White Mountain Wilderness
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The White Mountain Wilderness is a 46,963 acre designated
wilderness area Wilderness or wildlands (usually in the plural), are natural environments on Earth that have not been significantly modified by human activity or any nonurbanized land not under extensive agricultural cultivation. The term has traditionally re ...
managed by the
United States Forest Service The United States Forest Service (USFS) is an agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture that administers the nation's 154 national forests and 20 national grasslands. The Forest Service manages of land. Major divisions of the agency in ...
. Located in the Smokey Bear Ranger District of the
Lincoln National Forest Lincoln National Forest is a unit of the U.S. Forest Service located in southern New Mexico. Established by Presidential Proclamation in 1902 as the Lincoln Forest Reserve, the forest begins near the Texas border and contains lands in parts of ...
, the White Mountain Wilderness lies in the Sierra Blanca mountains of south central
New Mexico ) , population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano) , seat = Santa Fe , LargestCity = Albuquerque , LargestMetro = Tiguex , OfficialLang = None , Languages = English, Spanish ( New Mexican), Navajo, Ke ...
, approximately north northwest of the town of Ruidoso.


History and Administration

The White Mountain Wilderness was first established as a primitive area by the United States Congress in 1933. After the passage of Public Law 88-577, also known as The Wilderness Act, in September 1964, the primitive area was re-designated as the White Mountains Wilderness Area and entered into the newly created National Wilderness Preservation System. Originally established at 28,118 acres, Public Law 96-550, the New Mexico Wilderness Act, added an additional 16,860 acres to the area in December 1980, increasing the total size to 46,963 acres. The Wilderness Area is administered by the United States Forest Service as part of the Lincoln National Forest, headquartered in Alamogordo, New Mexico. Located in the Smokey Bear Ranger District of the Lincoln, the Wilderness is managed from the District Ranger Office in
Ruidoso, New Mexico Ruidoso is a village in Lincoln County, New Mexico, United States, adjacent to the Lincoln National Forest. The population was 8,029 at the 2010 census. The city of Ruidoso Downs and the unincorporated area of Alto are suburbs of Ruidoso, and ...
.


Geography and Climate

This wilderness area contains approximately of land and is approximately long and wide. It consists of mainly a long, northerly running ridge and its branches. The west side of this ridge is extremely steep and rugged, while the eastern side is more gentle with broader, forested canyons and some small streams. Elevations range from at Three Rivers Campground on the western side to near Lookout Mountain in the south. There are four different life zones within this wilderness area: pinyon- juniper,
ponderosa pine ''Pinus ponderosa'', commonly known as the ponderosa pine, bull pine, blackjack pine, western yellow-pine, or filipinus pine is a very large pine tree species of variable habitat native to mountainous regions of western North America. It is the ...
, mixed conifer, and
sub-alpine Montane ecosystems are found on the slopes of mountains. The alpine climate in these regions strongly affects the ecosystem because temperatures fall as elevation increases, causing the ecosystem to stratify. This stratification is a crucial f ...
forest, plus alpine tundra found at the summit of Sierra Blanca just outside the wilderness boundary. Abrupt changes in elevation, escarpments, rock outcroppings, and avalanche chutes make for striking contrast and scenery. The area is also interspersed with meadows and grass-oak savannahs, which are the result of
forest fires A wildfire, forest fire, bushfire, wildland fire or rural fire is an unplanned, uncontrolled and unpredictable fire in an area of combustible vegetation. Depending on the type of vegetation present, a wildfire may be more specifically identif ...
. The weather is dry and windy in springtime, with temperatures ranging from 32 °F/0 °C to 80 °F/26 °C. July and August are the rainy months with frequent afternoon showers and high temperatures averaging 85 °F/29 °C. Snows in winter do not typically begin until mid-November, and snowfall averages or more. Low temperatures during winter average around , but have reached as low as . Water sources are not abundant, but do exist in the form of small streams or springs scattered throughout the area. Trails with good water access include Big Bonito Trail and South Fork Trail. Although fishing is permitted within the wilderness area, few fish are found due to the small size of most streams. Although the streams run well most of the year, in times of severe drought, they may be non-existent.


