New Mexico Wildlife Center names new executive director
Melissa Moore, new executive director of the New Mexico Wildlife Center, with an eagle.
Melissa H. Moore is the new executive director of the New Mexico Wildlife Center, located in Española.
The previous director, Katherine Eagleson, retired at the end of 2016 after eight years of leadership. Eagleson brought a science education-based focus to the agency and helped bring the organization to a higher standard, according to a release from the center.
Moore, who moved to Santa Fe in November, came from Seattle, where she was the education manager at PAWS in Lynwood, Washington. A licensed falconer for 20 years, Moore has also worked at other wildlife centers, including the World Bird Sanctuary in Valley Park, Missouri, and Wildlife Experiences, Inc. in Rapid City, South Dakota, which she founded in 2000. With a degree in biology from Tufts University, Moore has also served on boards of directors at the National Wildlife Rehabilitators’ Association and the International Association of Avian Trainers and Educators.
“I am very pleased to join the exceptional team at the New Mexico Wildlife Center and I look forward to helping the center to continue to play an important role in wildlife conservation in New Mexico,” Moore said in a prepared statement.
Moore is to lead the New Mexico Wildlife Center, a nonprofit organization, in its mission to conserve and restore native wildlife and their habitats through action-oriented education, promotion of public awareness, strategic partnerships and responsible wildlife rehabilitation.
The New Mexico Wildlife Center houses more than 30 education animals on a permanent basis and an additional 50 to 150 animals in its rehab center at any given time. It offers schools and community groups education programs that showcase wild animals that are native to New Mexico. The River Classroom is an experiential education program for students across Río Arriba County.
Visitors are welcome at the center Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
For those interested in volunteering or having a wildlife presentation, contact the center at (505) 753-9505 or visit its website, newmexicowildlifecenter.org, for information.
