Bob Murphy

Bob “Murph” Murphy joined EEI in January 2018, after 24 years as a wildlife biologist with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s National Wildlife Refuge System (North Dakota) and Migratory Birds Division (USFWS Southwest Region). For several years between these stints he was a biology professor at the University of Nebraska-Kearney, teaching ornithology, natural resource planning, and fire ecology plus mentoring student research. Murph is a versatile, pragmatic conservation biologist and scientist, with much experience especially in northern prairie ecology and management, mixed-grass prairie restoration, raptor conservation biology, and endangered species management (Piping Plovers). As a wildlife biologist in North Dakota for 13 years, he worked close with refuge managers to plan, implement, and evaluate management and restoration of northern prairie-wetland communities. Much of his work with USFWS involved close work with ranchers developing and evaluating livestock grazing systems, and with the wind energy industry evaluating and developing plans to minimize risks to migratory birds (especially eagles) at wind energy facilities in planning stages. He also is known for playing key roles in developing conservation partnerships and building collaborative science ventures. Murph has authored or co-authored about 80 papers in peer-reviewed journals, roughly half of which included students as senior authors or coauthors. He also has authored/co-authored many refuge/migratory bird planning documents and conservation technical reports plus environmental assessments under the NEPA. Murph enjoys being with family, falconry and hunting in general, Nordic skiing, backpacking, and canoeing.

Personal areas of interest and expertise

• Broad knowledge of Great Plains biota, ecological processes, and resource management issues, especially native prairie-wetland communities

• Familiarity with and work experience in other ecosystems from arctic tundra (Greenland) to shrubsteppe (Four Corners Region)

• Subject expert in conservation biology of rare or sensitive species, e.g., Golden Eagle, Piping Plover

• Robust ability to foster partnerships and build consensus among natural resource management agencies, rural landowners, tribes, conservation organizations, industry, and universities to find solutions and prioritize needs for conserving wildlife and other natural resources and to plan, implement, and monitor outcomes of appropriate management strategies

Resume 

To view and download peer-reviewed publications authored or co-authored by Bob Murphy see: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=2gqvuyYAAAAJ&hl=en