Ric Lopez, PhD

Dr. Ric Lopez is the Area Supervisor (Administrator) of the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service’s Pacific Islands Refuges and Monuments Office, based in Honolulu, Hawai‘i. Ric oversees conservation activities on, and management of, ¾-billon acres of public lands and waters across the Pacific Ocean, home to 578 threatened and endangered species. This area of responsibility comprises 22 National Wildlife Refuges, 4 Marine National Monuments, and 1 National Battle Memorial on Midway Atoll. Ric and his staff of approximately 100 Federal resource management professionals depend heavily upon partnerships and communities in their mission to recover listed species and prevent their extinction, and to conserve refuge lands and monument waters for future generations.

Ric has spent the last four decades researching and leading out on several diverse and impactful environmental sciences issues. During his tenure in academia, and public service with the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S. Forest Service, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Ric has led scientific research teams and natural resource managers in a variety of geographic areas, from Asia and Indo-Pacific Regions, to the Americas, focusing on his passion to apply scientific discoveries to the diverse needs of communities, with strong emphases on public service.

With his extensive background and expertise in wetland ecology, remote sensing, and field-based environmental sciences and biology, Ric has conducted and published on a number of, both, theoretical and applied environmental topics. This body of work includes monitoring and assessing of terrestrial, aquatic, and transitional ecosystems; invasive species invasive species
An invasive species is any plant or animal that has spread or been introduced into a new area where they are, or could, cause harm to the environment, economy, or human, animal, or plant health. Their unwelcome presence can destroy ecosystems and cost millions of dollars.

Learn more about invasive species and pathogens; multi-scale indicators of sustainability; and nature-based solutions to broad scale ecological challenges of the 21^st century.

 Ric earned his B.S. in Ecology, Behavior, and Evolution at the University of California, San Diego, and his Master’s and Doctoral degrees in Environmental Sciences at The Ohio State University, with an emphasis in Landscape Ecology and Wetland Ecology.