J. Stokley Ligon (1879–1961) was a New Mexico ornithologist and conservationist during one of the most dynamic periods in the state’s history. Dale Zimmerman noted that Ligon “Probably … covered New Mexico more thoroughly than any other naturalist before or during his lifetime.” Born and raised on a ranch in Texas, Ligon was a self-trained ornithologist who spent his twenties drilling wells and fixing windmills in west Texas and southern New Mexico. He was well acquainted with trapping predators and fur-bearers from his time on the ranch and family hunting trips. Later in life he was paid to manage teams of trappers that extirpated the Mexican wolf and grizzly bear from New Mexico. He eventually softened his views on predator control and in 1927 successfully lobbied the state legislature to designate bears as game animals, rather than pests to be shot on sight. Ligon is probably best known to contemporary ornithologists and birders from his New Mexico Birds and Where to Find Them (1961), an ambitious but relatable work that describes the state’s bird life and birding locations, along with more general topics such as life zones and bird conservation.