Provided
Swamp rabbits, marsh rice rats, white-tailed deer, salamanders, foxes and coyotes are among the creatures in the eclectic life and academic background of Eric Schauber.
Meet Illinois’ state biologist.
When I asked Schauber what the state biologist is supposed to do, he said, “The act is very unclear.”
Glad he said that. I couldn’t tell exactly what was entailed after reading the University of Illinois State Scientific Surveys Act that established the state biologist and other state spots in 2013. Brian Anderson, then director of the Illinois Natural History Survey, was the first state biologist. Schauber, current INHS director, is the second.