David Sims Honored As Wildlife Biologist Of The Year

NASHVILLE — David Sims has been named the 2007 Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency Wildlife Biologist of the Year. Sims was presented his award at the November meeting of the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Commission.

Sims, a resident of Portland, serves TWRA as a Region II Aquatic Habitat Protection Biologist and throughout his career has been an effective and active advocate for stream and river habitat protection. His work stopped pollution from directional boring activities statewide and was adopted by other resource agencies as a management model. Sims’ underwater video work is widely recognized for excellence and innovation in documenting the life history, behavior, and ecological interaction of host fish, freshwater mussels, and aquatic habitat.

Sims has pulled together resources and partnerships to renovate abandoned raceways at TVA’s Gallatin Steam Plant to implement a TWRA freshwater mussel propagation rearing and safe harbor facility.  The facility will play an essential role in conservation of Tennessee’s globally significant freshwater mussel resource.

One of TWRA’s most experienced raptor rescue and rehabilitation experts, Sims is always willing to assist the public or resource agencies with raptor related rescue projects.

Throughout his career, Sims has spent significant time with school programs, public interest meetings, county fairs, and watershed events to encourage aquatic conservation. He has been active in utilizing TWRA’s aircraft to provide aerial photography and video to document stream degradation from construction runoff, aquatic habitat alteration activities, wetlands destruction, and to co-ordinate response activities with state, federal, and conservation organizations.