Dr. John Anfinson
Professional experience: Mississippi National River and Recreation Area: Superintendent, August 2014-December 2020; Chief Resource Management 2010-August 2014; Historian and Cultural Resources Specialist June 2000 to 2010; District Historian, St. Paul District, Corps of Engineers, 1980-2000 (Chief, District Cultural Resources Staff 1997-2000).
Education: B.A., History and Anthropology, M.A. and Ph.D., History, University of Minnesota.
Member of FMR Board since: 1994 (nonvoting since August 2014)
Board committees: Policy and Planning
Professional interests: John is the author of The River We Have Wrought: A History of the Upper Mississippi (University of Minnesota Press, 2005) and an author of River of History: A Historic Resources Study of the Mississippi National River and Recreation Area (2003).
Interesting book: Systems Thinking: A Primer, by Donella Meadows.
Favorite Mississippi River location:
Favorite historical place: Meeker Island Lock and Dam Site, Minneapolis
Favorite scenic site, urban: Mounds Park, because of the viewshed of Saint Paul and the floodplain
Favorite scenic site, rural: Pine Bend Scientific and Natural Area
Favorite animal: My cat Sweet Pea, a tabby.
Last memorable vacation: Summer vacation trip through Taos, Santa Fe, Chaco Culture, Durango and other places in the Southwest.
Conservation/Environmental heroes: Will Dilg, the primary author of the Upper Mississippi National Wildlife and Fish Refuge.