Gary Ziehe

Gary Karl Ziehe passed from this life on Friday, March 4, 2022.

At the time of his passing he was employed by the U.S. Forest Service as Rangeland Program Manager for the NM and AZ Region.  Born in Dallas, Texas on June 11, 1960 to Robert Carl and Elaine Anderson Ziehe, Gary graduated from Kimball High School in 1978. He was a devoted alumnus of Texas A&M University and a proud member of The Corps. He received his B.S. degree in 1982 and M.S. degree in 1989. His education continued at Oklahoma State University where he earned a Ph.D. in 1993 in the field of Animal Genetics.

Starting as a Congressional Science Fellow, Gary served in the office of Senator Pete Domenici in Washington, DC as a Legislative Assistant, and later as Senior Analyst for Agriculture and Energy on the U.S. Senate Budget Committee. Working together with his future wife, he developed the legislation creating the Valles Caldera National Preserve, and he became its first Executive Director in 2001. Gary began employment with the U.S. Forest Service in 2004 and served in various positions, including on the Santa Fe National Forest and the Lincoln National Forest before returning to Albuquerque in 2014.

In his leisure time, Gary enjoyed playing golf with his sons and was enthusiastically involved with their baseball, swimming, and Boy Scout activities.

Gary was preceded in death by his parents and his sister, “Beth” Lynn Ziehe of Chicago. He is survived by his wife, the former Anne Kathryn Claassen of Albuquerque, and his two sons, Wyatt and Warren Ziehe. He is also survived by his sister, Kathy Murphy and husband David of Whitney, Texas; his aunt, Grace Wolf of Houston; his uncle Ted Ziehe and wife Velma of Austin, plus many cousins and friends.

You can honor Gary by planting a tree somewhere special in his memory.

Arrangements for a Memorial Service are pending.