Lucas (Luke) Byker, M.S.

Lucas earned Bachelor and Master degrees in Environmental Policy from American Military University.
He did his graduate research on the impacts of introduced Alaskan Blackfish on native fish assemblages
in the lower Kenai River. Prior to college, Luke served in the US Army as a paratrooper with 10 th Special
Forces Group. After college, he established himself through seasonal positions with the USDA- Wildlife
Services and as a certified Crab Fishery Observer in the Bering Sea before accepting a permanent
position with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, Habitat Division. Lucas then served with the
USFWS, focusing on fish passage and habitat restoration projects in the Matanuska-Susitna valley and
Kodiak archipelago. Lucas currently works in the Alaska Region, Habitat Conservation Division, as a
Fisheries Biologist representing NOAA's federally managed fisheries in discussions involving Essential
Fish Habitat, Aquatic Organism Passage (AOP), and freshwater habitat restoration.