The Devil's Reach WSA is a rugged area just west of the Devil's Backbone WSA.
Devil's Reach is primarily grass covered.

The Devil's Reach WSA is a rugged area just west of the Devil's Backbone WSA. Devil's Reach is primarily grass covered.

Bird's eye view of the park

Devil's Reach Wilderness Study Area

The Devil's Backbone WSA is characterized by its knife-edged ridges and peaks
rising above the surrounding desert grassland. The north contains piсon-
juniper while the south is comprised of rocky grasslands. A great number of
raptors, including one pair of golden eagles, nests in the area. Mountains
lions are also seen on occasion.

The Devil's Backbone WSA is characterized by its knife-edged ridges and peaks rising above the surrounding desert grassland. The north contains piсon-juniper while the south is comprised of rocky grasslands. A great number of raptors, including one pair of golden eagles, nests in the area. Mountains lions are also seen on occasion.

Devil's Backbone Wilderness Study Area

The 640-acre Box Recreation Area is a highly scenic, rugged area that is very
popular for technical rock climbing and bouldering. The five cliffs on either
side of this box canyon provide popular rock climbing for even highly skilled
technical climbers. Challenging climbing opportunities include the Waterfall
Wall, Corner Block, and the Fillet a Papillon Wall.

The 640-acre Box Recreation Area is a highly scenic, rugged area that is very popular for technical rock climbing and bouldering. The five cliffs on either side of this box canyon provide popular rock climbing for even highly skilled technical climbers. Challenging climbing opportunities include the Waterfall Wall, Corner Block, and the Fillet a Papillon Wall.

A woman climbs a rock face at The Box Recreation Area.

A climber at The Box Recreation Area

The Box Recreation Area

Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge, located in San Antonio, Socorro
County, New Mexico, is one of over 560 units within the National Wildlife
Refuge System. Situated between the Chupadera Mountains to the west and the
San Pascual Mountains to the east, the 57,331 acre Bosque del Apache was
established in 1939 to provide a critical stopover site for migrating
waterfowl. The refuge is well known for the tens of thousands of cranes,
geese, and ducks who winter here each year. Over 30,000 acres of Bosque del
Apache are designated wilderness.

The Rio Grande may seem tame now, but for thousands of years it was a wild and
unpredictable river. Every spring, melting snow from the mountains filled the
river with water until it overflowed its banks – flooding the land around it.

In the summer, heavy rains swelled the river even more. At times, the
overflowing water was so powerful that the entire path of the river changed,
forming new ponds and marshes in the old riverbed. In these fertile river
floodplains, all kinds of lush vegetation grew – providing plentiful food
sources for wildlife. Majestic birds like sandhill cranes migrated here to
spend the winter feasting on nutritious grasses like chufa and millet while
other animals thrived amid the cottonwood forests and shrublands.

The big river attracted humans too. More than 700 years ago, Piro Indians
built settlements of mud and stone houses along the river. They hunted and
gathered food along the riverbanks, and they learned to farm the bottomlands.

In the late 16th century, Spanish colonists arrived following the river
northward. Their horses, wagons, cattle, and sheep trampled a rutted, dusty
road. As more people moved in, they created ranches, farms, and towns that
replaced the Piro Indians and their pueblos.

The new settlers started to change the Rio Grande. A river that overflowed and
dug new routes every season was seen as a problem – especially if your house
got flooded or your crops washed away. So, people started building dams and
irrigation ditches to manage the flow of the river and divert water for crops,
livestock, and homes. Taming the wild Rio Grande was great for people – but
not great for wildlife. The once-grand river shrank to a shallow stream.

Without a flooding river, the floodplain marshes dried up. Chufa, millet, and
other plants that grew in the wetlands started to disappear. When their food
supply disappeared, the region’s wildlife – especially its migratory birds –
started to disappear too.

Yet, many people thought the wildlife and habitats along this portion of the
river were worth preserving. In the 1930s, the Civilian Conservation Corps
began working to restore the floodplains in the Bosque del Apache area as
wildlife habitat. In 1939, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt established
Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge as part of a national system of
lands dedicated to wildlife protection.

