The Socorro District covers more than 8.9 million acres of state and private land in the southwest corner of New Mexico.  It includes the seven counties of Catron, Dona Ana, Grant, Hidalgo, Luna, Sierra, and Socorro.  The main office is located just west of Socorro on Highway 60 toward Magdalena. The Socorro District satellite office is located on North Silver Street in Silver City.

One of the priorities for the Socorro District is providing technical forest management assistance to private landowners. This includes the Stewardship Program, the Forest Health and Insect Program, and assisting the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service with forest stand and wildlife improvement projects.  Other collaborative efforts include working with county teams, fire departments, and communities on fire suppression initiatives.  District staff also lead or assist on forest management practices and natural resource planning, like the Jornada and Black Range Resource Conservation and Development Programs.  The district's forest and watershed health continues to be the focus of many ongoing projects, as does the development of community forestry and conservation, including involvement in programs like Tree City USA and Conservation Days. 

James.Anzalone@state.nm.us

JAMES ANZALONE is the Socorro District Forester. James joined the Forestry Division in 2021 and brings a wealth of experience and knowledge in natural resources and wildland fire. His background includes work with the USDA Forest Service as the Albuquerque Interagency Dispatch Center Manager, wildland firefighter, and helicopter crew member. James' formal education is in Natural Resource Management.

Jack.Dickey@state.nm.us

JACK DICKEY is the Socorro District Fire Management Officer. Jack has a background in geotechnical and environmental engineering and extensive experience in wildland fire. He was a volunteer with the Tomé-Adelino Fire Department in Valencia County, including 10 years as district chief. He was also the Socorro District FMO for 10 years before working as a geoscientist supervisor with the New Mexico Environment Department until 2014. Jack returned to the Forestry Division in 2019. As District FMO, he assists landowners and communities with wildland urban interface planning, educates homeowners on the importance of defensible space, manages wildland fire response, and ensures local volunteer fire departments have the equipment they need.

TomJ.Zegler@state.nm.us

TOM ZEGLER is the Special Projects Forester at the Silver City satellite office. Tom began his forestry career in 2006, earned a Master of Science in Forestry from Northern Arizona University in 2011, and joined NMSF in 2014. He performs site visits on state and private lands, writes multi-resource management plans for land managers and property owners, manages thinning projects for a variety assistance programs, and delivers conservation education messages and technical presentations to students and the general public. During the fire season, he is a dispatcher for Silver City Interagency Dispatch Center. Tom has a strong technical background in forest health and tree mortality; he knows the insects and diseases that kill trees. His main goal is to sharpen the axe of traditional silviculture with sound forest ecology and wield it to improve the health of southwestern forests. Tom is the Socorro District Regional Coordinator for Firewise Communities in Grant, Luna, and Hidalgo Counties.

abigail.plecki@state.nm.us

ABIGAIL PLECKI joined State Forestry as the  Socorro District Timber Management Officer in March of 2020.  She has a Master of Science degree in Forestry with a focus on Restoration Ecology from Southern Illinois University. Abigail is responsible assisting landowners with forest management plans, providing on-site technical forestry advice, inspecting timber harvesting operations to ensure compliance with NM State Forestry’s harvesting regulations, and assisting communities with implementaion of the Firewise USA ™ program among many other vital forestry activities. Abigail is the Socorro District Regional Coordinator for Firewise Communities in Catron, Dona Ana, Sierra, and Socorro Counties.

bernadiner.lucero@state.nm.us

BERNADINE LUCERO is the Administrative Management Officer for the district. She joined the Forestry Division in December of 2020 and brings a wealth of experience from previous positions with the Secretary of State Office and NM Corrections Department. Bernadine manages all of the business operations for the district, including procurement, budgeting, purchasing, and timekeeping for Division AD firefighters.

Return to index page.