This Wildlife Area Gets Bigger and Better

Conservation groups and authorities joined forces to acquire private ranchland, which will ultimately expand the largest wildlife management area in New Mexico, United States, to ensure that ecosystems and biodiversity can safely thrive.

“First and foremost, our interest in this is wildlife conservation,” explains wildlife management division chief Stewart Liley. “We’re really looking forward to having that large intact ecosystem of pretty untouched, unfragmented habitat.”

The private properties – known collectively as the L Bar Ranches – cover 22,000 hectares and will be added to the already 5,665-hectare Marquez Wildlife Management Area. Half of the newly added area is located within the Mount Taylor Traditional Cultural Property, an area of archaeological and cultural significance for many tribes such as Acoma, Zuni, Laguna, Hopi, and Navajo. The $34 million project aims to create a connection with the land “that belongs to everyone,” states Governor Martin Kowemy. The New Mexico Department of Game and Fish is part of the acquisition project and will manage all the acreage, notably by surveying the ranchland’s habitat and species – including turkeys, black bears, migratory birds, and cougars.