Miguel Santistevan is a Ph.D. Candidate in Biology at the University of New Mexico. His research interests are in the traditional acequia-irrigated and dryland agricultural systems of the Upper Rio Grande and Sangre de Cristo mountains. He is certified in Permaculture and ZERI Design and has directed youth-in-agriculture programs such as ePlaza of Hands Across Cultures and the Regional Development Corporation and the Sembrando Semillas youth-in-agriculture project of the New Mexico Acequia Association (NMAA). He has produced video and public radio programming and maintains a conservation farm in Taos. He teaches Math, Science, and Sustainability at the Chrysalis Alternative High School. Santistevan is Chairman of the Acequia Sur de Río de Don Fernando de Taos and also serves as a Board Member for the Taos Valley Acequia Association.