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U.S. Department
of the Interior

Developed by El Paso Water Utilities in cooperation with Texas A&M University Research and Extension Service and New Mexico State University Cooperative Extension Service.

Partially funded by a grant from the U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Reclamation and El Paso Water Utilities.

Special thanks to the University of Texas at El Paso and the University's Centennial Museum staff for their support of this project and their continuous educational efforts to promote water conservation in the El Paso region through the Museum's SunScape program.

Biographies and Contact Information

As Assistant Vice-President for Finance and Administration at the University of Texas at El Paso since 1992. Anderson supervises all campus facilities services, including grounds maintenance. Previously, he served 20 years as Assistant to the President to three of the University's chief executive officers. A graduate in Geological Sciences from UTEP, his self- taught botanical expertise and his passion for the appreciation and landscape use of Southwestern native plants has earned him public recognition. In his role as a volunteer Associate Curator of the University's Centennial Museum, Anderson participates in numerous botanical education activities under the Museum's SunSCAPE program and directs development of the Chihuahuan Desert Gardens, a landscape demonstration and botanical display facility on the Museum grounds. You can contact Wynn at:
Wynn Anderson
Assistant Vice-President for Finance and Administration
University of Texas at El Paso
Administration Building 303
El Paso, TX 79968-0502
Phone: (915) 747-5113
Fax: (915) 747-5068
Email: Wynn Anderson

Associate Professor-Ornamental Horticulture with the Texas A&M Research and Extension Center in Dallas. Dr. Mackay graduated from the University of Maryland in 1991. He did his dissertation on the subject "In vitro and in vivo selection for Myrothecium resistance in muskemelon using the mycotoxin roridin E." Before leaving for Dallas, Dr. Mackay resided in El Paso doing extensive research with native plants propagation. He has been involved in promoting low water use and adapted species to El Paso landscapes. His work has been focused on propagation of the Lupinus sp., Mexican redbud, Agarita and Texas madrone. He has also done research with the incorporation of hydrophilic polymer into landscape beds. You can contact Wayne at:
Wayne Mackay
Associate Professor Ornamental Horticulture
Texas A&M University Research and Extension Service
17360 Coit Road
Dallas, TX 75252-6599
Phone: (972) 952-9251
Fa: (972) 952-9216
Email: Wayne Mackay

Oscar Mestas

Urban Forester for the Mountain West Region. He is the Texas Forest Service representative that covers the nine counties west of the Pecos River. He has a B.S. in Forestry emphasizing Recreation Management from Stephen F. Austin State University. His career started in 1984 as a Naturalist at Jesse H. Jones Park and Nature Center in Humble, Texas. He later became Park Superintendent for the Harris County Pct. 4 Parks Department. Oscar returned to the El Paso area, dedicating his time to encouraging the use of trees by urban landowners for environmental enhancement, as well as encouraging forest management in urban areas. He has been instrumental in organizing the West Texas Forestry Council. You can contact Oscar at:
Oscar Mestas
Texas Forest Service
#2 Civic Center Plaza
City Hall. 5th Floor
El Paso, TX 79901
Phone:(915) 533-1884
Fax: (915) 541-4355
Email: Oscar Mestas

Water Conservation Manager with El Paso Water Utilities since 1994. Responsible for overseeing the completion, adoption and evaluation of the utility's conservation programs. She has been promoting water conservation in urban environments since 1986. She has a B.S. in Horticulture from New Mexico State University. She worked on turfgrass research and management at the Texas A&M Research and Extension Center. She then became a County Extension Agent for Water Conservation. Originally from Mexico City, she has made El Paso her home since 1972. You can contact Anai at:
Anai J. Padilla
Water Conservation Manager
El Paso Water Utilities
1154 Hawkins Blvd.
El Paso, TX 79925
Phone: (915) 594-5508
Fax: (915) 594-5660
Email: Anai J. Padilla

El Paso County Extension Agent-Horticulture. John has been working with the Extension Service for the past 18 years, in Texas and in the Bernalillo and Lea Counties in New Mexico. A native of El Paso, John was raised in Las Cruces, NM. He has become a source of regional horticulture and landscape information in this area. He got his Master's Degree from New Mexico State University in 1978. Some of his many accomplishments are: The Texas Agricultural Extension Service Award in 1993, weekly garden columns for El Paso Times and the El Paso Herald Post since 1980, numerous television and radio shows with an emphasis on native landscaping information and horticultural practices. His Master Gardener Program has been very successful in El Paso and is the second oldest program in the State of Texas. You can contact John at:
John M. White
County Extension Agent - Horticulture
Texas A&M University, El Paso County Extension Service
1030 N. Zaragoza Ste. A
El Paso, TX 79907
Phone: (915) 859-7725
Fax: (915) 860-0331
Email: John M. White

©1998, NMSU Board of Regents.
Unlimited license for use and distribution granted to all cooperating partners.
New Mexico State University is an affirmative action/equal opportunity employer and educator.
NMSU and U.S. Department of Agriculture cooperating.