BY PAIGE STANAGE
A longtime Tennessee Wildlife Resource Agency biologist in the Upper Cumberland area is retiring after 33 years of service.
Jack Swearengin is a fisheries biologist (manager two position) with TWRA who began his career with the agency in 1987 as a technician on a newly formed streams crew.
One of the first studies he had a hand in involved his favorite fish — the small mouth bass and rock bass.
“We learned so much about these fish in Tennessee’s streams that could be applied towards better management,” he said. ” We found 10- to 12-inch fish that were 10 years old. We were also the first crew to survey the Hiwassee River, heading down the river with a guide in a boat.”
One of Swearengin’s favorite projects was the muskellunge study in the late ’80s that included its reintroduction in the Collins River watershed and other areas of the state.
When Swearengin was searching for a muskellunge fish during the reintroduction process, he stopped into a local Morgan County shop for a break. Locals were asking him what he and his crew were doing in the area.
He told them about the muskellunge study and how he hoped to find those fish in their waters.
After Swearengin discovered a muskellunge, he brought it back to the shop to show the locals.
“That’s not a musky,” the locals told him. “That’s a jack-fish, and we can tell you right where to find them.”
TWRA officials say that Swearengin’s willingness to listen allowed for a successful project.
Swearengin accomplished a lot in his career, including being named the 2008 Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency Fisheries Biologist of the Year.
“Jack has always cared not only about the resource, but about fishing and providing opportunities for anglers,” said Region 3 Fisheries Program Manager, Mark Thurman. “He’s always been involved in giving back to the community through Field Days with Jackson County High School.”
His coworkers will miss him, too.
“We will miss Jack’s knowledge,” said Regional Streams Fisheries Coordinator Travis Scott. “He’s been with this crew since it started.”
Swearengin is excited for retirement but will still miss his TWRA folks.
“I’m going to miss working with my buddies,” said Swearengin. “Even on the worst days of work, we had fun together. They’re a hard-working bunch.”
One thing he learned during his career is to laugh in the hard times.
“One time we (crew) got caught in a bad thunderstorm on the Caney Fork River,” he said. “It was terrible. We took the lids off of the fish coolers and held them over our heads to keep from getting pelted. We looked at each other and just howled with laughter. If you can laugh through a thunderstorm like that, you’re in good shape.”
TWRA officials wish Swearengin “tight lines and a steady hand” upon his retirement.
