The Wheeler Peak Wilderness lies in the
Carson National Forest
Carson National Forest is a national forest in northern New Mexico, United States. It encompasses 6,070 square kilometers (1.5 million acres) and is administered by the United States Forest Service. The Forest Service's "mixed use" policy allows ...
of
New Mexico
)
, population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano)
, seat = Santa Fe, New Mexico, Santa Fe
, LargestCity = Albuquerque, New Mexico, Albuquerque
, LargestMetro = Albuquerque metropolitan area, Tiguex
, Offi ...
. It contains the highest point in the state,
Wheeler Peak as well as
Williams Lake.
History
Established as the Wheeler Peak Wild Area in 1960, the area was re-designated the Wheeler Peak Wilderness in 1964 with the passage of the
Wilderness Act.
The area was expanded by in 1980 with the passage of the New Mexico Wilderness Act. In 1996, public law 104-333
transferred from the wilderness south of the ridge between Simpson Peak and Old Mike Peak and west of Blue Lake to the nearby
Taos Pueblo
Taos Pueblo (or Pueblo de Taos) is an ancient pueblo belonging to a Taos-speaking (Tiwa) Native American tribe of Puebloan people. It lies about north of the modern city of Taos, New Mexico. The pueblos are considered to be one of the oldest ...
.
Flora and fauna
The Wheeler Peak Wilderness is home to a variety of birds and mammals.
Marmots,
pikas,
bighorn sheep
The bighorn sheep (''Ovis canadensis'') is a species of sheep native to North America. It is named for its large horns. A pair of horns might weigh up to ; the sheep typically weigh up to . Recent genetic testing indicates three distinct subsp ...
, and
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 ...
s are year-round residents.
Rocky Mountain elk,
mule deer
The mule deer (''Odocoileus hemionus'') is a deer indigenous to western North America; it is named for its ears, which are large like those of the mule. Two subspecies of mule deer are grouped into the black-tailed deer.
Unlike the related whi ...
dwell in the area during the summer season, feeding on grasses and new
aspen
Aspen is a common name for certain tree species; some, but not all, are classified by botanists in the section ''Populus'', of the '' Populus'' genus.
Species
These species are called aspens:
*'' Populus adenopoda'' – Chinese aspen (C ...
growth in the higher elevations. Although bighorn sheep are native to the area, the local population was re-introduced to the area in 1993. Other local avian fauna include many common rocky mountain species such
magpie
Magpies are birds of the Corvidae family. Like other members of their family, they are widely considered to be intelligent creatures. The Eurasian magpie, for instance, is thought to rank among the world's most intelligent creatures, and is on ...
s,
Canada jay
The Canada jay (''Perisoreus canadensis''), also known as the gray jay, grey jay, camp robber, or whisky jack, is a passerine bird of the family Corvidae. It is found in boreal forests of North America north to the tree line, and in the Ro ...
s,
chickadees and
woodpecker
Woodpeckers are part of the bird family Picidae, which also includes the piculets, wrynecks, and sapsuckers. Members of this family are found worldwide, except for Australia, New Guinea, New Zealand, Madagascar, and the extreme polar regions ...
s.
Many rivers and
alpine lakes within the Wheeler Peak wilderness are stocked with
cutthroat and/or
rainbow trout
The rainbow trout (''Oncorhynchus mykiss'') is a species of trout native to cold-water tributaries of the Pacific Ocean in Asia and North America. The steelhead (sometimes called "steelhead trout") is an anadromous (sea-run) form of the coast ...
every few years by the
New Mexico Department of Game and Fish.
[
Flora of the Wheeler Peak Wilderness vary by altitude, and include cottonwoods, Bristlecone pines, Engelmann spruce and sub-alpine fir and many species of ]wildflower
A wildflower (or wild flower) is a flower that grows in the wild, meaning it was not intentionally seeded or planted. The term implies that the plant probably is neither a hybrid nor a selected cultivar that is in any way different from the ...
.[
]
See also
* List of U.S. Wilderness Areas
* Wilderness Act
References
External links
Wheeler Peak Wilderness
- US Forest Service
Wheeler Peak Wilderness
- Wilderness.net
Wheeler Peak
- Peakbagger.com
Protected areas of Taos County, New Mexico
Wilderness areas of New Mexico
Carson National Forest
Sangre de Cristo Mountains
IUCN Category Ib
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