CSS New Mexico

The Center for Species Survival New Mexico, established in 2018 with the New Mexico BioPark Society, supports strategic species conservation across the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Species Survival Commission (IUCN SSC). From the small cacti of the desert Southwest to the bees and butterflies that colour our landscape and the fishes that grace our rivers, we are committed to these organisms, no matter how small.

About our work

For decades, ABQ BioPark has engaged in conservation programs supported by our community and our members through the New Mexico BioPark Society. Our captive breeding programs, habitat restoration efforts, and animal and ecosystem health research have had broad impacts locally and internationally. We recognize that modern zoos, aquariums, and botanical gardens have a critical role to play in preventing species extinctions. In 2018, the New Mexico BioPark Society established the Center for Species Survival New Mexico to utilize the resources and knowledge at our facility in support of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature’s Species Survival Commission (IUCN SSC). Through this partnership, we are working to address the conservation needs of key species groups, with a focus on rare and threatened plants, freshwater fishes, reptiles, amphibians, and invertebrate pollinators.

At the Center for Species Survival New Mexico, we collaborate with IUCN SSC Specialist Groups to build capacity for species conservation through the Assess-Plan-Act cycle. We focus primarily on species-level extinction-risk assessments, though we are increasingly involved in conservation planning and action at both the species and landscape scales. Among the many Specialist Groups we support, we work most closely with the Medicinal Plant Specialist Group, the Freshwater Fish Specialist Group, the Firefly Specialist Group, the Wild Bee Specialist Group, the Butterfly and Moth Specialist Group, the Amphibian Specialist Group, and the IUCN Snake and Lizard Red List Authority. These collaborations have yielded thousands of extinction-risk assessments to date, and many regional- and global-level analyses that drive strategic species prioritisation. We also work to build assessment capacity by offering certified Red List assessor trainings and facilitating Red List assessment workshops and serving as a key onboarding resource for the expanding Center for Species Survival partnership. In addition to contributing species-level assessments to the IUCN Red List, the Center actively engages with communities where threatened species occur to create comprehensive conservation plans and coordinate action. With the support of our community and our members, this partnership continues to build on our existing conservation successes and positions Albuquerque as a globally recognized center for species conservation.

Supporting the Species Conservation

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Supporting extinction risk assessments for freshwater species
In support of a globally comprehensive assessment of freshwater fish extinction risk, the SSC’s Freshwater Fish Specialist Group and the IUCN’s Freshwater Biodiversity Unit, Tim Lyons has led or contributed to assessment projects for freshwater fishes throughout several geographic regions. In the wake of the Mexico assessment project, the results of which are summarized in this report, several captive populations of threatened Splitfin fish species were established at the ABQ BioPark. The causes of decline are not well understood but likely include competition with non-native fish species, habitat fragmentation, and pollution and disturbance due to livestock. 
With a clear understanding of extinction risk across the freshwater realm (published in Nature in 2025 and linked below), it is clear that the global zoo and aquarium community has a significant role to play in halting further freshwater fish extinction. In partnership with SHOAL and the Freshwater Fish Specialist Group, CSS New Mexico is facilitating a global prioritisation process that will identify and include the world’s most threatened freshwater fishes in ex situ populations at zoos and aquariums around the globe. CSS New Mexico is facilitating these advances in the conservation of freshwater fishes by leading the implementation of Resolution 112, which successfully passed during the IUCN’s World Conservation Congress in Abu Dhabi in October 2025.
In addition to work with freshwater fish, CSS New Mexico and the ABQ BioPark are represented on the steering committee for the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) North American Freshwater Mussel Saving Animals from Extinction (SAFE) Program. In collaboration with the Freshwater Biodiversity Unit and SSC Mollusc Specialist Group, CSS New Mexico is leading the Red List assessment of 143 native freshwater mussel species as part of goal #2 of the SAFE plan: “Build the capacity of AZA partners to assess the conservation status and extinction risk of freshwater mussels.” 

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Joint work for plants and pollinators
A major area of focus for the Center for Species Survival New Mexico is regional conservation of native plants and pollinating insects. The Southwestern United States is a highly biodiverse region with many hyper-specialist and endemic species that form the base of local food webs. The CSS prioritizes conservation action for rare and threatened insect pollinators and the plant communities that support them. One of our core efforts is seed banking: collecting and preserving seed material for long-term care in cryopreservation that represents the rare, threatened and endangered plant species of New Mexico and the plant communities that support our rare, threatened and endangered invertebrate species in the state. In addition to supporting the conservation of rare species, seed material representing the more common native plants of New Mexican native plant communities is collected and stored to support holistic ecosystem restoration and ex-situ conservation efforts. Another core effort of our plant conservation strategy is to conduct fieldwork and research in New Mexico’s most threatened ecosystems, focusing primarily in the alpine and in the wetland and riparian communities of the state. Another priority is the development of an endangered invertebrate rearing facility to maintain assurance populations of at-risk insect pollinators. In addition, the CSS conducts field surveys for state-listed rare plants and insect pollinator Species of Greatest Conservation Need, leads long-term butterfly monitoring across the state and assesses poorly known endemic and regionally significant species. By working on plants and pollinators in parallel, we aim to better understand and conserve the integrity of entire ecological communities.

