Biography:
Gus Guikema is a Master's student in the Department of Geography and Environmental Studies. Originally from Aztec, New Mexico, he completed his BA in Economics and Geography at UNM in 2025. Gus’s research focuses on intersecting conflicts over elk conservation and water management in the Sacramento Mountains of southern New Mexico, a region and subject matter with which he has deep personal and family connections. Specifically, he is studying the political, economic, and ecological conditions generated by “trick tank” rain collection infrastructure built for wildlife populations in the Lincoln National Forest. The maintenance of this infrastructure now sits in bureaucratic and financial limbo, pushing elk to seek water elsewhere, especially private land, when this infrastructure fails. Through extensive backcountry field work documenting these water sources for elk and interviews with ranchers, hunters, outfitters, and biologists, Gus hopes to use this work to formulate understandings of the positions and responsibilities of humans for multispecies coexistence within climate change and shifts in rural land use. Outside of his research, Gus enjoys hunting, fishing, and camping in New Mexico and learning the banjo.Education:
A.A., Liberal Arts, San Juan College, B.A., Economics and Geography, University of New Mexico
