La Michilía Biosphere Reserve is a protected area in northwestern

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

. It is located in the

Sierra Madre Occidental The Sierra Madre Occidental is a major mountain range system of the North American Cordillera, that runs northwest–southeast through northwestern and western Mexico, and along the Gulf of California. The Sierra Madre is part of the American C ...

range in the south of the state of

Durango Durango, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Durango, is one of the 31 states which make up the Political divisions of Mexico, 32 Federal Entities of Mexico, situated in the northwest portion of the country. With a population of 1,832,650 ...

Geography

The reserve covers an area of 350 km². The reserve spans two ranges, the Sierra Michis and the Sierra Urica, which are part of the Sierra Madre Occidental. Between the two sierras is a landscape of hills and plateaus, threaded through by valleys and canyons.UNESCO (2018), "La Michilia Biosphere Reserve, Mexico". Biosphere reserves in Latin America and the Caribbean, UNESCO. Accessed 28 August 2021

/ref> The valley of the San Pedro Mezquital River lies west of the reserve, and the

Mexican Plateau The Central Mexican Plateau, also known as the Mexican Altiplano (), is a large arid-to-semiarid plateau that occupies much of northern and central Mexico. Averaging above sea level, it extends from the United States border in the north to the T ...

to the north and east. The reserve adjoins the

Cuenca Alimentadora del Distrito Nacional de Riego 043 Estado de Nayarit The Cuenca Alimentadora del Distrito Nacional de Riego 043 Estado de Nayarit is a protected natural areas of Mexico, protected natural area in west-central Mexico. It extends across portions of southern Sierra Madre Occidental and the westernmost ...

on the northwest and southwest.

Ecology

There reserve is in the

Sierra Madre Occidental pine–oak forests The Sierra Madre Occidental pine–oak forests () are a Temperate broadleaf and mixed forests ecoregion of the Sierra Madre Occidental range from the southwest USA region to the western part of Mexico. They are home to a large number of endemic p ...

ecoregion. It is home to several distinct plant communities. Conifer forests prevail at higher elevation, with species of

pine A pine is any conifer tree or shrub in the genus ''Pinus'' () of the family Pinaceae. ''Pinus'' is the sole genus in the subfamily Pinoideae. ''World Flora Online'' accepts 134 species-rank taxa (119 species and 15 nothospecies) of pines as cu ...

(''Pinus''), Mexican Douglas-fir (''Pseudotsuga menziesii'' var. ''lindleyana''),

cypress Cypress is a common name for various coniferous trees or shrubs from the ''Cupressus'' genus of the '' Cupressaceae'' family, typically found in temperate climates and subtropical regions of Asia, Europe, and North America. The word ''cypress'' ...

(''Cupressus''), and

juniper Junipers are coniferous trees and shrubs in the genus ''Juniperus'' ( ) of the cypress family Cupressaceae. Depending on the taxonomy, between 50 and 67 species of junipers are widely distributed throughout the Northern Hemisphere as far south ...

(''Juniperus''), along with pine–oak forests. Oak (''Quercus'' spp.) forests and woodlands are found at middle elevations. Other plant communities include grasslands, dry shrubland, and wetlands. The reserve is home to 770 species of vascular plants. Large mammals include the Coues

white-tailed deer The white-tailed deer (''Odocoileus virginianus''), also known Common name, commonly as the whitetail and the Virginia deer, is a medium-sized species of deer native to North America, North, Central America, Central and South America. It is the ...

(''Odocoileus virginianus mexicanus''), puma (''Puma concolor''), and

coyote The coyote (''Canis latrans''), also known as the American jackal, prairie wolf, or brush wolf, is a species of canis, canine native to North America. It is smaller than its close relative, the Wolf, gray wolf, and slightly smaller than the c ...

(''Canis latrans''). The Mexican gray wolf (''Canis lupus baileyii'') and

American black bear The American black bear (''Ursus americanus''), or simply black bear, is a species of medium-sized bear which is Endemism, endemic to North America. It is the continent's smallest and most widely distributed bear species. It is an omnivore, with ...

(''Ursus americanus'') had been extirpated from the reserve, but have been successfully reintroduced. There is a

captive breeding Captive breeding, also known as captive propagation, is the process of keeping plants or animals in controlled environments, such as wildlife reserves, zoos, Botanical garden, botanic gardens, and other Conservation biology, conservation facilitie ...

facility for Mexican wolves and white tailed deer. Native birds include the

golden eagle The golden eagle (''Aquila chrysaetos'') is a bird of prey living in the Northern Hemisphere. It is the most widely distributed species of eagle. Like all eagles, it belongs to the family Accipitridae. They are one of the best-known bird of pr ...

(''Aquila chrysaetos''),

wild turkey The wild turkey (''Meleagris gallopavo'') is an upland game bird native to North America, one of two extant species of Turkey (bird), turkey and the heaviest member of the order Galliformes. It is the ancestor to the domestic turkey (''M. g. dom ...

(''Meleagris gallopavo''), and

thick-billed parrot The thick-billed parrot (''Rhynchopsitta pachyrhyncha'') is a medium-sized parrot endemic to Mexico that formerly ranged into the southwestern United States. Its position in parrot phylogeny is the subject of ongoing discussion; it is sometimes ...

(''Rhynchopsitta pachyrhyncha''). The imperial woodpecker (''Campephilus imperialis'') once inhabited the area but is now thought to be extinct.

Conservation

It was designated an international biosphere reserve by

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...

in 1977, and designated a Mexican national biosphere reserve in 2000.

References

{{reflist Biosphere reserves of Mexico Protected areas of Durango Protected areas of the Sierra Madre Occidental Important Bird Areas of Mexico