New Marine Patrol Officers to Serve in Machias and Boothbay Harbor After Academy

Augusta, Maine – Maine Department of Marine Resources Commissioner Patrick Keliher swore in two future Marine Patrol Officers recently.

Keegan Nelligan of Abington, Massachusetts and Evan Whidden of Harpswell will begin serving after completing the Maine Criminal Justice Academy in May.

A 2018 graduate of Unity College with a Bachelor of Science degree in Conservation Law Enforcement, Nelligan will serve in the Machias patrol. Nelligan has served as a Natural Resources Assistant for the Town of Plymouth, Massachusetts, a Coastal Natural Resource Officer and Endangered Species Officer for the Town of Duxbury, Massachusetts, and as a Deputy Game Warden for the Maine Warden Service.

Whidden earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Wildlife Ecology from the University of Maine in Orono in 2017. Whidden worked as a member of the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife’s bear research crew from 2016 to 2019. A commercial lobster fisherman since 2010, Whidden holds a 25-ton Captain’s License and is scheduled to serve as Boat Specialist on the Patrol Vessel Monitor out of Boothbay Harbor after graduating and completing the Marine Patrol’s Field Officer Training Program.