Carlos Martinez del Rio

 

Carlos Martinez del Rio worked for decades as a professor in zoology and physiology at the University of Wyoming before settling in Silver City. He has a special fondness for hummingbirds and other pollinators. Martinez del Rio grew up on a cattle ranch in northern Mexico. His first job after finishing his doctoral degree was as a professor at Princeton University. He soon left for Wyoming after finding that New Jersey doesn’t offer much wilderness. “The land I love is the weird edge between the Sonoran and Chihuahuan deserts and the Colorado Plateau, which is southwestern New Mexico,” Martinez del Rio said. “Just think about it: I live in Silver City, at the edge of the world’s first established wilderness area, which is the Gila, surrounded by 2.5 million acres of national forest and two of the largest wilderness areas in the United States. I have six species of hummingbirds at the feeders and nectar-feeding bats coming in September. It’s a magnificent place to be a biologist and a hunter.” Martinez del Rio looks forward to bringing a scientific approach to analyzing wildlife management decisions in New Mexico and intends to be active in NMWF education programs.