Tuesday Talks: Rick Nye: Monomoy National Wildlife Refuge: An Exploration of its Biodiversity

An overview of the plants, habitats & wildlife, how we manage it, and how people can see some of it themselves.

About Rick Nye:

Rick Nye grew up in Piscataquis County, Maine where he explored the woods and streams surrounding his hometown and occasionally riding his bike to Sebec Lake for a swim.

He graduated from Albright College in Reading, PA, with a B.S in Biology in 1995. His extracurricular activities included crawling through caves in Pennsylvania and West Virginia while conducting woodrat and bat research.

After earning his degree, Rick followed in the footsteps of three previous generations of his family and served in the U.S. Military. As a Naval Cryptologic Officer, he worked at the National Security Agency, NATO’s Implementation Force (IFOR) in Bosnia-Herzegovina, commissioning crew of the USS McCampbell (DDG 85), Naval Security Group Activity Hawaii, and Provincial Reconstruction Team, Farah, Afghanistan. Rick’s experiences in other countries reminded him of the importance of protecting our natural resources.

So, Rick decided to reconnect with his original career goal of being a biologist and attended California State University, Fullerton. His studies focused on genetics, marine ecology, and the biogeographical distribution of marine invertebrates living in the rocky intertidal coast of California. During this time, Rick also volunteered with the National Marine Fisheries Service in Orono, Maine, analyzing data for Atlantic salmon and other species found in the Gulf of Maine.

Rick started volunteering at Seal Beach National Wildlife Refuge (SBNWR) in 2010. His work included habitat restoration, endangered species monitoring, and predator management. In October 2015, he was hired to manage a project that raised the elevation of a saltwater marsh to counteract rising sea levels. Rick was selected to be the Refuge Manager in 2017 where he led dozens of volunteers in contributing over 4,000 hours of work per year in support of the Refuge’s mission. He also coordinated research with professors and students from area universities, consulting firms, and other government agencies.

He arrived at Monomoy NWR in June 2021 as the new Refuge Manager just in time to see the National Weather Station building be torn down. Since then, he has been working to manage the retreat of Refuge operations away from the eroding coastline. Simultaneously, Rick has also ensured that biological program continued to function with little to no impact of its capabilities.