Dr. Roel Lopez is Director of the Texas A&M Natural Resources Institute and Department Head for the Department of Rangeland, Wildlife, and Fisheries Management at Texas A&M University. He has over 30 years of experience in natural resource and land management with academia, federal and state agencies, and private industry. As a researcher and teacher, he has authored >190 journal articles and book chapters and has chaired over 100 graduate students. He served as Special Assistant to the Deputy Under Secretary of Defense-Installation and Environment and continues to work with the Department of Defense on various national and regional natural resource and environmental issues.  His research focuses on endangered and fragmented wildlife populations, sustainability of military lands, and rural land trends and demographics.