Columbine–Hondo Wilderness is a

Wilderness area Wilderness or wildlands (usually in the plural) are Earth's natural environments that have not been significantly modified by human activity, or any nonurbanized land not under extensive agricultural cultivation. The term has traditionally ...

located within the

Carson National Forest Carson National Forest is a United States National Forest, 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 Serv ...

New Mexico New Mexico is a state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States. It is one of the Mountain States of the southern Rocky Mountains, sharing the Four Corners region with Utah, Colorado, and Arizona. It also ...

. The area was added to the

National Wilderness Preservation System The National Wilderness Preservation System (NWPS) of the United States protects federal government of the United States, federally managed Wilderness, wilderness areas designated for preservation in their natural condition. Activity on formally ...

on December 19, 2014, by Public Law 113-291. Located in the

Sangre de Cristo Mountains The Sangre de Cristo Mountains (Spanish language, Spanish for "Blood of Christ") are the southernmost mountain range, subrange of the Rocky Mountains. They are located in southern Colorado and northern New Mexico in the United States. The mountai ...

, this area contains the headwaters to the Rio Hondo and Red River as well as three peaks which rise to or above timberline. Elevations in the wilderness range from to at Gold Hill. The other principal summits of the wilderness area are Lobo Peak () and Flag Mountain (). The Colombine–Hondo Wilderness is separated from the

Wheeler Peak Wilderness The Wheeler Peak Wilderness lies in the Carson National Forest of New Mexico. It contains the highest point in the state, Wheeler Peak (New Mexico), Wheeler Peak as well as Williams Lake (New Mexico), Williams Lake. History Established as the ...

to the south only by Highway 150 and the

Taos Ski Valley Taos Ski Valley is a village and alpine ski resort in the southwestern United States, located in Taos County, New Mexico. The population was 69 at the 2010 census. Until March 19, 2008, it was one of four ski resorts in America to prohibit ...

. The Latir Peak Wilderness is located north of Colombine-Hondo Wilderness. The wilderness has vegetation typical of the southern

Rocky Mountains The Rocky Mountains, also known as the Rockies, are a major mountain range and the largest mountain system in North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch in great-circle distance, straight-line distance from the northernmost part of Western Can ...

with

Ponderosa Pine ''Pinus ponderosa'', commonly known as the ponderosa pine, bull pine, blackjack pine, western yellow-pine, or filipinus pine, is a very large pine tree species of variable habitat native to mountainous regions of western North America. It is t ...

and Pinyon forests at lower elevations, mixed

conifer Conifers () are a group of conifer cone, cone-bearing Spermatophyte, seed plants, a subset of gymnosperms. Scientifically, they make up the phylum, division Pinophyta (), also known as Coniferophyta () or Coniferae. The division contains a sin ...

s and

aspen Aspen is a common name for certain tree species in the Populus sect. Populus, of the ''Populus'' (poplar) genus. Species These species are called aspens: * ''Populus adenopoda'' – Chinese aspen (China, south of ''P. tremula'') * ''Populus da ...

s at the middle elevations,

spruce A spruce is a tree of the genus ''Picea'' ( ), a genus of about 40 species of coniferous evergreen trees in the family Pinaceae, found in the northern temperate and boreal ecosystem, boreal (taiga) regions of the Northern hemisphere. ''Picea'' ...

fir Firs are evergreen coniferous trees belonging to the genus ''Abies'' () in the family Pinaceae. There are approximately 48–65 extant species, found on mountains throughout much of North and Central America, Eurasia, and North Africa. The genu ...

forests at higher elevations, and alpine

tundra In physical geography, a tundra () is a type of biome where tree growth is hindered by frigid temperatures and short growing seasons. There are three regions and associated types of tundra: #Arctic, Arctic, Alpine tundra, Alpine, and #Antarctic ...

above treeline which is about in elevation.

History

Columbine–Hondo was designated a wilderness study area by congress in 1980. In April 2012, Senator

Jeff Bingaman Jesse Francis "Jeff" Bingaman Jr. (born October 3, 1943) is an American retired politician who served as a United States Senate, United States Senator from New Mexico from 1983 to 2013. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic ...

unsuccessfully introduced a bill (S.2468) to designate the area as wilderness. The bill (S.776) was re-introduced by Senators

Martin Heinrich Martin Trevor Heinrich ( ; born October 17, 1971) is an American businessman and politician serving as the senior United States senator from New Mexico, a seat he has held since 2013. A member of the Democratic Party, Heinrich served as the ...

and

Tom Udall Thomas Stewart Udall ( ; born May 18, 1948) is an American diplomat, attorney, and politician who had served as the United States Ambassador to New Zealand and Samoa. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as a United States senator for N ...

in April 2013 followed by an identical house bill (H.R.1683) introduced by Representative

Ben Ray Luján Ben Ray Luján ( ; born June 7, 1972) is an American politician who has served as the Seniority in the United States Senate, junior United States Senate, United States senator from New Mexico since 2021. He served as the United States House of Re ...

. The bill was signed into law on December 19, 2014.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Columbine-Hondo Wilderness Carson National Forest Wilderness areas of New Mexico Protected areas of Taos County, New Mexico Protected areas established in 2014 2014 establishments in New Mexico