Santa Fe Living Treasures – Elder Stories

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Bill & Mary Huey

Bill &
Mary Huey

Honored October, 2001

William S. 'Bill' & Mary B. Huey

The accomplishments of Bill Huey's career are far too numerous to list here. Even a partial list stretches on and on: World War II veteran;

various positions with the New Mexico Department of Game and Fish, including chief of public affairs, assistant director and director; cabinet secretary of the New Mexico Natural Resources Department; New Mexico coordinator for U. S. Sen. Jeff Bingaman; adviser to the National Academy of Science, Scenic Trails Advisory Committee, U. S. Fish and Wildlife Team, New Mexico Public Lands Review Board, International Association of Wildlife Agencies, etc. etc.

And although Mary, his wife, modestly says, "I'm just a follower," that is not the case. They are known to everyone as a team, starting at the start: "Without Mary, I never would have graduated from college," Bill knows. Ever since their marriage in 1948, their shared love of animals, natural spaces, common sense, decency and humanity has formed a mutual life that has benefited Santa Fe, New Mexico, the United States and the world.

Bill was instrumental in the Foster Parent Whooping Crane program at the Bosque del Apache near Socorro. He was an early advocate of the federal purchase of the Valles Caldera in the Jemez Mountains. Etc. Again, the list is long. Yet despite their widespread recognition, Bill and Mary never became "big shots"--not in Tesuque, not anywhere.

Story by Richard McCord