Gene Gilliland, assistant chief of the Fisheries Department for the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation, retires from the department Dec. 31. He will immediately join BASS as its National Conservation Director.
BASS/Courtesy
Gene Gilliland, assistant chief of the Fisheries Division of the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation, will join BASS as its National Conservation Director when he retires from the department at year’s end.
Gilliland has been with the department more than 30 years. BASS announced the appointment late Wednesday.
BASS CEO Bruce Akin said the following in the announcement: “In addition to his extensive experience in fisheries management, Gene has been a leader in the BASS Nation, an outdoor journalist, an avid tournament angler and a tireless proponent of youth fishing … He is a charter member of BASS, and he has been involved in the BASS Nation Conservation program for two decades.”
Gilliland is a coauthor, along with Hal Schramm, of “Keeping Bass Alive, a Guidebook for Tournament Anglers and Organizers.” He is a regular contributor to the “Bass Biology” column in BASS Times magazine and has been published in numerous other outdoor publications.
Gilliland has assisted in fish care at the Bassmaster Classic each year since 1994, including the 2013 Classic in Tulsa, when 100 percent of the bass weighed in were released alive in Grand Lake O’ the Cherokees.
An avid tournament angler since high school, he joined the North Oklahoma City Bassmasters in 1993 and served as the club’s president from 1999 until 2010. He was Oklahoma BASS Nation conservation director from 2005 to 2010 and was named Conservation Director of the Year in 2009. He helped incorporate the CastingKids program into boat and tackle show programs in Oklahoma, he helped organize the Oklahoma City Junior Bassmasters club in 2005 and served as the state’s BASS Nation youth director in 2007 and 2008.
Gilliland told BASS writers that he joined BASS in 1969 because of its focus on friendly competition, youth fishing and protecting the resource.
“I want to continue the conservation legacy that Ray Scott and the BASS conservation directors before me have established,” he said. “BASS Conservation has always been a voice for anglers, fighting to preserve and enhance aquatic resources for the future of fishing. I want to make sure that our voice is still heard loud and clear.”
Gilliland began work with the department as a fishery biologist in 1982, later serving as a regional supervisor. He has been assistant chief of fisheries since 2010.
BASS reported that Gilliland said he relishes the opportunity to have a positive influence on bass fishing and on its resources.
“Everyone, from the novice angler to the dedicated BASS member to the professional at the Bassmaster Elite Series level, has a stake — an obligation — to protect our aquatic resources,” Gilliland said. “Our challenge is to educate them, then motivate them to take action that will make a difference.”
As BASS national conservation director, Gilliland will represent America’s bass anglers on national boards and councils involved in resource conservation. In addition, he will oversee the efforts of the 47 BASS Nation conservation directors and work to make conservation principles relevant to every BASS member. He will also be responsible for maintaining and improving fish care practices on each of the Bassmaster tournament circuits.
Gilliland replaces Noreen Clough, the longtime conservation director who retired earlier this month.
Gilliland credits Clough as a valuable mentor. “She worked with the BASS Nation conservation directors and developed a vision for the conservation program’s future. Personally, she helped me better understand how to navigate government bureaucracy and get things done to improve fishing,” he said.
Gilliland has a Bachelor’s degree in Wildlife and Fisheries from Texas A&M University and a master’s degree in Fisheries Biology from Oklahoma State University.
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