Today, our staff manages water to create wetlands like when the river ran
wild. These seasonal wetlands re-create the types of habitats that both year-
round and migratory wildlife need to thrive. Using gates and ditches, water is
moved from the river through fields, marshes, and ponds, and then back to the
river to mimic natural flooding cycles.

Once again, the Rio Grande and its wetlands provide food and homes for some of
America’s most spectacular wildlife, as well as places where thousands of
people can observe and enjoy the natural world.

Bosque del Apache Wilderness

Designated in 1975

30,427 acres

The Wilderness Act of 1964 created the National Wilderness Preservation System
"in order to assure that an increasing population, accompanied by expanding
settlement and growing mechanization, does not occupy and modify all areas in
the United States, and its possession, leaving no lands designated for
preservation and protection in their natural condition..."

For more information about Bosque del Apache wilderness, visit wilderness.net.

Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge, located in San Antonio, Socorro County, New Mexico, is one of over 560 units within the National Wildlife Refuge System. Situated between the Chupadera Mountains to the west and the San Pascual Mountains to the east, the 57,331 acre Bosque del Apache was established in 1939 to provide a critical stopover site for migrating waterfowl. The refuge is well known for the tens of thousands of cranes, geese, and ducks who winter here each year. Over 30,000 acres of Bosque del Apache are designated wilderness.  The Rio Grande may seem tame now, but for thousands of years it was a wild and unpredictable river. Every spring, melting snow from the mountains filled the river with water until it overflowed its banks – flooding the land around it. In the summer, heavy rains swelled the river even more. At times, the overflowing water was so powerful that the entire path of the river changed, forming new ponds and marshes in the old riverbed. In these fertile river floodplains, all kinds of lush vegetation grew – providing plentiful food sources for wildlife. Majestic birds like sandhill cranes migrated here to spend the winter feasting on nutritious grasses like chufa and millet while other animals thrived amid the cottonwood forests and shrublands. The big river attracted humans too. More than 700 years ago, Piro Indians built settlements of mud and stone houses along the river. They hunted and gathered food along the riverbanks, and they learned to farm the bottomlands. In the late 16th century, Spanish colonists arrived following the river northward. Their horses, wagons, cattle, and sheep trampled a rutted, dusty road. As more people moved in, they created ranches, farms, and towns that replaced the Piro Indians and their pueblos. The new settlers started to change the Rio Grande. A river that overflowed and dug new routes every season was seen as a problem – especially if your house got flooded or your crops washed away. So, people started building dams and irrigation ditches to manage the flow of the river and divert water for crops, livestock, and homes. Taming the wild Rio Grande was great for people – but not great for wildlife. The once-grand river shrank to a shallow stream. Without a flooding river, the floodplain marshes dried up. Chufa, millet, and other plants that grew in the wetlands started to disappear. When their food supply disappeared, the region’s wildlife – especially its migratory birds – started to disappear too. Yet, many people thought the wildlife and habitats along this portion of the river were worth preserving. In the 1930s, the Civilian Conservation Corps began working to restore the floodplains in the Bosque del Apache area as wildlife habitat. In 1939, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt established Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge as part of a national system of lands dedicated to wildlife protection. Today, our staff manages water to create wetlands like when the river ran wild. These seasonal wetlands re-create the types of habitats that both year-round and migratory wildlife need to thrive. Using gates and ditches, water is moved from the river through fields, marshes, and ponds, and then back to the river to mimic natural flooding cycles. Once again, the Rio Grande and its wetlands provide food and homes for some of America’s most spectacular wildlife, as well as places where thousands of people can observe and enjoy the natural world. Bosque del Apache WildernessDesignated in 197530,427 acresThe Wilderness Act of 1964 created the National Wilderness Preservation System "in order to assure that an increasing population, accompanied by expanding settlement and growing mechanization, does not occupy and modify all areas in the United States, and its possession, leaving no lands designated for preservation and protection in their natural condition..."<a href="https://wilderness.net/visit-wilderness/?ID=66" rel="nofollow">For more information about Bosque del Apache wilderness, visit wilderness.net.</a>

Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge

Devil's Reach Wilderness Study Area

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Devil's Backbone Wilderness Study Area

The Box Recreation Area

Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge