New Mexico Cooperative Fish & Wildlife Research Unit

History

The New Mexico Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit was established June 1988 under a cooperative agreement among the Department of the Interior, New Mexico Department of Game and Fish, New Mexico State University, and the Wildlife Management Institute. The Unit is one of 40 Co operative Research Units housed in the U.S. Geological Survey - Biological Resources Cooperative Research Units within the Department of the Interior. These Units are within the land grant universities nationwide.

The mission of these cooperative research units is to facilitate cooperation among universities, federal, and state fish and wildlife agencies, and private organizations conducting programs of research and education related to fish and wildlife resource management.

The mission of the New Mexico Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit is to facilitate cooperation among federal and state wildlife, fish, and water resource agencies, universities, tribal interests, private organizations, and individuals to conduct fishery and wildlife research and education on issues of mutual interest.  Particular attention will be placed on issues that reflect the unique environment and floral and faunal assemblages of New Mexico and the Southwest.

The New Mexico Unit is housed in the Department of Fishery and Wildlife Sciences Department at New Mexico State University, which is located adjacent to the Rio Grande near the juncture of the Mexico, New Mexico, and Texas borders.

Native Americans were well established when Europeans of Spanish descent first settled the area nearly 500 years ago. Northern Europeans were last on the scene, arriving in the 1800s. Centuries of cohabitation have resulted in a unique mix of Hispanic, Native American, and Anglo culture, tradition, and resource values in the region.

New Mexico in addition to its cultural heritages is unique in its ecological diversity. More than 300 vegetation community associations, more than 700 vertebrate taxa, and innumerable invertebrate and plant taxa have been described for this state whose elevations range from 855 m to 4,010 m. These factors produce an ecologically challenging and exciting area of natural resources research in New Mexico, the Unit's primary area of responsibility.

Since its beginning, the New Mexico Research Unit has:

• initiated more than 100 research projects totaling nearly $12 million in financial support from state, federal, university, and private cooperators
• supported M.S. and Ph.D. degree programs for more than 60 young professionals of which more than 40% are female and about 30% are minority students, primarily Hispanic
• other unit products include over 90 peer refereed and peer-reviewed publications and more than 200 technical presentations nationally and internationally.

Current permanent staff of the Unit include: Dr. Colleen A. Caldwell, Unit Leader (Fisheries); Dr. Louis Bender, Assistant Leader-Wildlife; Julie Prior-Magee, Management Analyst; and Connie Alsworth, Unit Secretary.