I have devoted over 30 years of my academic and professional careers to conducting research that provides scientific and management communities with vital information on how anthropogenic activities (e.g., exotic plant introduction, habitat destruction, climate change) affect bird populations. I formally studied birds while earning my double bachelor’s degrees in Biology and Environmental Sciences from the University of California at Santa Cruz (1995), and I continued these studies at the University of New Mexico where I conducted my doctoral research on the effects of exotic plant establishment in native riparian woodlands on migratory birds during stopover (2005). I have extensive professional experience working for federal, tribal, and state agencies, as well as non-profit organizations, on a wide range of bird species – particularly endangered bird species – from a wide range of ecosystems and geographic localities, including the US Southwest, Hawai’i, the Pacific West Coast, Caribbean, and Central America.

While living in New Mexico since 1998 and working for such employers as the US Army Corps of Engineers (as the Program Manager for the Middle Rio Grande Endangered Species Collaborative Program), NM Department of Game and Fish (as the State’s Non-game and Endangered Species Ornithologist for 5 years) and the USDA Forest Service Rocky Mountain Research Station (as a Wildlife Biologist for 9 years), I have gained a deep appreciation and a broad understanding of the life history, distribution, population status and ecology, and conservation status and needs of the State’s diverse avifauna (particularly threatened and endangered bird species) and unique ecosystems. I am also informed on local and federal conservation policies, plans, programs, and issues that affect birds and their habitats within New Mexico and across the Southwest.

Colibri Consulting and Illustration

I have owned and operated Colibri Consulting and Illustration since August 2000. My business provides a broad range of wildlife and habitat research, monitoring, conservation, and management services. I work with federal, state, non-profit, and tribal clients, as well as on multidisciplinary teams, primarily those interested in evaluating the effects of habitat loss and restoration on bird populations. I specialize in southwestern riparian ecosystems and endangered species (e.g., Southwestern Willow Flycatcher and Yellow-billed Cuckoo); however, I work across a wide range of ecosystems and geographic localities.

Services include:

• providing science-based technical guidance and consultations on research priorities, study design and methods, and management and conservation strategies;

• managing and overseeing research and monitoring project implementation;

• coordinating and presenting at professional workshops and scientific symposia;

• leading and participating in interdisciplinary teams working towards conservation and management objectives;

• writing and reviewing grant proposals;

• assessing site conditions for suitability for wildlife and/or restoration;

• conducting avian fieldwork (e.g., spot mapping, point count surveys, and nest searching and monitoring);

• surveying (e.g., playback) for endangered bird species and species of conservation concern;

• providing training in bird identification, endangered bird survey and monitoring protocols, and field methods;

• sampling arthropods and vegetation;

• entering and analyzing data;

• writing and reviewing technical reports and scientific publications; and

• painting illustrations for private, scientific, educational, and conservation use.

Past clients include: Noblis, Inc. (as a peer reviewer for the Strategic Environmental Research and Development Program), The Nature Conservancy (a three-year contract to help develop the Gila Flow Needs Assessment), the USDA Forest Service, the Pueblo of Santa Ana, the New Mexico Department of Game and Fish, and Bloom Research Incorporated.

Selected Employment History

Program Manager for the US Army Corps of Engineers. Albuquerque, NM.

July 2023 — Present. Program Manager for the Middle Rio Grande Endangered Species Collaborative Program, a partnership of 16 federal, state and other entities to support endangered species.

Western Yellow-billed Cuckoo Working Group

Steering Committee Member February 2024 — Present.

Coordinator December 2021 — February 2024.

Supporting the Working Group’s coordinated, strategic, and deliberate efforts to support cuckoo co-production, science, conservation, and recovery across its entire full-annual-cycle.

On-call Lead Wildlife Ecologist for GeoSystems Analysis, Inc. Albuquerque, NM.

January 2013 — July 2019. On-call Lead Wildlife Ecologist for GeoSystems Analysis, Inc. Position involves providing project management and scientific expertise in avian ecology, management, and conservation to clients across the Western US.

For example: Authored the Southwestern Willow Flycatcher and Yellow-billed Cuckoo chapters in Middle Rio Grande Adaptive Management Framework: Identifying Critical Uncertainties. 2018. Prepared for the US Corps of Engineers on the behalf of the Middle Rio Grande Endangered Species Collaborative Program. Albuquerque, NM: Geosystems Analysis, Inc.

Non-game and Endangered Species Ornithologist for New Mexico Department of Game and Fish. Santa Fe, New Mexico.

June 2007 — July 2012. Position involved serving as an expert consultant to NMDGF and all entities interested in bird conservation in the State for ornithological information, current research, and current management and conservation efforts. Work involved regularly monitoring population numbers of over 34 bird species of concern and completing or overseeing investigations on 30 of these bird species.

Wildlife Biologist for the USDA Forest Service Rocky Mountain Research Station. Albuquerque, NM.

September 1997 — June 2007. Position included designing, managing, and implementing research on birds - primarily, the Southwestern Willow Flycatcher and the Yellow-billed Cuckoo - along the Rio Grande, the Rio Jemez, and the Gila, San Francisco, and Mimbres rivers.