jclark

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About Me

Basic Information

Contact Information

Contact Info

Year Graduated: 1971
Lived At: War
Currently Live Now: Leesburg, VA
Marital Status: Married
Spouse's Name: Jamie
Children?: Carson
Brothers and Sisters: Twin sister Helen, sister Joyce (deceased), brothers Norman and Charles
Interests: My son, nature and photography, public speaking, life
Occupation: Nature Photographer / Writer
Involvement at BCHS: Basketball - Sophomore Year, Key Club
Biography: After graduating from BCHS in 1971, Jim attended Tennessee Technological University in Cookeville, TN. Jim recieved his BS in Wildlife Management from TTU in 1974. After one year of teaching in the McDowell County school system, Jim attended graduate school at West Virginia University in 1978, where he was also a research assistant for the West Virginia Department of Natural Resources. Jim was also a teaching assistant in the Wildife Management Department.

Jim recieved his MS in Wildlife Management in 1978 and shortely thereafter, he was hired by the Dept. of Navy to be the wildlife biolgist at the Patuxent River Naval Air Test Center in southern Maryland. In 1981, Jim recieved the Department of Defense's Conservationist of the Year Award. At this time, he was also an adjunct faculty member of St. Mary's College in Maryland and served on the board of directors for the Southern Maryland Audubon Society.

In 1982, Jim transferred to Alaska and served as the natural resources manager for the 900,000 acre Fort Wainwrigth. Shortly thereafter, he was hired by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service as a refuge biologist for the 8.67 million acre Yukon Flats National Wildlife Refuge. At this time Jim also was adjunct faculty member of the University of Alaska in Fairbanks.

In 1987, Jim transfered to Texas to become the very first refuge manager for the Matagorda Island National Wildlife Refuge located six miles off the Texas Coast. In 1989, he moved to Washington, D.C. to work in the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's headquarters office as a senior wildlife biologist. He transferred back to the west in 1991 when he became the supervisory regional biologist for the Service's southwest regional office in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

From late 1993, Jim moved back to the D.C. area with his wife Jamie, who became Director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service during the Clinton Adminstration. At this time, Jim became Chief of Wildlife Training for the Service's National Conservation Training Center in Shepherdstown, West Virginia. In 2005, Jim retired from the Service.

For the past 32 years Jim has also been an nationally renowned nature photographer and writer, a profession he pursues full-time these days. You can check out his website at www.jimclarkphotography.com. He has published three books, including his most recent: Between Ocean and Bay: A Celebration of the Eastern Shore. His other two books focused on his photography and experiences living in West Virginia (West Virginia: The Allegheny Highlands & Mountain Memories: An Appalachian Sense of Place). Jim is currently completing two more books of his photography and writing, and he's one of the authors/photographers for a new book about nature photography (scheduled to be released in 09).

In 2003, Jim was profiled in a PBS documentary about his life as a photographer and West Virginian. Jim recieved the Outstanding Recognition Award from the North American Nature Photographer Association in 2002.

Today, Jim is a contributing editor for Outdoor Photographer Magazine, the largest nature photography magazine in the world. Jim also served as President of the North American Nature Photography Association in 2003 and is a much sought after speaker around the country. He conducts programs, workshops, and tours around the country. Jim was honored by BCHS in 1999 when he was the commencement speaker. To this day he still considers this as one of the higlights and honors of his career.

His most important aspect of life, however, is being Dad to his nine year old son, Carson. Carson is also an internationally award-winning photographer, who at age six was the youngest winner ever for the prestigous Nature's Best International Nature Photography Contest. Currently, Jim and Carson are completing their first children's book together. They hope to have it published by spring 2009.

Jim and Carson are also proud of his mom, Jim's wife Jamie. As one of the most respected environmental policy experts in the country today, Jamie has spent a life time working to protect our nation's natural heritage. Jamie is well-respected around the world for her life-long dedication to this pursuit.

Jim returns to War often to visit his mother, Pauline Clark. Jim and Carson have been visiting several times the past couple of years to photograph the family of beaver along the Dry Fork river near the high school. The images will be used their upcoming children's book.