Posted: 12/2/2025
SNR Alumni: Fricke supervises wildlife research
By Ronica Stromberg
Kent Fricke's career path has had the University of Nebraska–Lincoln at its trailhead and many stops along the way as he took the opportunities before him.
The wildlife research supervisor at the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission for the past year and a half, Fricke has been working with School of Natural Resources professors on study topics ranging from elk to prairie-chickens. He came to the position from the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks, where he coordinated research and surveys on small game species for more than eight years. Still, his Nebraska career path goes much further back.
He grew up at the turn of the century in small town Monroe, developing a love for hunting and fishing. He set off for the university in 2002 as a fisheries and wildlife major and never veered from it.
While an undergrad, he took part in the Wildlife Club, serving as vice president one year and president two years. He worked with the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission the summer after his freshman year and, in later years, served as a university research technician for projects in Nebraska and Mississippi. After graduating, he worked with Game and Parks and Ducks Unlimited on a duck project and then Game and Parks and the university on a river otter project. He earned his master's degree in Texas and returned to Nebraska for additional graduate work before moving to Kansas.
Because the network of wildlife professionals is closeknit, Fricke said he sees himself not so much "coming back" to Nebraska but having never fully left. He found his people years ago in the Wildlife Club and has longstanding relationships in the community of wildlife professionals. He now points to working with colleagues and staff in the wildlife field as the most fulfilling part of his job.
"That's the stuff that brings a smile to my face," he said. "That makes it very easy to walk into the office every day, knowing that I'm going to be working with dedicated professionals who are very passionate about what they do and the wildlife resources that we're managing."
His typical day involves meeting with program staff and partners, like the university, to design and carry out research to best guide wildlife management and policy. His unit monitors wildlife populations, works with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to determine the threatened or endangered status of species and recommends limits on hunting permits. The work involves collecting, managing and analyzing a vast amount of wildlife data and discussing tradeoffs needed for wildlife management.
Fricke said he felt fortunate to have always had opportunities in wildlife research and management, which can be a tough field to break into. For students interested in the field, he recommended staying patient and persistent and seeking and taking opportunities.
"If you're able to, don't turn down an opportunity," he said. "Don't wait for the next opportunity. Take advantage of the opportunities you have in front of you. Make the most of them. There's always benefit to saying yes to taking a job that maybe isn't quite what you wanted or thought you wanted. I think it opens up a lot of doors and broadens your perspective."
Even if a student has to take a lower-paid position in the field to gain experience, Fricke recommended taking it over a higher-paid position outside the field if they can afford to.
He also recommended taking part in related clubs, as he did the Wildlife Club in college. Instead of going on spring break, he would go to wildlife student conclaves around the country. At them, he took part in quiz bowls and presentations in a conference-like atmosphere.
"I was a pretty nerdy undergrad,” he said. “I didn't go to South Padre. I went to Wildlife Club stuff."
The choice paid off.
At the conclaves and other club activities, he built leadership skills and relationships with students who shared his passion for wildlife. He said he still benefits from the skills and confidence he developed from this time.
"It was just very confirmatory for me of the direction I was going with my education and then career," he said.
Now he plays a big part in collaborations on research projects like the one on the greater prairie-chickens. In it, Nebraska and Kansas are studying the birds in the same way, with the same methods and analyses. The project may turn out to be the largest research project done on the birds, he said.
"The cool part about my job in this position is that I can help facilitate those cross-state discussions and make research more meaningful by being able to get the right resources in the right place at the right time and connecting researchers and agency staff to be able to accomplish more than we would individually," he said.
