Bergquist named Wildlife Society Citizen of the Year

With time spent as an active wildlife writer, photographer and bird enthusiast, Saratoga resident Francis Bergquist was honored with the "Citizen of the Year" award by the Wyoming Chapter of the Wildlife Society.

Bergquist was awarded Oct. 30 at the Wyoming Chapter of the Wildlife Society's 2013 annual meeting, held at the Holiday Inn in Rock Springs. He was presented the award by Rawlins Field Office Biologist Frank Blomquist.

"My Citizen of the Year award was for what a non-biologist has done, and this is the first time I've gotten something from the Wildlife Society, of which I'm not a member," Bergquist said.

Bergquist said he was nominated for the Citizen of the Year honor by Wyoming Wildlife magazine editor Chris Madson. Bergquist had written and photographed for Wyoming Wildlife for nearly 25 years.

"I've written and photographed for Wyoming Wildlife magazine since 1990, and other publications on a lesser amount," he said. "Normally they say there's a committee of these biologists that find the people, and sort it out and figure out who they want for that year. I don't think that this year there was. I think he just nominated me and they said it was good enough."

An active photographer, Bergquist said he is well-known for his pictures of animals and other wildlife. He and his wife, Janice, currently maintain a website with nature photographs of mammals, birds, butterflies and scenic areas.

"I do a lot of wildlife photography, including photography for the (Wyoming) Game and Fish rare bird documentation," Bergquist said. "I've got quite a few entries for rare birds that have come into Saratoga. I started doing wildlife photography 35 years ago after I got tired of hunting, and now it's my main thing that I'm usually known for."

Bergquist felt he also received recognition for the honor due to his work with Wings Over Carbon County, a Saratoga bird club.

"We started the bird club in 2005, I think, and we have 25 members, with 15 of those being really strong members who show up all the time," he said. "We've helped with the sage grouse counts, and the end of school bash they have out at the lake every spring. Our group is always out there taking kids down the railroad bed, setting up spotting scopes and showing them the birds. We've also helped with the Audubon Society, like when in town here they had a birdhouse building day."

Bergquist continues to stay active with the Wings Over Carbon County group, which meets on a monthly basis.

"Our meetings run about hour or hour-and-a-half, and we'll do bird identification courses or watch a movie on birds," Bergquist. "We'll go on field trips to see the birds and what's out there, and we'll also just visit and talk. If somebody wants to come and see what we do, that's fine."

Wings Over Carbon County meets the second Monday of each month at the Carbon County Library's Saratoga branch. Meetings begin at 7 p.m. and are free of charge. Memberships are $5 a year.

One may also view Bergquist's wildlife photographs at http://www.fcbergquistphotos.com.