Our Sustainability team is pleased to welcome a new team member, Michael Carr!  Michael will be focusing on Nature Based Climate Solutions for the Countywide Climate Action Plan, to include increasing recycling, the County's backyard composting program, and working closely with the Master Naturalists program.  

I’m excited to be joining the Community Development Department as a Sustainability Specialist! I was initially welcomed to Santa Fe County as a G.P.S. Technician in late 2022 and am looking forward to applying my skills in GIS to my new position and the programs aimed at developing our community sustainability goals.

As a recent transplant from northern Virginia, I have been enthralled with the flora and fauna of the Santa Fe area. From birding, to herping (finding reptiles and amphibians), and beyond - the natural wonders of the Southern Rockies are boundless! I completed my interdisciplinary Bachelors in Environmental Sustainability and Conservation at George Mason University, with an undergraduate thesis on the distribution and ecology of the American Giant Stag Beetle. My varied professional background includes work in archaeology, museum collections, field ecology, and horticulture. I am a Virginia Master Naturalist, an amateur entomologist, and a research associate with the Virginia Outdoors Foundation.

From playing with anthills as a child in the rural shadow of the Blue Ridge Mountains to developing conservation programs with a Virginia non-profit organization, my dedication to understanding the natural world serves as my philosophical foundation. I look forward applying my experiences to supporting Santa Fe County’s rich biological and cultural diversity by developing local nature-based climate resiliency, supporting soil and water health initiatives, and guiding local sustainable development.

Please give Michael a warm hello and introduction when you see him out and about working to increase our natural habitat resiliency and carbon sequestration potential! 

The County is committed to increasing renewable energy sourcing for electricity and is happy to announce the latest addition of PV installed at the Esperanza Shelter. The 33.5 kW rooftop system was completed in late August and is funded through solar grants provided by the State.  The array will provide over half of the energy needed for the facility and is the emissions savings equivalent of taking 5 cars off the road or planting 1,100 trees.  As a leased County owned building, Esperanza is responsible for utilities yet, the addition of this system will greatly reduce operational costs and utility burdens while increasing the facility asset value. 

In the tight budgets of the non-profit world and given the critical services Esperanza provides, this savings will go a long way in assisting the organization to focus budget concerns typically allocated for utility bills, toward the actual work needed to provide more services to more families in crisis--and reduce greenhouse gas emissions at the same time.  This is a win-win all around and an approach the County is strategically applying in order to increase equitable access to solar throughout the County.   

The organization, People for Native Ecosystems (PNE), is seeking land owners who are willing to receive colonies of endangered prairie dogs  currently in need of relocation.

A keystone species native to northern New Mexico and southern Colorado, the Gunnison's Prairie Dog is one of five prairie dog species which is currently endangered.  As a keystone species it is vital to the survival of many other species that depend on the Prairie Dog for food and shelter. These mammals have been a part of our natural landscape for centuries and provide a number of benefits to the land and its flora and fauna to include increased soil aeration and carbon sequestration.  Many ranchers recognize the increased water retention in the soil created by their activity and as a result welcome them on their land.

PNE reports that two thousand or more prairie dogs have been relocated from Santa Fe over the last two decades, but now the problem of available land for release has become a major issue.  The parcels of land needed should be largely un-forested at an elevation between 5,000-9,000 feet with enough acreage and vegetation to sustain the colony and protected from human interference. There should be access to the relocation site.

Relocation involves creating new burrows for the animal families, unless there are existing burrows on the land which may be re-used.

After relocating the Prairie Dogs, the burrows are monitored for a period of time. More details on the relocation process, other ways you can help, as well as information about prairie dogs in general, can be found on the PNE web site at www.prairiedogpne.org. Your consideration of land use for this purpose would be a major contribution to the survival of the species, and greatly appreciated!