecology research for 10 years, then outreach for 15 years. I did a lot of collecting of fish and invertebrates around Illinois, especially in Champaign and Vermilion Counties. I also helped develop the Illinois RiverWatch program.
Unfortunately, collection of most fish for hobby purposes is now illegal in Illinois. Phil does most of the collecting now, and in other states. I help care for the fish at home, especially when they are outside in large breeding tanks (most are 350 gallon stock tanks). My favorites are the topminnows and sunfish, although we don't keep any sunfish anymore.