AMHERST, MA, May 21, 2026 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Boyd E. Kynard, PhD, has been selected for inclusion in Marquis Who's Who. As in all Marquis Who's Who biographical volumes, individuals profiled are selected on the basis of current reference value. Factors such as position, noteworthy accomplishments, visibility, and prominence in a field are all taken into account during the selection process.

Dr. Kynard has established a distinguished career in fisheries science and conservation, marked by significant contributions to the understanding and preservation of sturgeon species and freshwater fishways. Since 2008, he has served as the founder of BK-Riverfish LLC in Amherst, Massachusetts. Under his leadership, the organization has become recognized for its innovative approaches to fish passage and conservation. Dr. Kynard's work at BK-Riverfish includes a patented invention: the first fishway designed to accommodate fish native to freshwater streams across North America., a collaborative achievement with his son, who is also a fish biologist.

Before founding BK-Riverfish LLC (bkriverfish.com), Dr. Kynard spent 30 years as a research biologist with the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service and U.S. Geological Survey from 1978 to 2008. He focused on the conservation biology and telemetry tracking of fish to determine migration/habitat use of the federally endangered Connecticut and Merrimack River shortnose sturgeons. The success of the telemetry sudies led to Dr. Kynard being the first scientist to introduce telemetry of fish in three foreign countries: Romania (five year study on the Danube River), China (twenty-five year study on the Yangtze River), and Brazil (more than a decade of research on Brazilian fishes and fish passage on the Amazon and other rivers).

Between 1978 and 1992, Dr. Kynard held the position of assistant leader at the Massachusetts Cooperative Fisheries Research Unit with the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. In this capacity, he contributed to regional fisheries research and management initiatives, furthering scientific understanding of aquatic ecosystems and the effect of hydroelectric dams on migratory fishes. Dr. Kynard and graduate students conducted the first research on the effects of turbine passage by migratory fish through an East Coast hydrodam. In addition, his vision to understand migratory fish led to support from U. S. Representative S. Conte to establish the first (and only) federal migratory fish research lab on the East Coast: the S. Conte Anadromous Fish Research Center on the Connecticut River at Turnrs Falls, MA. Dr. Kynard led the Fish Behavior Section at the Conte Center for 18 years, with research on shortnose sturgeon published in 2012 in a book by the World Sturgeon Conservation Society, Germany. Finally, he led the first international research to identify migrations and behavior of young sturgeons (eleven sturgeon species or sub-species on three continents).

Dr. Kynard served in the U.S. Marine Corps from 1957 to 1960 as a Sea-Going Marine before pursuing higher education. Following military service, he earned a Bachelor of Science degree from Millsaps College, a Master of Science in Zoology from Mississippi State University, and a Doctor of Philosophy in Fisheries Science and Management from the University of Washington in 1972. His initial experience with fish research began in 1965 as an Assistant Marine Biologist at the Gulf Coast Research Laboratory at the University of Southern Mississippi in Ocean Springs. This experience attracted him to studying fish behavioral ecology.

Following his Ph.D., Dr. Kynard worked in academia, serving as an assistant, then associate professor at the University of Arizona in Tucson from 1972 to 1978. He was the first person to start an undergraduate fisheries program at the University and he sponsored an American Fisheries Society student Chapter. He contributed significantly to fisheries education and research on endangered desert fish, like Desert Pupfish.

Throughout his distinguished career, Dr. Kynard has remained actively involved in professional organizations dedicated to fisheries science and conservation. He served as president of the Northeast Chapter of the American Fisheries Society. He is a life member of both the American Fisheries Society and the North American Sturgeon and Paddlefish Society. He has been recognized by the Northeastern Division of the American Fisheries Society (Dwight Webster Memorial Award of Merit, 2008) and by the International Conference on Engineering for Fish Passage (Career Achievement Award for Distinguished Service in Fish Passage, 2012). Dr. Kynard's new fishway was celebrated by the National American Fisheries Society (digital series: Tomorrows Catch: Securing our Fisheries Future, 2025; https://f.io/Skm06pCr).

Dr. Kynard's civic engagement is reflected through his affiliations and consulting work for organizations such as The Nature Conservancy, the Sierra Club, Battelle Memorial Institute, the Hitchcock Center for the Environment at Hampshire College, Biocitizen, the Connecticut River Conservancy, the Massachusetts Audubon Society, and the Southern Environmental Law Center. He is also recognized as a former founding member of the North American Chapter of the World Sturgeon Conservation Society.

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Since 1899, when A. N. Marquis printed the First Edition of Who's Who in America®, Marquis Who's Who® has chronicled the lives of the most accomplished individuals and innovators from every significant field of endeavor, including politics, business, medicine, law, education, art, religion and entertainment. The suite of Marquis® publications, including Who's Who in America® and Who's Who in the World®, remains an essential biographical source for thousands of researchers, journalists, librarians and executive search firms around the globe. Marquis® publications can be viewed at the official Marquis Who's Who® website, www.marquiswhoswho.com.

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