Since 1986, Bill Fontenot has dedicated his career in biology to restoring ecological integrity in lands, from the smallest urban gardens to the largest wildlife management areas.

Fontenot’s desire to alternate school semesters with jobs led him in and out of an intriguing array of establishments, from bars and cafes to research labs, supply ships, and oil rigs. In 1980 he received his M.S. in freshwater fish ecology from the University of Louisiana at Monroe. From 1980-82 he spent time in the Ph.D. program in Biogeography at the University of Alabama.

In 1986 he began his career with Lafayette Parish Consolidated Government, working first as Curator of Natural Sciences at the Lafayette Natural History Museum, then as manager of the Acadiana Park Nature Station, where he retired in 2008.

Since 1987 Bill has also operated his own wildlife management, “wildscape” design, and ecological restoration consulting business, specializing in ecological assessment, biological inventory, land-use planning and management, and wildlife-friendly native plant-oriented landscape planning. His consulting work has taken him to hundreds of sites throughout the midwestern and eastern U.S., serving wildlife management and conservation agencies, landscape designers, community planners, ecotourism interests, and private landowners.

As a professional naturalist, Fontenot has led thousands of guided tours, and has consulted and lectured at many universities, museums, botanic gardens, arboretums, and other research institutions throughout the eastern U.S. He has volunteered his field biology skills for numerous agencies and groups including the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, Louisiana Department of Wildlife & Fisheries, Louisiana Ornithological Society, and Louisiana Native Plant Society.

He has published many natural history-related articles in various newspapers, newsletters, magazines, tourist information guides, and scientific journals. He has authored/coauthored a number of books and publications including Native Gardening in the South (1992), A Cajun Prairie Restoration Chronicle (1995, with Drs. Charles Allen and Malcolm Vidrine), Gulf Coast Birds (2001, with Brian Miller), Louisiana Birdwatching (2004, [25-page introduction] with Bill Thompson III), Vanishing Before Our Eyes (2006, with Dr. Wylie Barrow, Jr.), Wings Over The Wetlands (2008), Watching a Forest Grow (2008), and Audubon’s Louisiana (2021, with Richard Condrey). After contributing a weekly nature column in the Lafayette, Louisiana Sunday Advertiser newspaper for 23 years, he now produces a nature blog at facebook.com/thenaturedude.

Bill has served as a member of the Louisiana Ornithological Society’s Louisiana Bird Records Committee, The Louisiana Nature Conservancy’s Technical Advisory Board. He has served as President of the Louisiana Native Plant Society, President of the Louisiana Ornithological Society, Director of the Gulf Coast Native Plant Conference, and Program Director for the Cullowhee, North Carolina Landscaping with Native Plants Conference.

In 2001, Fontenot was honored in receiving the Louisiana Wildlife Federation’s Professional Conservationist of the Year award. In 2009, he received the Louisiana Ornithological Society's President's Award and the Louisiana Native Plant Society's Karlene DeFatta Award for service to those organizations. In 2011, The Cullowhee Gardening with Native Plants Conference honored him with the Tom Dodd, Jr. Award of Excellence. The Louisiana Master Naturalist Association bestowed the Caroline Dormon Outstanding Louisiana Naturalist Award upon him in 2021.

Matt Conn has been involved in many wetland restoration projects including Bottomland Hardwoods, Cypress Swamp, Pine Savanna, Coastal Prairie, Saline and Brackish Marsh, and most recently Tidal Flats habitat.

His bird-specific work includes:
Red-Cockaded Woodpecker Surveys (9 yrs.), coastal breeding bird surveys, Piping Plover, Red Knot, Wilson’s Plover and Snowy Plover Surveys, Colonial nesting bird surveys (BTNEP Caminada Headlands Project & Barrier Islands - 5 yrs.)

Currently contracted as a consultant on CPRA Chandeleur Islands Restoration Project to conduct and collect data for all avifauna to assist with planning and engineering for that restoration.

Matt states that without a doubt that he owes his plant and birding passions to Bill Fontenot. "Bill got me into plants when I was much younger and planted the seed for birding, but it did not take root until more recent years. Thank you, Bill."

Matt Conn's Property Blog: turtleboyandthebirds.blogspot.com