Dr. Fred Rhoades did graduate study in both mycology and lichenology with Bill Denison at Oregon State University and George Carroll at the University of Oregon. For his Masters and Ph.D. theses he studied the growth rates and population biology of the important Pacific Northwest foliose lichen, Lobaria oregana. From 1977 to 2009 he was an instructor of biology at Western Washington University in Bellingham where he taught a variety of cryptogamic botany and general biology courses until retiring.
Fred currently lives in Bellingham and continues to give occasional programs and forays and spend much of his field time photographing a variety of lower life forms including mushrooms, lichens, bryophytes, slime molds, and the odd plant or animal. Last year he started writing an occasional column for Whatcom Watch, “Life Before Flowers.” A few of these are online here, with more to come from time to time.