The National Wildlife Refuge Association is pleased to announce our newest addition to the team, Gary Montoya. Gary Montoya will be filling the role of our Southwest Regional Representative. Gary will represent the Refuge Association to facilitate communication with refuge managers, staff, Friends Groups, and local stakeholders about issues affecting refuges.
Gary served 27 years with the United States Fish and Wildlife Service as Refuge Manager at national wildlife refuges in Texas, California, Utah and Alaska and eventually taking on the role of Geographic Manager for Arizona and New Mexico in the Southwest Regional Office.
“I was very fortunate to work with Gary Montoya when we were both in the Southwest Region of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service and I am very excited to welcome Gary to the National Wildlife Refuge Association. His experience and expertise with the National Wildlife Refuge System make him the perfect Refuge Association representative.”
Over his career Gary achieved many great accomplishments at national wildlife refuges including Bosque del Apache, Attwater Prairie Chicken, Kern, Ouray, Alaska Maritime, and San Andres National Wildlife Refuges. He gained experience in land management which included managing wildlife, public use, and collaborating with other agencies and interested partners. He learned to work outside the box relative to projects off-refuge that would benefit wildlife and their habitat.
“I joined the National Wildlife Refuge Association because that was the least I could do to support the National Wildlife Refuge System and the United States Fish and Wildlife Service which were a big part of my life. They were also an unforgettable part of my life and my family’s life. Wildlife, wildlands, and our environment are going to need lots of help.”
We are able to fund this position thanks to a generous donation from the Trinchera Blanca Foundation. The Foundation requested that we focus on coordination with refuges in Colorado and Arizona. As such, Gary will be focused there and working with the respective regional refuge chiefs in Denver, Colorado and Albuquerque, New Mexico serving as a point of contact for refuge issues elsewhere in their respective regions.
Gary will be contacting refuge managers and Friends Groups in Colorado and New Mexico to open lines of communication and serve as a point of contact for the National Wildlife Refuge Association.