In the shadow of Sierra Blanca, the southernmost peak in the United States, Lincoln National Forest surrounds the mountain homeland of the Mescalero Apaches. After Fort Stanton was built in 1855, farmers and stockmen settled along the Rio Bonito and in the nearby Capitan Mountains. Las Placitas, later renamed Lincoln, is the site of the bloody strife of the late 1870's known as the Lincoln County War but is today a tourist attraction. A bear cub found in May, 1950, in a forest fire in the Capitan Mountains became famous as Smokey Bear, living symbol of forest fire prevention.

View East-southeast looking toward Sierra Blanca

After the close of the Civil War, migrants from Texas moved into the Rio Penasco valley and the many canyons of the Sacramento Mountains, establishing sheep ranching, farming, orchards and truck gardening. The forest served as an important source of fence posts, firewood, and lumber for everyone in the Pecos Valley. In 1899, the Eddy brothers tapped the timber resource of the Sacramentos by building a railroad from Alamogordo to Cloudcroft, providing access to the cool mountain climate for residents of El Paso and the Tularosa Basin. (A part of the "Cloud Climbing Railroad" can be seen today from Highway 82, just west of Cloudcroft.) Today, tourism, lumbering, and ranching, are the principal industries in Alamogordo, the area's largest city.

In 1902 and again in 1907, President Theodore Roosevelt issued proclamations establishing what today comprises the Lincoln National Forest.

The Lincoln National Forest consists of four ranger districts:

• Smokey Bear Ranger District
• Cloudcroft Ranger District
• Guadalupe Ranger District
• Mayhill Ranger District

and includes three major mountain ranges:

• Sacramento Mountains
• Guadalupe Mountains
• Capitan Mountains

The forest covers 1,103,44l acres in parts of four counties in southeastern New Mexico. Elevations of 4,000 to 11,500 feet create five different life zones--from Chihuahuan desert to subalpine forest.

DESCRIPTIONS OF RANGER STATIONS
SMOKEY BEAR RANGER DISTRICT is headquartered in Ruidoso. Rangers from this district manage about 375,000 acres, with elevations ranging from 5,400 to 11,400 feet. There are two wilderness areas totaling about 86,000 acres--the Capitan Mountain and the White Mountain Wilderness Areas. Vegetation ranges from semi-desert plants, pinyon pine and juniper to spruce, fir and high-elevation grasses and shrubs. The weather is tied to elevation--in summer, expect sweltering temperatures in the desert and the need for a sweater or jacket in high country. Springtime is usually dry and windy while July and August are the rainy months, with frequent afternoon showers or thunderstorms. The fall is a beautiful time of the year, when oaks, maples, and aspens add color to the hillsides. The towns of Lincoln, where one of the famous shoot-outs of Billy-the-Kid took place, and Capitan, the burial site of the original Smokey Bear, are both located near this District.

CLOUDCROFT RANGER DISTRICT headquarters is located in Cloudcroft and rangers from here manage 209,668 acres. In elevations ranging from 4,600 to 9,695 feet, visitors may camp, picnic, fish, hunt, hike, or ride horseback, plus snowmobile, innertube, or ski. Snow Canyon, the southern- most ski area in the United States, is adjacent to Cloudcroft in the Sacramento Mountains. Halfway between Cloudcroft and Alamogordo on US 82 is the only highway tunnel in southern New Mexico. A parking area just west of the tunnel affords a spectacular view of Fresnal Canyon, White Sands, and the Tularosa Basin. Closer to Cloudcroft is another pull-off area where visitors see the railroad trestle spanning Mexican Canyon. The Sacramento Peak Observatory, performing solar research is located in Sunspot, within this District.

GUADALUPE RANGER DISTRICT is rugged and contains many limestone caves and deep, rough canyons. It's an area of quiet isolation for folks wanting solitude. With the exception of a small convenience store and RV campground in Queens, there are no other modern-day conveniences. The Guadalupe Mountains, ranging from 3,500 to 7,500 feet, are the exposed portions of the Capitan barrier reef. The northern part of the mesa is rolling terrain with canyons generally running to the east. The southern portion of the Guadalupes consists of deep canyons and sheer cliffs.

MAYHILL RANGER DISTRICT consists of 240,851 acres of public lands along the lower eastern slopes of the Sacramento Mountain Range. It extends from the Mescalero Apache Indian Reservation on the north to the Sacramento River on the south. The District Administrative Office is located along US Highway 82 in Mayhill. Elevation ranges from 6,000 feet along the eastern boundary to 9,300 feet along the ridgetop of Logan Canyon in the western part of the District. Within the District there are three small communities, Mayhill, Weed, and Sacramento, and approximately 4,500 acres of private land subdivided for summer homes. Ranching, logging and commercial wood cutting are the leading industries in the area.

WILDLIFE

Lincoln National Forest varies from craggy limestone cliffs and desert canyons to rolling pinyon hills, high mountain streams, and subalpine forests and meadows. This tremendous diversity of habitats is home to a rich assortment of native animals and plants. Coupled with local climate patterns, the area's unique geological history has allowed many species to evolve here not found nowhere else in the world.

Over half of all the threatened or endangered plants in New Mexico and one-quarter of all the rare or endemic animals in New Mexico are found here. The Forest

POINTS OF INTEREST

• Bonito Lake -- North of Ruidoso, trout fishing, picnicking, and camping, surrounded by Lincoln National Forest.
• White Oaks -- Near Carrizozo, remains of a once-thriving mining town.
• Lincoln State Monument -- In Lincoln, historic buildings, legends of Billy the Kid and other western history.
• Three Rivers Petroglyphs -- About 10 miles north of Tularosa, trail to Indian petroglyphs, picnic area.

Looking south over the Sacramento Mountains.

Sacramento Peak Solar Observatory -- South of Cloudcroft, one of the world's largest solar telescopes, with guided and self-guided tours.

White Sands National Monument -- West of Alamogordo, more than 230 miles of white gypsum dunes.