Rafael Moreno-Sánchez

Dr. Rafael Moreno-Sánchez
Ph.D. • Professor
Department of Geography & Environmental Sciences
Rafael.Moreno@ucdenver.edu

Mailing Address:
Dept. of Geography & Environmental Sciences
Campus Box 172
P.O. Box 173364
Denver, CO 80217-3364

Physical Location:
Auraria Campus
North Classroom Building
Room 3621

Fields of Interest:

Geographic Information Science and Technology, Natural Resources Management, Sustainable Development, Open-Source Software for Geospatial Applications (FOSS4G), Forestry and land use planning in Latin America

Biography

Dr. Rafael Moreno-Sánchez is Professor in the Department of Geography and Environmental Sciences at the University of Colorado Denver, where he coordinates several collaboration agreements with land management federal agencies. Current projects that involve students as interns and recent graduates as Professional Research Assistants include modernizing Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) across U.S. national parks, documenting emerging archeological and paleontological sites in the Southwest, and overseeing Professional Research Assistants dedicated to geospatial data modernization. A former Director of the National Center for Forest Ecosystems Conservation and Management in Mexico, Dr. Moreno-Sánchez brings international experience to his work, having developed projects in Mexico, Armenia, Italy, Costa Rica, and El Salvador.

An advocate for democratizing data and access to geospatial technologies, Dr. Moreno-Sánchez is a Charter Member of the Open-Source Geospatial (OSGeo) Foundation and serves on the International Advisory Board for GeoForAll. His interest in Free and Open-Source Software for Geospatial Applications (FOSS4G) has earned him the title of GeoAmbassador by the International Cartographic Association and an award for Excellence in Teaching from CU Denver. His research and teaching focuses on incorporating geospatial science and technologies (both proprietary and open-source) in the solution of environmental management challenges. Recently, his work has expanded to include the stewardship of Indigenous lands, further bridging the gap between cutting-edge technologies and geospatial science, natural resources management, and cultural preservation.

Education

Postdoctoral Fellow, Geography | University of Western Ontario | 1995
PhD, Natural Resources Management | Colorado State University | 1992
MS, Natural Resources Management | Colorado State University | 1987
BS, Forestry | Universidad Autonoma Chapingo, Mexico | 1982

Mays, D. C., Roane, T. M., Moreno‐Sanchez, R., Rice, C., Romero, J. L., & Velez, C. (2025). Wayfinding, knowledge, perspective, and engagement: Preparing tribal liaisons for stewardship of Indigenous lands. Ecosphere (Washington, D.C), 16(3), n/a-n/a. https://doi.org/10.1002/ecs2.70181 

Mays, D. C., Roane, T. M., Allen, B. J., Moreno-sanchez, R., Tyon, G. R., Rice, C., Romero, J. L., & Velez, C. (2025). A BETTER FIT. ASEE prism, 34(4), 22-22. https://go.exlibris.link/dpqDyhS1 

Diffendorfer, J. E., Botello, F., Drummond, M. A., Ancona, Z. H., Corro, L. M., Thogmartin, W. E., Ibsen, P. C., Moreno-Sanchez, R., Lukens, L., & Sánchez-Cordero, V. (2024). Changes in landscape and climate in Mexico and Texas reveal small effects on migratory habitat of monarch butterflies (Danaus plexippus). Scientific Reports, 14(1), 6703-6713. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-56693-z 

Moreno-Sanchez, R., Carver, D. P., Torres-Rojo, J. M., & Anthamatten, P. (2021). Assessment of the classification accuracy of the Globeland30 Forest class for the temperate and tropical forests of Mexico. Applied Geomatics, 13(2), 147-163. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12518-020-00328-1 

Moreno-Sanchez, R., Raines, J., Diffendorfer, J., Drummond, M., & Manko, J. (2019). Challenges for Monitoring the Extent and Land Use/Cover Changes in Monarch Butterflies’ Migratory Habitat across the United States and Mexico. Land (Basel), 8(10), 156. https://doi.org/10.3390/land8100156 

Brovelli, M. A., Minghini, M., Moreno-Sanchez, R., & Oliveira, R. (2017). Free and open source software for geospatial applications (FOSS4G) to support Future Earth. International Journal of Digital Earth, 10(4), 386-404. https://doi.org/10.1080/17538947.2016.1196505 

Torres-Rojo, J. M., R. Moreno-Sánchez, and M.A. Mendoza-Briseño. 2016. Sustainable Forest Management in Mexico. Current Forestry Reports, 2(2): 93-105.

Clay, E., R. Moreno-Sanchez, J.M. Torres-Rojo and F. Moreno-Sanchez. 2016. National assessment of the fragmentation levels and fragmentation-class transitions of the forests in Mexico for 2002, 2008 and 2013. Forests, 7(3): 48.

Roth, D., R. Moreno-Sanchez, J.M. Torres-Rojo and F. Moreno-Sanchez. 2016. Estimation of human induced disturbance of the environment associated with 2002, 2008 and 2013 land use/cover patterns in Mexico. Applied Geography 66: 22-34.

Brovelli, M., M. Minghini, R. Moreno-Sanchez, and R. Oliveira. 2016. Free and Open Source Software for Geospatial Applications (FOSS4G) to support Future Earth. International Journal of Digital Earth 1-19.

Moreno-Sanchez, R., T. Buxton-Torres, K. Silbernagel, F. Moreno-Sanchez. 2014. Fragmentation of the forests in Mexico: National level assessments for 1993, 2002 and 2008. International Journal of Statistics and Geography. 5(2): 4-17.

Moreno-Sanchez, R., J.M. Torres-Rojo, F. Moreno-Sanchez, S. Hawkins, *J. Little, *S. MacPartland. 2012.  National assessment of the fragmentation, accessibility and anthropogenic pressure on the forests in Mexico. Journal of Forestry Research 23(4): 529-541.

Moreno-Sanchez, R. and J.M. Torres-Rojo. 2010. Decision Support Systems for forest management in Mexico: Their characteristics and context for their creation and evolution. In: Manos, B., K. Paparrizos, N. Matsatsinis and J. Papathanasiou (Eds.): Decision Support Systems in Agriculture, Food and the Environment: Trends, Applications and Advances. pp. 74-100. IGI Global, Hershey, PA. 

Moreno-Sanchez, R. 2009. The Geospatial Semantic Web: What are its implications for geospatial information users? In: Cunha, M., E. Oliveira, A. Tavares and L. Ferreira (Eds.): Handbook of Research on Social Dimensions of Semantic Technologies and Web Services. pp. 588-609. IGI Global, Hershey, PA.

Moreno-Sanchez, R., G. Anderson, J. Cruz and M. Hayden. 2007. The potential for the use of Open Source Software and Open Specifications in creating web-based cross-border health spatial information systems. International Journal of Geographical Information Science 21(10): 1135-1163.

GEOG 6750: Research Design
ENVS 6100: Research Topics in Environmental Management
SUST 3011: SUSTII: Toward our sustainable future. 
GEOG 4095/5095: Deploying GIS functionality on the Web
GEOG 4090/5090: Environmental modeling with GIS
GEOG 4080/5080: Introduction to Geographic Information Systems
GEOG 4265/5265: Sustainability in Resources Management
ENVS 1042: Introduction to Environmental Science
GEOG 4995/5995: Sustainable development and resources