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Tharran Hobson

River Program Restoration Manager

Brief Biography

After college, Tharran Hobson went to work in the family business. But, he quickly realized his passions lied outside the realm of accounting and economics.

He found that what inspired him was his childhood, which he spent in a small town that bordered the Illinois River. There he fished, swam and explored the surrounding wetlands that would later become the center of his work.

As The Nature Conservancy in Illinois’ River Program Restoration Manager, Tharran is actively protecting and restoring wetlands and rivers much like the ones he grew up with.

Before working for The Nature Conservancy, Tharran worked with the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), where he started out as a volunteer and was awarded Volunteer of the Year. Tharran was hired at the USFWS’ Illinois River Refuge System at Meredosia and Havana. During his time there, Tharran helped engineer a multi-million dollar habitat rehabilitation project at Chautauqua National Wildlife Refuge through redesigning water control features that improved habitats for waterfowl and shorebirds.

Tharran’s transition to The Nature Conservancy in 1999 was a perfect transition from USFWS. Today, Tharran works to restore and manage both upland and bottomland forests, prairies and wetlands at the Emiquon Preserve, which borders the USFWS’ Illinois River Refuge System. Tharran especially enjoys his work with endangered species.

“I love to see species that are imperiled actually thrive again when given access to healthy habitats,” Tharran said.

Tharran has worked with the Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) to stock thousands of native fish into wetlands at the Conservancy’s Emiquon and Spunky Bottoms preserves. Species include: the red-spotted sunfish, star-head topminnows and the elusive alligator gar.

Currently, Tharran and his team are working on a freshwater mussel recovery project. They are designing a project that will attempt to replenish the threatened population of butterfly and black sandshell mussels in Emiquon and Spunky Bottoms and eventually in the Illinois River.

Tharran believes these efforts will one day lead to a healthier Illinois River system with more abundant wildlife and plant communities. A healthier river system would also provide residents with cleaner drinking water and farmers with usable water for their crops.

In the surrounding states and even in the far reaches of China, Africa and Brazil, Tharran’s conservation models are being replicated. Tharran is honored to share knowledge with other cultures, which he believes may ultimately lead to better worldwide conservation and greater understanding between countries.

Though Tharran works to restore the Illinois River for all these reasons, at the end of the day, he has just one goal on his mind:

“My goal is to work at protecting and restoring what I can of the natural world around me not only for myself and others, but also the two river-rat boys I have raised and the ensuing generations that will follow.”

Tharran Hobson

River Program Restoration Manager

Read Tharran Hobson's Full Biography

Read Tharran Hobson's Full Biography

Read Tharran Hobson's Full Biography