                    The New Mexico Rare Arthropod Resource
                  
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Global Assessments for reptiles and amphibians
The IUCN Global Reptile Assessment 2 (GRA 2) and the Global Amphibian Assessment 3 (GAA 3) are crucial ongoing efforts to evaluate the conservation status of reptile and amphibian species worldwide. These independent projects aim to provide comprehensive data on distribution, threats and conservation needs, helping ensure that extinction risks for reptile and amphibian species are accurately identified. The International Union for Conservation of Nature’s (IUCN) Center for Species Survival New Mexico is a dedicated partner providing Red List of Threatened Species assessments, training and expert review workshops in support of the GRA 2 and the GAA 3.

Meet our team

Tim Lyons

Conservation Director

Tim earned an M.S. in Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences from the University of Florida’s Tropical Aquaculture Laboratory, where he focused on tropical invasion ecology in Florida and the Gulf of Mexico. He works in collaboration with the SSC Freshwater Fish Specialist Group and the IUCN’s Biodiversity Assessment and Knowledge Team on priority Red List assessment projects for the freshwater realm. Tim has been directly involved in authoring and reviewing extinction-risk assessments on the IUCN Red List for approximately 10% of freshwater fish species globally, having led projects throughout the Americas, Caribbean,\ and Asia. He credits his passion for aquatic conservation to an early exposure in aquarium keeping and actively supports collaboration at the nexus of science, industry, public aquaria and hobbyist communities. Tim’s current role as Conservation Director oversees the operations of the CSS New Mexico and the total portfolio of conservation projects across the ABQ BioPark.

EXPERTISE: Freshwater species, Species conservation science

Michael Chase

Conservation Policy and Strategy Specialist

Michael earned his M.Sc. in Ecosystem Science and Policy from a joint university program between University College Dublin, Ireland, and Justus Liebig University in Germany. Michael serves as the team’s policy lead and works in a broad impact role, assisting the team’s Species Survival Specialists in Red List assessment projects and fieldwork. He is working with the Mollusc Specialist Group to complete Green Status of Species assessments for European unionids and Red List assessments for North American bivalves. He is also working with the Conservation Planning Specialist Group to help prepare for a multispecies ex situ conservation assessment workshop for threatened freshwater fishes planned for 2026. Currently serving as a co-chair for the ABQ BioPark’s Conservation Committee, Michael works closely with the facility’s animal care and guest experience teams to strategize messaging around their conservation work and broader sustainability initiatives.

EXPERTISE: Species conservation action, Species conservation science

Anna Walker

Species Survival Officer for Invertebrates

Anna earned her M.S. in Entomology at Harper Adams University in the United Kingdom, where she studied parasitoid wasps and other insects in agroecosystems. In partnership with the Firefly Specialist Group, the Wild Bee Specialist Group and the Butterfly and Moth Specialist Group, she has written assessments for target insect groups such as Hawaiian moths, Mesoamerican bees, and fireflies across the globe. Anna also coordinates several community-science programs, such as the New Mexico Butterfly Monitoring Network, to help us better understand New Mexico’s invertebrate fauna.

EXPERTISE: Species conservation action, Species conservation science

Katie Hoffman

Species Survival Specialist for Reptiles and Amphibians

Katie earned an M.S. in Biological Sciences from the University of Texas at El Paso, where she studied the behavior and genetics of native spadefoot toads. She works in collaboration with various reptile specialist groups, the Reptile Red List Authority and the Amphibian Specialist Group, working on and coordinating global-scale assessment projects. Katie is a member of the ABQ BioPark’s Conservation Committee and supports various initiatives for improved sustainability and species conservation efforts at the BioPark.

EXPERTISE: Species conservation action, Species conservation science

Peri Lee Pipkin

Species Survival Specialist for Plants

Peri Lee earned a M.S. in Botany from the California Botanic Garden and Claremont Graduate University, where she studied floristics, rare plant conservation and the impacts of renewable energy development on rare and threatened plants and ecosystems while producing a flora of the Silver Peak Range in Esmeralda County, Nevada. She has been a contributor on rare plant conservation genomics projects in Nevada and has conducted rare plant surveys and ecological fieldwork across the western U.S. for the past decade. Peri Lee works in collaboration with various IUCN Red List plant specialist groups, the New Mexico Rare Plant Working Group, the Herbarium at the Museum for Southwestern Biology and serves on the botany council for the alpine plant ecology group GLORIA Great Basin. She is currently working to develop the seed bank at the ABQ BioPark, focusing on rare and threatened plants of New Mexico and additionally developing pathways for collaborative, on-the-ground conservation efforts for New Mexico’s most threatened ecosystems and plant communities.

EXPERTISE: Species conservation action, Species conservation science

Quin Baine

Species Survival Specialist for Invertebrates

Quin earned a Ph.D. in Biology from the University of New Mexico, where she studied plant-insect community ecology and coevolution in gall-inducing insects. She contributed to pollinating moth and fly assessments to inform the New Mexico Rare Arthropod Resource (nmrare.org) and New Mexico’s 2025 State Wildlife Action Plan. She also serves on the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service recovery teams for the state’s two Endangered Species Act (ESA)-listed butterfly species, and co-manages the NM Butterfly Monitoring Network. Currently, Quin works closely with the Terrestrial Invertebrate Red List Authority, the Butterfly and Moth Specialist Group and Wild Bee Specialist Group to assess Southwest regional and rarely collected pollinator species and collaborates with the Museum of Southwestern Biology to increase use of arthropod collections in conservation genomics research.

EXPERTISE: Species conservation action, Species conservation science

Photo: New Mexico BioPark Society