Members in Action: Ryan Fikes, Environmental Scientist & Coastal Ecologist, CERP

Ryan Fikes, CERP, is an Environmental Scientist & Coastal Ecologist with Freese and Nichols, Inc. Ryan is pictured conducting a plastic pellet assessment in a freshwater floating vegetation community in Texas.

How long have you been a member of SER? What’s your best experience with SER so far?

I have been a member of SER since 2018, so nearly 5 years! My best experience so far was a recent event that the Texas Chapter of SER hosted in Austin, TX which we called the Central Texas Restoration Reunion. Even though we were unable to host our annual conference for a second year in a row due to COVID-19, this event allowed us the opportunity to come back together face-to-face in a safe environment and reconnect with our restoration community! We had an amazing turnout of students and young professionals, all of which were able to participate in an hour-long career exploration session. These small breakouts allowed participants to visit with representatives from various sectors of the restoration community (state, federal, non-profit, academia, and private sector) to discuss potential career paths and opportunities.

Why did you join SER?

I joined SER because I wanted to be part of a community that understood the way I thought about the world, one that was proactively seeking ways to reverse the environmental damages we have historically done as a species. I was seeking knowledge, which resources such as Restoration Ecology provided, but also a personal connection to others in the field. Over time, SER and SER Texas have given me opportunities to become more deeply involved in the practice of ecological restoration and the communities in which restoration work takes place, and for that I am very grateful.

What is your current occupation?

I am currently an Environmental Scientist & Coastal Ecologist with Freese and Nichols, Inc. We are a privately owned, national environmental science and engineering firm, offering high-quality client services across a range of projects, while remaining dedicated to resource stewardship. In my role I assist in the planning and delivery of nature-based features for coastal protection, restoration, and resilience. I also provide scientific and technical expertise on coastal and environmental practice projects and develop grant writing opportunities with clients with the intent of project development. 

What do you find most rewarding about working for your organization?

The most rewarding part of my job is having the opportunity to see a project from conceptualization through completion. In the past I have been involved in many aspects of ecosystem restoration, from managing small-scale partnerships to working on national environmental policy. While I was fortunate to work on things like the RESTORE Act in the Gulf of Mexico, I was left feeling disconnected from individual projects and people. At Freese and Nichols I can work across a large geography and still play an active role in our projects from design to construction and monitoring. This provides opportunities to make meaningful personal connections with local partners and their communities. 

What projects are you working on right now?

I am working on a few unique projects these days. One is the development and implementation of the country’s first plastic pellet (nurdle) remediation plan. Our team has been working for the past two years on assessing plastics contamination in both freshwater and estuarine ecosystems, designing a strategy for removing those plastics, and developing a restoration plan to leave the ecosystem better than pre-disturbance conditions. I am also helping lead the development and funding of two projects in Jefferson Parish, Louisiana that aim to restore critical fisheries habitat. One project aims to restore approximately 600 acres of high-quality marsh habitat through the construction of marsh terraces, while the second project aims to restore oyster habitat through the creation of a 10-acre artificial reef.

How does your work support the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration?

The work our team is doing supports the UN Decade on Restoration in multiple ways. First and foremost, our work aims to reverse the downward trend in habitat loss across our geographic footprint. Second, our work aims to provide environmental justice and support local communities for them to sustain their quality of life in coastal communities. Lastly, our work is providing cutting edge data on impacts of plastics on the environment and mapping out the future of remediating those impacts through ecosystem restoration alternatives. 

Fielding interview questions in Galveston Bay, Texas following the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill during Ryan’s time as part of the National Wildlife Federation’s Gulf of Mexico Restoration Program.

What does ecological restoration mean to you?

To me, ecological restoration used to mean putting an ecosystem back to the way that it was, a baseline that was pre-determined for me. However, baselines are constantly shifting, and oftentimes it is just not practical to put something back the way it was 100 years ago. For me, it has become more about restoring ecological function in rapidly changing systems, while at the same time considering potential future conditions. Modern restoration is a balancing act between recovery and resilience. 

Would you encourage others, particularly young people, to get involved in this field?

Absolutely! Just don’t do it if your plan is to be rich and famous! But in all seriousness, if you want to be in a field where you can make (and see) meaningful benefits resulting from your work, then it could be a very rewarding career path. Being in the field of restoration feels like getting paid for civic engagement that most will only experience when volunteering. Luckily, we live during a time when the field pays enough to make a comfortable living – that has not always been the case!

What’s one thing - either industry-related or not - you learned in the last month?

In the past month I learned that root dendrogeomorphology can be used to assess stream bank erosion rates and assist in developing fluvial ecosystem restoration solutions.

What’s something about you (a fun fact) that not many people know?

I have been an endurance runner for more than a decade (more than 25 marathons and ultras run), but in recent years I have traded in my running shoes for mountain boots! These days my partner and I seek time in the outdoors through hiking and mountain climbing, and we have a goal to climb as many of the world’s via ferratas (fixed-cable routes on mountain faces) as possible. 

Ryan and his partner, Andreas, enjoying a winter hike in Rocky Mountain National Park.