New Mexico Highlands University’s Natural Resources Management Department will be well represented at the 2026 New Mexico Geological Society Annual Spring Meeting, with several students and faculty presenting research that reflects both the range of the program and its real-world focus.
Undergraduate Environmental Geology students Isaiah Archuleta and Colman Lee will present their senior capstone projects, and M.S. Natural Science–Geology student Kamren Moore will share work from her in-progress master’s thesis. Recent graduate Kiara Takacs is also a coauthor on faculty-led research being presented.
Faculty member Jennifer Lindline will present ongoing work on the impacts of the Hermits Peak/Calf Canyon Fire on Gallinas River water quality, alongside coauthors Takacs, Daniel Chadborn, and Marine Foucher. Their presentation, “Three Years of Water Quality Data After the 2022 Hermits Peak/Calf Canyon Fire; Amounts, Trends, and Impacts,”looks at post-fire conditions and how those impacts are playing out over time.
Student projects reflect the program’s interdisciplinary approach. Colman Lee’s project, “How Beaver Occupation Influenced Burn Severity, Habitat Resilience, and Landscape Recovery from the Hermits Peak Calf Canyon Fire,” focuses on ecological recovery and the role of beaver activity. Isaiah Archuleta’s research, “New Petrologic Data on the Tooth of Time Landmark, Cimarron Range, New Mexico; Insights into its Origin and Emplacement,” adds new understanding to a well-known regional feature.
Kamren Moore’s thesis, “Looking to the Past to Prepare for the Future: A Spatiotemporal Land Use Analysis of the Irrigable Acreage of La Acequia del Finado Francisco Martinez del Llano Quemado in Taos County, New Mexico,”examines historical land use patterns and how they inform future planning.
Taken together, these projects show the kind of applied, place-based research happening in Highlands’ Natural Resources Management Department — spanning fire impacts, water systems, geology, and land use.
The Environmental Geology Program continues to produce strong outcomes for students, with 100 percent of graduates moving into jobs or graduate programs. That includes Archuleta, Lee, Moore, and Takacs.
The department also recognized the contributions of collaborating faculty, including Dr. Daniel Chadborn and Dr. Thomas Albers, and thanked university leadership for its continued support as Highlands expands its role as a research institution.