On the Job with Manuel De Leon,
Resource Team Leader and District Conservationist

B.S., Wildlife Management; M.S., Wildlife Science
Texas Tech University Department of Natural Resources Management

Manuel De Leon is a Resource Team Leader and District Conservationist with the USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) in Pampa, a small town in the Texas Panhandle.  He provides technical conservation planning services and assistance to farmers and ranchers in Gray County and oversees similar operations in Hemphill and Roberts Counties.

Working with NRCS is dynamic and varies on a day to day basis.   Daily activities can range from fielding questions such as identifying grasses, snakes, birds, and mammals for clients, to developing conservation plans that address soil, water, air, plant, and animal resources on different land uses.  To develop these resource conservation plans, Manuel uses such tools as Geographic Information System (GIS) and Global Positioning Systems (GPS), as part of the technical expertise offered by the NRCS using state-of-the-art technology.  In addition, he provides an on-site review and meets with landowners and managers for plan development to discern their objective(s) for a particular parcel of land.  He states that the NRCS mission is Helping People Help the Land which is accomplished through conservation planning, education, and outreach.

While conservation planning is central to Manuel’s position with NRCS, administering such programs as the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) and Wildlife Habitat Incentives Program (WHIP) plays a vital role in assisting landowners implement their conservation plans.  Manuel also provides technical assistance to Gray County and the Gray County Soil and Water Conservation District in implementing Operation and Maintenance of 12 Flood Retarding Sites on McClellan Creek.  He also provides technical assistance with the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP).

Manuel holds a B.S. degree in Wildlife Management and a M.S. degree in Wildlife Science.  He began his career as a student trainee and then wildlife biologist with the US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) in 1991.  He worked in Colorado, Montana, North Dakota, Texas, and Utah during his time with USFWS.  Some of his many duties ranged from banding trumpeter swans in Montana; to banding mottled ducks on the Texas Coast; to banding songbirds along the Green River in Utah; to providing law enforcement assistance at the Department of Interior Building in Washington D.C. after 9/11.

Manuel’s advice for pursuing a conservation profession:  Get a variety of experience within the field of interest; be willing to move around to get that experience; and keep an open mind to opportunities and to lessons that can be learned from all experiences.