Withington Wilderness
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The Withington Wilderness is a 19,000-acre designated Wilderness area located within the Cibola National Forest in western
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, Ker ...
. Located in the Magdalena Ranger District, approximately 20 miles southwest of
Magdalena, New Mexico Magdalena is a village in Socorro County, New Mexico, United States. The population was 938 at the 2010 census. "The Lady on the Mountain" is a rock formation on Magdalena Peak overlooking Magdalena. Spanish soldiers saw the profile of a woman on ...
, the wilderness area lies around 10,100 ft. Mount Withington, on the eastern slope of the San Mateo Mountains in
Socorro County, New Mexico Socorro County is a county in the U.S. state of New Mexico. As of the 2010 census, the population was 17,866. The county seat is Socorro. The county was formed in 1852 as one of the original nine counties of New Mexico Territory. Socorro was ...
,
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.


History and Administration

The Withington Wilderness Area was designated in December 1980 as part of Public Law 96-550, which placed numerous areas in New Mexico’s National Forests in the National Wilderness Preservation System. Also known as the New Mexico Wilderness Act, the law created two Wilderness Areas in the Cibola National Forest’s Magdalena Ranger District, setting aside 19,000 acres in the District’s northeastern corner as the Withington Wilderness, and 44,678 acres in the District’s southern half as the
Apache Kid Wilderness Apache Kid Wilderness is a Wilderness area located within the Magdalena Ranger District of the Cibola National Forest in the state of New Mexico.
. Both Wilderness Areas are administered by the Cibola National Forest, headquartered in
Albuquerque Albuquerque ( ; ), ; kee, Arawageeki; tow, Vakêêke; zun, Alo:ke:k'ya; apj, Gołgéeki'yé. abbreviated ABQ, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Mexico. Its nicknames, The Duke City and Burque, both reference its founding in ...
, and are managed as part of the Magdalena Ranger District, located in Magdalena.


Geography and Climate

The topography in the northern San Mateo Mountains is gentler than that in the south, but still features deep canyons, high ridgelines and generally dry conditions. Winters are cold enough to bring snow, and during July and August, the desert "monsoon" season, rainwater may flood narrow canyons.


Flora

Vegetation within the Wilderness Area ranges from mixed conifers, such as pine, spruce, fir, in the higher elevations, to pinion and juniper in the more open ground east of the mountains, to stands of ocotillo along the western banks of the Rio Grande.


Fauna

Habitats in the Withington Wilderness support populations of mountain lion, black bear,
elk The elk (''Cervus canadensis''), also known as the wapiti, is one of the largest species within the deer family, Cervidae, and one of the largest terrestrial mammals in its native range of North America and Central and East Asia. The common ...
, mule deer,
coyote The coyote (''Canis latrans'') is a species of canis, canine native to North America. It is smaller than its close relative, the wolf, and slightly smaller than the closely related eastern wolf and red wolf. It fills much of the same ecologica ...
,
turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...
and quail. A portion of the Wilderness is critical habitat for the threatened
Mexican spotted owl The spotted owl (''Strix occidentalis'') is a species of true owl. It is a resident species of old-growth forests in western North America, where it nests in tree hollows, old bird of prey nests, or rock crevices. Nests can be between high and ...
. The greater San Mateo Mountains were identified as a key conservation area by
The Nature Conservancy The Nature Conservancy (TNC) is a global environmental organization headquartered in Arlington, Virginia. it works via affiliates or branches in 79 countries and territories, as well as across every state in the US. Founded in 1951, The Natu ...
due to their ecological diversity and species richness.


Location and Access

In common with all designated Wilderness Areas, the Withington Wilderness is undeveloped and is closed to all forms of mechanized transport. A little visited area, particularly in comparison to the nearby
Apache Kid Wilderness Apache Kid Wilderness is a Wilderness area located within the Magdalena Ranger District of the Cibola National Forest in the state of New Mexico.
, the Wilderness can be accessed for hiking and Leave-No-Trace primitive camping via two trail-heads on the eastern border of the Wilderness. These trail-heads offer access to a pair of trails that traverse the area east-to-west, the 4.4 mile Trail 437, The Water Canyon Trail and the 6.2 mile Trail 438, The Potato Canyon Trail. Both trail-heads can be reached from Magdalena by traveling south on NM 107 for approximately 18 miles, before turning west onto Forest Road 52 and going three miles before turning south onto Forest Road 56. The trail-head for the Potato Canyon Trail is 2.5 miles from the junction with Forest Road 52 and the Water Canyon Trail trail-head is 6.5 miles, near the gated end of Forest Road 56.


Nearby Attractions

The 8,039-acre White Cap
Inventoried Roadless Area Inventoried Roadless Areas are a group of United States Forest Service lands that have been identified by government reviews as lands without existing roads that could be suitable for roadless area conservation as wilderness or other non-standard pr ...
is directly adjacent to the Withington Wilderness. The
Apache Kid Wilderness Apache Kid Wilderness is a Wilderness area located within the Magdalena Ranger District of the Cibola National Forest in the state of New Mexico.
, also in the San Mateo Mountains, lies due south of the Withington Wilderness. To the north of the Withington Wilderness and San Mateo Mountains is the
Very Large Array The Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array (VLA) is a centimeter-wavelength radio astronomy observatory located in central New Mexico on the Plains of San Agustin, between the towns of Magdalena and Datil, ~ west of Socorro. The VLA comprises twen ...
radio telescope observatory.


See also

* Cibola National Forest *
List of U.S. Wilderness Areas The National Wilderness Preservation System includes 803 wilderness areas protecting of federal land . They are managed by four agencies: *United States National Park Service (NPS) *United States Forest Service (USFS) *United States Fish and Wild ...


References


External links


Cibola National Forest official website

Socorro County InfoNet

New Mexico Game and Fish

Bear Trap Campground

Hughes Mills Campground
* Ungnade, H. E. 1972. ''Guide to the New Mexico Mountains''. University of New Mexico Press. * Juylan, R. 1999. ''New Mexico's Wilderness Areas: The Complete Guide''. Westcliff Pub Inc. {{Authority control Cibola National Forest Magdalena Ranger District