Chip Gross has been named the Ohio Conservation Communicator of the Year twice, once in 1988 and again in 2012. The award is presented annually by the League of Ohio Sportsmen and the National Wildlife Federation.
Winner of the Writer of the Year Award (2013-2014), presented by the University of Akron, Wayne College.
2001 Winner of the James P. Barry Ohioana Award for Editorial Excellence: Wild Ohio and Wild Ohio for Kids magazines.
Chip has won numerous writing and photography awards presented by the Outdoor Writers Association of America, including the Presidents’ Choice Award for Art/Photo, voted “Best of the Best.”
Chip has won numerous writing and photography awards from the Outdoor Writers of Ohio, including the Lou Klewer Award for service to the organization. He was also president of OWO in 1991-1992.
Freelance writer, photographer, and editor Chip Gross has been fascinated by the out-of-doors all his life. At an early age, Gross was taught to fish by his grandfather and as a young teenager learned to hunt from his father. Those two activities eventually led him to many other outdoor pursuits, such as birding, canoeing, and camping, just to name a few.
Following high school, Gross attended Ohio State University, earning a four-year Bachelor of Science degree (1974), majoring in Wildlife Management. After graduation he taught outdoor education for two years at the Mohican Outdoor School near Loudonville, Ohio, working summers as a Lake Ranger for the Muskingum Watershed Conservancy District, also in Ohio.
In 1976, Gross was hired by the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, Division of Wildlife, as a State Wildlife Officer. He completed a 27-year career with the agency, advancing to Wildlife Education Officer and ultimately Editor of its two wildlife magazines: Wild Ohio and Wild Ohio for Kids. Under Gross’ leadership, the magazines won the prestigious James P. Barry Award for Editorial Excellence in 2001.
It was during his years with the Ohio DNR that Gross began freelance writing and shooting photographs of outdoor subjects, selling his first story in 1981. Since that time, he has gone on to sell thousands of articles and photos to national, regional, and state outdoor publications, as well as websites. He has also written six books:
Gross took advantage of an early retirement offer from the Ohio DNR in 2002, and is now self-employed fulltime as a freelance writer, photographer, and editor. He has been a member of the Outdoor Writers of Ohio (OWO) since 1983, serving as president of that organization in 1991-1992. Gross has also been a member of the Outdoor Writers Association of America (OWAA), and served on the Board of Directors from 2004 to 2007. He has won numerous writing and photography awards from both OWAA and OWO.
Chip and wife, Jan, have two grown sons and seven grandchildren. They live near rural Fredericktown, Ohio, surrounded by 13 wooded acres at the end of a one-lane gravel road. “I can sit on my front porch and listen to wild turkeys gobble,” Gross said. “This is just where I want to be…”
Gross was featured in an article in the Ohio Woodland Journal written by Greg Smith. You can read the article or download the pdf here.
