Frederick R. Baddour’s career has been shaped by a lifelong attention to the ground beneath our feet and the waters that move through it. A licensed Professional Geologist in the State of Florida, Fred has spent decades studying how land, water, and human activity intersect, and what happens when those relationships fall out of balance.

Fred is the founder and principal of CRB Geological & Environmental Services, Inc., an environmental consulting firm providing technical investigation, environmental forensics, remediation support, and expert witness services throughout Florida and beyond. Through CRB, he has led complex environmental investigations involving groundwater systems, soil and sediment analysis, contamination assessment, and historical land-use reconstruction. His work has supported restoration planning, regulatory decision-making, and litigation, often requiring a detailed understanding of hydrology, geology, and long-term environmental change. He is widely respected for his ability to translate complex scientific data into clear, defensible conclusions.

Long before Card Sound became the focus of formal restoration efforts, Fred came to know the coast from the water itself. Early in his life, he sailed aboard a United States Coast Guard cutter from the northeastern United States down the Atlantic coast and into the Florida Keys. That journey followed currents, shoals, and working waterways rather than lines on a map, offering a firsthand understanding of coastal systems shaped by tides, weather, and navigation. The experience left a lasting impression, grounding his later scientific work in lived observation.

Fred has remained closely connected to maritime service and education, including serving in a leadership capacity on the board associated with a United States Coast Guard cutter. Beyond his professional work, he is an avid boater who spends significant time navigating South Florida’s coastal and nearshore waters. He is also a licensed pilot, bringing an aerial perspective to his understanding of landscape-scale environmental systems, shoreline change, and the interconnected nature of land and water.

His connection to Card Sound is rooted in both professional expertise and personal conviction. Card Sound represents a living record of South Florida’s coastal history, where mangroves, seagrass meadows, and shallow estuarine waters reflect decades of natural processes and human influence. Having experienced these environments by sea, air, and science, Fred recognized both their ecological value and the urgency of protecting them.

As President and Owner of the Card Sound Aquatic Preserve, Fred guides the organization’s scientific integrity, governance, and long-term vision. He plays a central role in shaping restoration strategy, evaluating submerged lands and benthic conditions, and ensuring that conservation actions are grounded in sound geology, hydrology, and environmental science.

At its heart, Fred’s commitment to Card Sound is about giving back. The Preserve was created not only to restore habitat, but to invest in the future, ensuring that the children and communities who come after us inherit waters that are healthy, productive, and understood. Through stewardship, education, and long-term care, his goal is simple: to leave Card Sound better than it was found, for generations yet to come.

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