October 26, 2015

(Washington, DC) – The National Fish Habitat Board held nominations for the positions of Board Chair and Vice-Chair at their Fall Board meeting in Sacramento, CA on Wednesday, October 21. Tom Champeau, Director of Freshwater Fisheries for the Florida Fish & Wildlife Commission was named Board Chair and Chris Moore, Executive Director of the Mid-Atlantic Fisheries Management Council was elected Vice-Chair, respectively. Mr. Champeau previously served as the Board Vice-Chair, since November 2014 and replaces Kelly Hepler, South Dakota Game, Fish & Parks who stepped down from the Board after serving as Chair since 2008.

Mr. Champeau comes to the Board Chairmanship, having spent 34 years with the Florida Fish & Wildlife Commission. While working in the field, Tom led major lake habitat restoration projects, worked with the local communities and the mining industry on lake design and management for phosphate mined pits, and defining fish community metrics for establishing minimum flows for rivers in Southwest Florida. Tom holds degrees from the University of Michigan and University of Nebraska.