Malpai Borderlands Group 2019 Board Member Biographies

Larry Allen:    Larry is retired from a 43 year career with the Forest Service.  His last position with the Forest Service was as Coordinator for the Malpai Borderlands Group.  Larry has special expertise in fire, wildlife, range and watershed management, and has worked extensively in Mexico. He is a Past President of the Arizona Chapter for the Society for Range Management and Past Chairman of the White Mountain Chapter of the Society of American Foresters. Larry serves as Chairman for the Malpai Borderlands Group.

John Cook:    John is Vice-President in charge of the Northeast Division of The Nature Conservancy (TNC).  John was the individual most responsible for the landmark sale of the Gray Ranch from TNC back into local hands (The Animas Foundation).  He was also very instrumental in the formation of the Malpai Borderlands Group and, in the past, served as Co-Executive Director.

Billy Darnell:    Billy was raised on his family's ranches in the Chiricahua Mountains of Arizona and in the Animas Valley of New Mexico. He attended grade school in Apache, Arizona and high school in Animas, New Mexico. Billy roped professionally as a member of the Professional Rodeo Cowboys' Association, and served three terms as Hidalgo County Sheriff. He is still ranching in New Mexico and guides hunts in Sonora, Mexico, as well. Billy is number four of six generations of ranchers in the Animas Valley.

Warner Glenn:    Warner is a lifelong resident of the Malpai Borderlands region.  With his wife, Wendy, he owns and manages two ranches: the Malpai Ranch on the Mexican border and his family's historic J-A Ranch in the Chiricahua Mountains.  Along with his wife and daughter, he also runs a private hunting guide enterprise.  Warner was one of the founding members of the Malpai Borderlands Group.

Sadie Hadley:    Sadie was raised in Guadalupe Canyon in the Peloncillo Mountains on her family ranch where she developed a strong appreciation for both the landscapes and ranching cultures straddling the US-Mexico border.  She presently co-manages Guadalupe Ranch, serves on the board of Sky Island Alliance, and participates in the work of the Animas Foundation.  Sadie is committed to protecting both the natural and cultural heritage of this region.

Seth Hadley:    Seth was raised in the Peloncillo Mountains in Guadalupe Canyon, and now lives nearby at Cloverdale on the Canyoncito Ranch.  He has devoted his life to protecting the culture, biological diversity, and traditions of this region.  Seth is Executive Director of the Animas Foundation and currently manages all of the Hadley ranches.  He serves as Treasurer for the Malpai Borderlands Group.

Don Kimble:    Don was raised on his family's historic ranch in the San Simon Valley and Peloncillo Mountains near Apache, Arizona. He and his wife, Lynn, own and operate their ranch at Silver Creek.  Don also taught Agriculture and coached the Rodeo Team at Cochise College for 12 years.  He is a champion team roper and competes professionally.  Don served on the Apache School Board for 24 years.

Frank Robert Krentz:   Frank was born and raised on the family ranch in Southeastern Arizona, the son of Rob and Sue Krentz.  He attended grade school at Apache, Arizona, and graduated from Animas, New Mexico High School. A fifth generation rancher, he lives on the ranch that his family has owned for over a hundred years. While at New Mexico State, Frank received his Bachelors in Ag Business and Economics with honors and went on to receive his Masters in Ag Business. In addition to the MBG board, Frank currently serves on the board of directors of the Whitewater Draw Natural Resource Conservation District and the Cochise-Graham Cattle Growers Association.  He is also the current President of the Arizona Association of Conservation Districts (AACD).

Bill McDonald:    Bill and his wife, Mary, own and operate his family's historic Sycamore Ranch in the Peloncillo Mountains.  Bill attended Arizona State University, earning his BS Degree in Political Science. Bill is a founding member of the Malpai Borderlands Group and served as Executive Director for 20 years.  He was, for 25 years, a Supervisor of the Whitewater Draw Natural Resource Conservation District and is Past President of the Cochise-Graham Cattle Growers' Association.

Nathan Sayre:    Nathan is Associate Professor of Geography at the University of California-Berkeley. His research centers on semi-arid rangelands, especially in the southwestern United States: how they have changed, how they have been understood and managed, and the politics and economics surrounding land use change, fire restoration, and endangered species conservation. He has written three books and dozens of articles on these topics. He is an affiliated social scientist with the USDA-Agricultural Research Service-Jornada Experimental Range in Las Cruces, New Mexico, and the Jornada Basin Long-Term Ecological Research (LTER) site funded by the National Science Foundation.

Peter Warren:   Peter has worked for The Nature Conservancy since 1986 as an Ecologist, as Program Manager for Grasslands Conservation and as a Field Representative.  His work included population studies of rare plants, designation of special management areas on federal lands, conservation of grasslands, and land protection using tools such as conservation easements. For the last fifteen years, he has focused on working with rancher-led community groups, including the Malpai Group, to support large landscape conservation.

Rich Winkler, Jr.:   Rich was raised on the Winkler Ranch near Rodeo where he helped his parents on the ranch and in the Portal Cafe, Store and Post Office, which they also owned.  Rich has been a firefighter and a school teacher and coach at Animas High School.  He and his wife, Tamara, live and work on the Triple Mountain Ranch and help out on his parents' ranch as well. Rich is the current Malpai Borderlands Group Executive Director.  

Stephen Williams: Stephen is the newest member of the Malpai Borderland Group Board of Directors.  Stephen was born in Douglas, raised in Phoenix, and now resides in Elgin.  He is retired from 31 years with the Arizona State Land Department’s Natural Resources Division, where he spent the majority of his career supervising the grazing lease program.  He also serves on the Board of Directors for the Diablo Trust and the Altar Valley Conservation Alliance, has an appointment to the Arizona BLM Resource Advisory Council, and is the current Chairman of the Santa Cruz Natural Resource Conservation District.