Miguel Ángel de Quevedo

Quevedo founded the Sociedad Forestal Mexicana (Mexican Forestry Society), Viveros de Coyoacán, and promoted the creation of small wooded areas near train stations.

As an engineer, he constructed the Banco de Londres y México building and pioneered the use of hydro-electric power with a plant on the Río Blanco in Orizaba, Veracruz.

Quevedo worked on the long-term, large-scale project to drain the lake system in the Valley of Mexico, begun in the colonial era and completed during the presidency of Porfirio Díaz.

The aim of these initiatives was to create a baseline of scientific data Mexico's forests in order to manage them as a national resource.

[3] Some of Quevedo's vigorous efforts to defend Mexico's forests were met with violent resistance from campesinos and agricultural officials who accused him of imposing draconian measures.