Richard Looney is a graduate of the University of West Florida with a Bachelor’s Degree of Science in Marine Biology. He assisted in beach dune restoration planting projects in the north panhandle of Florida and point count surveys of migratory avian species. He has experience in wildlife medicine, emergency animal medicine/surgery, fish identification/sampling/survey, and coastal and estuarine ecology. On Pensacola Beach, he was an Eco-tour guide tasked with educating tourists and residents about the beach and coastal ecology, which included everything from migratory and non-migratory avian species, fisheries, endemic species, sand dunes, hurricane impacts, and human impacts.

Since joining the WRA team he has become a FWC Authorized Gopher Tortoise Agent. He has a passion for ecology and wildlife conservation. He will be assisting with wetland delineations, gopher tortoise survey and relocation, listed species survey, water sampling, exotic species removal, wetland monitoring, drone surveying, and permitting.