2025 Earth Science Achievement Awards
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Created in 2003, the Earth Science Achievement Awards generally honor two recipients, one for “outstanding contributions advancing the role of earth science in areas of public service and public policy” and the other for “outstanding contributions in advancing earth science and education.” Nominations for these awards are welcome from the general public and may be made directly to the director of the New Mexico Bureau of Geology and Mineral Resources.
Public Policy & Service
The New Mexico Bureau of Geology and Mineral Resources (NMBGMR) at New Mexico Tech presented the 2025 Earth Science Achievement Award for Public Service and Public Policy to New Mexico State Forester Laura McCarthy. A public servant who has advanced the role of earth science in public policy, McCarthy will receive the award on Feb. 17 at noon during a ceremony at the New Mexico State Capitol rotunda in conjunction with Earth Science/New Mexico Tech Day.
As State Forester, McCarthy is responsible for forest management on 43 million acres of state and private lands, including wildfire prevention and response, forest health improvement, reforestation, watershed health, and climate change adaptation. Under her leadership, the State Forestry Division has doubled in size, modernized its business systems, and taken on the challenges of postfire recovery and reforestation of burned areas with the year 2100 climate in mind. She is committed to an ecosystem-based approach to forest health, drawing on her decades of experience as a forester, wildland firefighter, and policy advisor.
“We're very pleased to honor Laura with this award,” said NMBGMR Director and State Geologist Dr. Mike Timmons. “It recognizes her many years of work and leadership advocating for science in decision-making and policy, especially in watershed science and protection in New Mexico.”
Before being appointed State Forester in 2019, McCarthy worked for more than two decades in advocacy and policy development in New Mexico. As associate state director of The Nature Conservancy's New Mexico Field Office, she led the Rio Grande Water Fund, a public-private partnership to restore 600,000 acres of at-risk forests to protect watersheds that supply water for one million New Mexicans. She also advocated for federal fire and forest restoration policies, working closely with Senators Jeff Bingaman and Pete Domenici to create the Collaborative Forest Landscape Conservation Program in 2009.
As associate director of the Santa Fe-based Forest Stewards Guild, she managed community-based forestry projects, working with diverse stakeholders while making the case for ecology as the foundation of sustainable forestry. McCarthy began her career at the United States Forest Service as a forestry technician, wildland firefighter, and staff member of the Northern Forest Lands Study, one of the nation's first cross-boundary ecosystem management policy initiatives. She earned a BA in government and legal affairs from Bowdoin College (graduating cum laude) and a Master of Forestry degree from Yale University's School of Forestry and Environmental Studies.
Over her years of service to the state of New Mexico, both as a private citizen and State Forester, she has earned numerous awards, including New Mexico Environmental Leader of the Year in 2015, the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies Distinguished Alumna Award in 2017, and the Outstanding Service Award from the Society of American Foresters Southwest Division in 2018.
The New Mexico Bureau of Geology presented the Earth Science Achievement Award to McCarthy in cooperation with the state Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Department. New Mexico Tech academic and research divisions and earth science-focused state, federal, and private sector organizations staffed tables in the rotunda from 9 AM to 3 PM. The public is invited to visit the New Mexico State Capitol rotunda (aka Roundhouse) and attend the awards ceremony.
Research & Education
The New Mexico Bureau of Geology and Mineral Resources (NMBGMR) at New Mexico Tech presented the 2025 Earth Science Achievement Award for Research and Education to University of New Mexico Emeritus Professor Dr. Les McFadden. An influential geoscientist and dedicated teacher, McFadden received the award on Sept. 18 at the New Mexico Geological Society's annual Fall Field Conference.
A career spanning almost four decades—all spent in New Mexico—McFadden's research has increased our understanding of the soils, climates (past, present, and future), human histories, land management policies, hydrology, and landscape evolution of the state. Just as significant are his teaching and mentorship of students at the University of New Mexico (UNM), which have left an impact on generations of geoscientists in New Mexico and beyond.
“Les is a passionate advocate for the advancement of science and education, a respected scholar in many fields of Earth science, a dedicated mentor, and a skilled, effective, and impactful teacher,” said Dr. Kevin M. Hobbs, NMBGMR field geologist and one of McFadden’s former graduate students. “We are very pleased to honor him with this award in recognition of his many years of scholarship and education.”
“After learning that I was the recipient of the Earth Science Achievement Award, I was pleasantly surprised and, of course, deeply honored,” said McFadden. “I would like to thank those individuals who nominated me and contributed letters of support. Additionally, I feel that this award serves as a tribute to many other Earth scientists in New Mexico whose research is also focused on the current and probable future impacts of human-induced climate change on both our landscapes and peoples. This body of research provides informed insight into the appropriate responses and solutions we should be taking to mitigate the worst outcomes.”
In addition to his commitment to science and education, his work has helped shape important Earth science policy in New Mexico. He co-authored two chapters in NMBGMR’s report titled Climate Change in New Mexico Over the Next 50 Years: Impacts on Water Resources. The report was commissioned by the New Mexico Interstate Stream Commission, and it forms the basis of the state’s 50-Year Water Action Plan.
Much of McFadden’s research has focused on the geomorphology of desert lands—the study of the origin and evolution of landscape features and the processes that shape them. In 2000, McFadden and co-recipient Dr. Stephen G. Wells (past president of New Mexico Tech) were awarded the Farouk El-Baz Award for Desert Research from the Geological Society of America (GSA). The award recognized both their individual work and the collaboration between McFadden and Wells, as well as their collaborations with ecologists, geochemists, and geochronologists, that substantially reshaped the field of geomorphology in arid and semiarid lands.
In 2017, McFadden received the GSA’s Kirk Bryan Award, which is given to authors of a paper that significantly advances the science of geomorphology. His paper on soil formation in vegetated arid lands was cited by the award committee as providing “a foundation of soil-development knowledge that should be read by anyone working on soil geomorphology and related problems in arid lands.” With over 90 papers published in peer-reviewed journals, garnering more than 5,000 citations, McFadden’s research has had a clear and lasting influence.
But it’s his teaching and mentoring of UNM geoscience students that may be the biggest impact of McFadden’s distinguished career. Soon after arriving at UNM in 1981, he helped establish the Quaternary Studies Laboratory and built one of the most successful graduate programs in the Department of Geology (now the Department of Earth & Planetary Sciences). In addition to teaching thousands of students in his courses, McFadden has served on the advising committees of dozens of graduate students. At least 17 of his advisees have gone on to become professors themselves, eight of whom have taught in New Mexico’s public colleges and universities. McFadden was also the lead or co-lead on several National Science Foundation- and NASA-funded grants aimed solely at increasing student access and success in science research.
“I have seen firsthand the impact Les’s teaching has had on generations of UNM undergraduate and graduate students,” said Dr. Peter J. Fawcett, professor and former chair of UNM’s Department of Earth & Planetary Sciences. “They are carrying the ideas initially generated by Les farther than he could have imagined.”
“One of his greatest legacies is the number of doctoral students that he advised or co-advised, who now hold leading positions in Earth sciences and geology departments at colleges and universities across the country,” said Dr. Joseph R. McAuliffe, emeritus director of the Desert Botanical Garden in Phoenix. “The tremendous impact of his mentoring of graduate students cannot be overemphasized.”
Nominations for next year's awards are welcome from the general public.