Two and a half hours north of Las Cruces is the crown jewel of New Mexico’s nine National Wildlife Refuges (NWRs): the Bosque del Apache, a critical winter stopover for migrating waterfowl from November through February. Enthusiasts come from around the world to see tens of thousands of Sandhill Cranes, Snow Geese, and Ross’s Geese lift off together at dawn in a thundering roar, flying to surrounding fields to feed for the day. In an equally enthralling yet quieter spectacle, they return at sunset to spend the night in the safety of the ponds. Bosque del Apache is a refuge for all seasons, boasting 413 species of birds (migratory and resident)—the second highest bird count in the United States.
One of the Bosque del Apache’s most ferocious supporters is Deborah “Deb” Caldwell ’82, executive director of the Friends of the Bosque del Apache. NWR “Friends” groups are nonprofit organizations that partner with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) to support an NWR with financial, advocacy, maintenance, and community services.
As executive director, Deb is the Friends’ primary spokesperson, manages staff, and works with its volunteer board of directors to strategize, plan, budget, and fundraise.
“This is the best job I’ve ever had. I work for a cause I believe in; connecting the community to the land, the birds, and other wildlife. What we do is important,” she said.
The Bosque del Apache is one of the most intensively managed NWRs, and the Friends group has grown because the need has grown. Deb noted that refuge expenses are consistently rising, and the refuge has faced a static or declining budget since 2011. “Bosque del Apache is magical, but what we do here doesn’t happen by magic. It’s hard work,” she said. “Besides the decreasing budget, climate change means less water, and that means a lot more costly challenges.”
Aggie alum (and 2014 Distinguished Alum from the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Science) Kevin Cobble ’78 is one of those volunteer board directors. He was the FWS refuge manager for Bosque del Apache from 2012 – 2018 and said that as soon as he started working with Deb, “I could tell she had a bigger vision for what the Friends could do to help the refuge.” He noted, “She took the Friends to a much higher level, and they really started helping us out, especially with visitor services projects like upgrading boardwalks.”
Kevin continued, “But that’s not all. We were constantly fighting budget and staffing shortfalls, and Deb got on board to work with donors and members to purchase critically important tools including Langemann® gates, which provide a huge workload and overtime savings for our water manager. She even found the funding so we can hire college interns during the summer — mostly biologists, but also maintenance and visitor services interns.”
Deb’s Friends projects include outreach and organizing the annual and internationally renowned Festival of the Cranes and other conservation initiatives. The Friends have also raised funds to purchase adjacent land on Chupadera Peak; to repair and replace wells and water control structures, equipment, engines, and machinery; and to eliminate invasive species.
“We shall not cease from exploration, and the end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we started and know the place for the first time.”
~ T.S. Eliot, Little Gidding
The long way home
Growing up in Socorro, NM, Deb happily spent time outdoors with her father, hiking at Water Canyon and trudging through the snowy Magdalena Mountains to find the perfect Christmas tree.
Her first time on the NMSU campus was when she participated in all-state chorus in high school, and the performance was held here. “I’d read about NMSU’s academic reputation, and it was green and felt friendly when I visited campus” Deb recalled. “Coming from a rural area, that appealed to me a lot.”
After she graduated with a degree in English, California beckoned, and Deb enjoyed a long career with IBM in San Jose, CA, and Tucson, AZ. Her love of the outdoors followed her, and she hiked and backpacked as often as she could.
But when a family member’s health was in jeopardy, Deb knew she needed to go home. Upon her return to Socorro, she said the T.S. Eliot poem Little Gidding came to mind: “It’s all about coming back to the place you started and really seeing it for the first time.”
Back in Socorro, Deb first worked as the executive director of the Socorro County Chamber of Commerce. But when the Friends of the Bosque del Apache posted the opening for the executive director position in 2015, she knew it was the perfect fit. “The pieces all came together,” she said, “although my career has been more of a patchwork quilt than a path. The common thread in all my work has been writing, research, and interpersonal and leadership skills, all of which are transferable.”
Something for everyone
Each year, the Bosque del Apache receives 200,000 visitors from across the globe, and under Deb’s leadership the Friends host about 100 events and workshops at the refuge, from bird walks to photography to field trips to the Salinas Pueblo Missions National Monument to lectures from hydrologists on what we face in terms of diminishing water. “We’re always working on expanding our offerings so we have something for everyone,” Deb said.
Kevin noted that traditionally the Friends board of directors has comprised primarily birders, especially those based close to Socorro. However, with the ongoing drought and less water in the refuge, Deb has focused on recruiting board members whose professional experience encompasses many pressing conservation issues, including drought and its effects on wildlife, endangered species, and people.
He concluded: “The Friends are more critical than ever, and Deb has been the right person at the right time. Her work ethic and the way she thinks and connects so many moving parts are astounding. She has achieved more than we could’ve ever hoped for to make the refuge what it is today — we’re lucky she came home.”
Find out more about the Friends of the Bosque del Apache NWR at https://friendsofbosquedelapache.org