Wildlife

Wildlife commonly found in the Wilderness Area include
mule deer The mule deer (''Odocoileus hemionus'') is a deer indigenous to western North America; it is named for its ears, which are large like those of the mule. Two subspecies of mule deer are grouped into the black-tailed deer. Unlike the related whi ...
, elk,
black bear Black bear or Blackbear may refer to: Animals * American black bear (''Ursus americanus''), a North American bear species * Asian black bear (''Ursus thibetanus''), an Asian bear species Music * Black Bear (band), a Canadian First Nations group ...
,
turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula in ...
, porcupine,
badger Badgers are short-legged omnivores in the family Mustelidae (which also includes the otters, wolverines, martens, minks, polecats, weasels, and ferrets). Badgers are a polyphyletic rather than a natural taxonomic grouping, being united by ...
, bobcat,
gray fox The gray fox (''Urocyon cinereoargenteus''), or grey fox, is an omnivorous mammal of the family Canidae, widespread throughout North America and Central America. This species and its only congener, the diminutive island fox (''Urocyon littor ...
, coyote, skunk, spruce and rock squirrels, and numerous species of mice,
moles Moles can refer to: * Moles de Xert, a mountain range in the Baix Maestrat comarca, Valencian Community, Spain * The Moles (Australian band) *The Moles, alter ego of Scottish band Simon Dupree and the Big Sound People *Abraham Moles, French engin ...
, and birds. The White Mountain area is also home to many types of birds and is a critical habitat for several species, including the northern three-toed woodpecker, Clark's nutcracker, red-breasted nuthatche, Townsend's solitaires, and golden-crowned kinglets.


Location and Access

Located approximately 15 miles NNW of Ruidoso, the northern and eastern sections of the Wilderness can be accessed by passenger car from Ruidoso via NM state highways 48 and 37, while the southern half can be reached from either Ruidoso, via state highway 532 or from Carrizozo, New Mexico or
Tularosa, New Mexico Tularosa is a villageFor census purposes it is called a village, but in New Mexico it is historically called a town. See, for example, Otero, Miguel A. (1903) ''Report of the Governor of New Mexico to the Secretary of the Interior - 1903'' Governme ...
via US 54. As with all designated Wilderness Areas the White Mountains Wilderness is closed to all forms of mechanized transport, so the most common means of access is via trailheads, small developed parking areas located just outside the Wilderness’ boundaries. New Mexico 37 offers access to the Nogal Canyon Trailhead, via Forest Road 400, the Mills Canyon and Argentina & Bonito Trailheads via Forest Road 107, and the Crest Trailhead via Forest Roads 107 and 108. State Highway 532 offers access to the Wilderness via Ski Apache, a winter sports area west of Ruidoso operated by the Mescalero Apache Reservation. US 54 offers access to the Three Rivers Trailhead at the Three Rivers Campground, a small Forest Service camping area at the end of Forest Road 579, a 13-mile road that begins on US 54 approximately 18 miles north of Tularosa and 24 miles south of Carrizozo.


Recreation

While there are no developed facilities within the Wilderness, the area is open to hiking, backpacking, horse-back riding, and primitive “Leave No Trace” camping. For hikers and riders the Wilderness contains a developed trail system of nearly two dozen maintained trails ranging in length from 0.8 miles to 20 miles and rated from easy to difficult. The area’s longest trail, the 20-mile long Crest Trail (T25), runs across much of the eastern end of the Wilderness and crosses a number of smaller trails, including the Big Bonito Trail (T36), the Scenic Trail (T15), and the Three Rivers Trail (T44).


Nearby Attractions

The area’s namesake peak, Sierra Blanca (White Mountain) is located on the adjacent
Mescalero Mescalero or Mescalero Apache ( apm, Naa'dahéńdé) is an Apache tribe of Southern Athabaskan–speaking Native Americans. The tribe is federally recognized as the Mescalero Apache Tribe of the Mescalero Apache Reservation, located in south-cen ...
Indian Reservation and can reached by a 1.25 mile (2 km) trail from Lookout Mountain. Reaching , Sierra Blanca is the southernmost mountain in the continental United States to rise above timberline. Other areas of interest near the Wilderness include the previously mentioned Ski Apache winter sports area, and the Monjeau Lookout, a stone fire lookout tower built in the 1930s. The Lincoln National Forest’s other Wilderness Area, the Capitan Mountains Wilderness, is located NE of the White Mountains Wilderness, near
Capitan, New Mexico Capitan is a village in Lincoln County, New Mexico, United States, located north of the Lincoln National Forest between the Capitan and Sacramento Mountains at an elevation of 6,350 feet (1,950 m). The population was 1,489 at the 2010 census. ...
. Also located in the Smokey Bear Ranger District, the Capitan Wilderness is considerably more rugged and remote than the White Mountain Wilderness, and can only be accessed by high-clearance vehicles. Also near Capitan is the Fort Stanton-Snowy River Cave National Conservation Area. A former frontier military reservation, the Bureau of Land Management-administered area protects the 31-mile Fort Stanton Cave complex, the 14th longest cave in the United States.


References


External links


Lincoln National Forest, National Forest Service website
{{Authority control Protected areas of Lincoln County, New Mexico Protected areas established in 1933 Wilderness areas of New Mexico Lincoln National Forest