Fred was born to Fred and Anna Wise man in Pearl River, New York on  October 24, 1923. After graduation from Pearl River High School he joined the armed forces during World War II. After service in the  European and Pacific theaters and subsequent discharge, he went on to  receive his degree in wildlife management with  a specialty in fisheries at Utah State University in 1950. That same year he began his career as a  fisheries biologist with the Wyoming Game and  Fish Department and eventually was promoted to the positions of district fisheries supervisor and fisheries management coordinator over a career that lasted 28 years.

Fred was instrumental in developing the first stages of inventorying and surveying fish habitat. He served as a member of the Wyoming Legislative Interim Committee for stream preservation, chaired the first "Instream Flow Needs and Specialty Conference" and participated in the development of Wyoming's Stream Classification map. Before DEQ and EPA, he worked with the State Sanitation Engineer to remove wastewater from streams and had a major responsibility for the 400 mile chemical treatment of the Green River prim to the flooding of Flaming Gorge Reservoir.

He served as President of the Western Division of the American Fisheries Society. In  1969, was named to the Hall of Excellence by the Society in 1977 and was recognized as the outstanding worker for 1976 by the Colorado/Wyoming Chapter of the American Fisheries Society. He also receive d the Wildlife Conservation Award from the Wyoming Wildlife Federation  and the Sears Roebuck Foundation. He has been a member of the American Fisheries  Society since 1950, a member of the American Institute of Fisheries Research Biologists since 1970, was a founding member of the Great Plains Fisheries Workers Association and has been registered with the American  Fisheries Society as a fisheries  scientist since l 970.

After leaving the Department, Fred was employed by industry as an environmental compliance person working in Alaska. Mo re recently he is serving as an aid at the Casper College Werner Wildlife Museum and as a recorder a t the Western History Archives. He is also an active participant in the Library of Congress veteran's interview program and has served for more than 20 years on the Platte River Parkway Board of Trustees. Fred has also written several publications dealing with fisheries and environmental issues.