Download Aubrey Dunn, Commissioner of Public Lands Two State Land Trust

Aubrey Dunn, Commissioner of Public Lands
State of New Mexico
For Immediate Release
Contact:
Emily Strickler, Assistant Commissioner for Communications
(505) 827-3650 -office
(505) 827-5760 - front office
[email protected]
Two State Land Trust Advisory Board Appointees are Approved by Senate
Santa Fe, NM (February 5, 2016) –The New Mexico State Land Commissioner Aubrey Dunn
appointed Dr. Brent Racher to represent conservation and Dr. Samuel Smallidge to represent the
beneficiaries to the State Land Trust Advisory Board, and today, the New Mexico State Senate
confirmed both appointments.
The State Land Trusts Advisory Board assists the State Land Commissioner in the formulation of
policies and programs for the trust. By law, the Board is politically and geographically diverse. It
represents the trust’s beneficiaries and key constituencies. Of the seven member board two
members represent the beneficiary institutions, one member represents agriculture, one member
represents the extractive industries, another member represents conservation interests and two
members serve at large. The members are appointed by the State Land Commissioner and
confirmed by the State Senate to serve six-year terms.
“I am so pleased that these two individuals will be serving on the State Land Trusts Advisory
Board. They are both experts in their fields and I will look to their advice in key decisions
concerning the Trust,” said Commissioner Dunn.
Both Dr. Racher and Dr. Smallidge expressed excitement over the approval and look forward to
contributing to the Land Office as advisors to the Trust.
Representing the Beneficiaries: Dr. Samuel T. Smallidge
Samuel T. Smallidge is the Wildlife Specialist for the Cooperative Extension Service at New
Mexico State University (NMSU). He also serves as the Coordinator of the Range Improvement
Task Force (RITF) at NMSU. Sam earned his Bachelors of Science in Wildlife Science from
Purdue University and a Master’s of Science in Wildlife Science and a PhD in Range Science
from NMSU. His professional experience encompasses ecology and management of multiple
wildlife species, elk-livestock interactions, wildlife damage management, vegetation and riparian
monitoring, and science-based mitigation of natural resources challenges. As coordinator of the
RITF, he supports the RITF's three-part mission related to natural resources: 1) educational
programs ranging from one-on-one consultations to workshops and symposia; 2) short- and longterm research programs focused on problem solving and answering important, managementoriented questions; and 3) unbiased third party assessments and mediations of conflicts related to
natural resources management.
Dr. Smallidge has been married to his wife Maureen for 21 years and together they have three
amazing sons John, Hugh and Nathan. Sam has a love for the outdoors and when he isn’t
working he enjoys hunting, fishing and camping.
Senator Mary Kay Papen sponsored Dr. Smallidge’s appointment.
Dr. Samuel T. Smallidge
Representing Conservation: Dr. Brent Racher
Dr. Brent Racher is a manager or partner for two natural resource management companies in
New Mexico, Racher Resource Management and Restoration Solutions; and two woody biomass
supply/utilization/development companies, Western Biomass and Southwestern Biomass. After
receiving his B.S. from New Mexico State University in Range Science, he completed an M.S.
and Ph.D. specializing in range ecology, fire ecology/behavior, and range improvements from
Texas Tech University.
Dr. Racher’s knowledge and experience in fire behavior, fire ecology, and the land managers’
need for expertise in prescribed burning prompted him to start Racher Resource Management,
LLC. In this endeavor, he has provided private and government entities with expert fire
management for planning and operations, much of the time as a turn-key service. Once in
private industry, he also realized that vegetation and habitat management in rangelands, forests,
and riparian ecosystems largely lacked the capitalized resources that could obtain a set of
objectives and implement them. So, he helped form Restoration Solutions, LLC to bring a
combination of the most progressive mechanical and chemical vegetative manipulations to the
land managers in need of that expertise. Currently, Dr. Racher is collaborating to expand
renewable energy resources in the West through the utilization of ecologically unbalanced
biomass in forests, woodlands, and non-native phreatophyte communities. He is currently
serving as the President of the New Mexico Forest Industry Association.
Brent is married to Terri Racher, and is the father of three wonderful children, Jim, Colton, and
Brindle. Their home is near Corona, New Mexico.
Senator Barela sponsored Dr. Racher’s appointment.
Dr. Brent Racher
Dr. Racher, Commissioner Dunn and Dr. Smallidge
The Senate Rules Committee will hear one more appointment on Monday, Royce A. “Pancho”
Maples appointed to represent the general public, and if his appointment is approved it will then
be scheduled for vote on the Senate floor.
The State Land Office is responsible for administering 9 million acres of surface and 13
million acres of subsurface estate for the beneficiaries of the state land trust, which
includes schools, universities, hospitals and other important public institutions.
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