Education and Professional Background
Bob Humphrey received B. S. (1982) and M.S. (1988) degrees in wildlife biology from University of Massachusetts, Amherst and began his professional career with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service as Manager of Monomoy National Wildlife Refuge in Chatham, Massachusetts. There, he was responsible for coordinating and conducting scientific research, monitoring wildlife resources, public use control, visitor information and interpretation; master planning; maintenance of facilities; and liaison to federal endangered species recovery teams, state fish and wildlife agencies and various public and private conservation groups and agencies. He then moved to Maine to become Interim Manager of the Wells National Estuarine Research Reserve.

In 1988 he became one of the original partners in Woodlot Alternatives, Inc, a biological and environmental consultant firm specializing in critical area/species identification and management, wetland identification and mapping, land management plan preparation, and land use planning guidance. In 1995, he left to form his own company, Casco Bay Environmental. In the fashion of a true Mainer, he began simultaneous careers as an outdoor writer, a registered Maine guide and a professional sportsman.

White-tailed Deer

Bob is now widely regarded as one of North America’s leading authorities on white-tailed deer biology, behavior and hunting. He has both B.S. and M.S. degrees in wildlife biology and has participated in numerous research projects including trapping, darting and collaring deer, habitat assessment, and collecting field data and implementing controlled hunt programs.
He is a field editor and former Whitetails editor for Petersen’s Bowhunting, the largest selling bowhunting magazine in the country. He is currently the biology and deer behavior editor Buckmasters where he writes regular feature articles for Buckmasters Whitetail Magazine and a weekly “Ask the Biologist” column for the Buckmasters website. He has written hundreds of magazine articles for publications such as North American Whitetail, Deer & Deer Hunting, North American Deer Hunter, North American Hunter, American Hunter and Whitetail Journal, to name a few; has contributed to several books on deer hunting and is the sole author of Pro Tactics: Whitetail Hunting. By applying his knowledge and experience as a professional wildlife biologist to popular literature he is able to offer a perspective, insight and knowledge that few if any other outdoor writers can.

Bob is also an experienced and accomplished deer hunter having pursued whitetails, mule deer, moose, elk and caribou for over 40 years in over 40 states and provinces with bow, crossbow, shotgun, rifle and muzzleloader. He has consulted with a number of national companies in the development of a diverse array of deer hunting products including bows, crossbows, firearms, optics, scents and lures, scent suppression, calls and apparel.

Wild Turkeys

Bob is equally well known and regarded for his experience and expertise with wild turkeys. As a biologist he has assisted with trap and transfer and habitat assessment projects and has served on the Wild Turkey Working Group for the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife. He is a former turkey hunting editor for Outdoors Magazine and has penned two books - New England Turkey Hunting: Strategies for Success and Pro Tactics: Turkey Hunting - as well as hundreds of feature articles for magazines including Turkey Call, Turkey Country, Turkey and Turkey Hunting, North American Hunter, Outdoor Life and many more. In 2006, Bob became the first person in history to officially record a wild turkey grand slam with a crossbow.

"He belongs to the school of woodsmen my grandfather used to describe as hard hunters. That is to say, individuals who take their sport seriously, go about it in a fashion where their dedication is matched only by their sporting ethics, and realize that in the school of the outdoors graduation day never arrives."- Jim Casada, contributing editor to Turkey & Turkey Hunting magazine

Waterfowl

As a young biologist with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Bob worked on some of the baseline research that ultimately led to prohibition of lead shot for waterfowl hunting. He has since worked on a number of other projects involving capture and banding, habitat assessment and management. He is a former Chairman of the Matching Aid in Restoring State Habitat (MARSH) Committee and the Merrymeeting Bay Chapter of Ducks Unlimited, Maine.

Bob has hunted waterfowl across North America from Maine to Alaska and from the Carolinas to Utah. He is currently a field editor with Wildfowl magazine where he writes two columns, and has written hundreds of feature articles for magazines such as Waterfowl USA, American Hunter, Outdoor Life and more.

Fishing and Boating

Bob grew up on the ocean, initially fishing and boating on the waters north of Boston. As a young teen he worked on the family charter boat, a custom-built 38-foot sportfisherman, and fished with some of the first commercial bluefin tuna boats out of Beverly, Gloucester and Newburyport. At age 15 he passed the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary Safe Boating and Seamanship class. After graduating from UMass with a degree in wildlife biology he spent two summers in Alaska in the commercial salmon fishing industry. He then moved to Cape Cod, where he managed a coastal wildlife refuge and fished the waters of Nantucket Sound, Pleasant Bay and the Atlantic.

After graduate school, Bob moved to Maine where he briefly served as manager of the Wells National Estuarine Research Reserve before becoming a consulting biologist and principal with Woodlot Alternatives. In 1997, Bob tested for and received his Maine Guide’s license and U.S. Coast Guard Captain’s license, and began taking freshwater and saltwater charters along the coast of Maine. After a brief hiatus to raise a family and start a new business, he is back on the ocean now guiding saltwater fishing trips on both inshore and offshore waters, where he also fishes commercially for bluefin tuna and participates in big game fishing tournaments.

Bowhunting

While he hunts with all weapons Bob is first and foremost a bowhunter, and has been for 40 years. Bob was a contributor to several books including Bowhunter's Digest 4th and 5th Editions and Archer's Bible and is a former crossbow editor for Whitetail Journal, current crossbows editor for Petersen’s Bowhunting, former bowhunting editor for On Target, and has written hundreds of feature articles for magazines including: Bowhunter, Bowhunting, Bowhunting World, Bowhunt America, Bow and Arrow Hunting, ArrowTrade. Much of his writing involves testing and evaluating new products, many of which he has been retained to consult on the development of. He is also a former pro staffer for Bowtech Archery.