National Park Service
A Study of the Park and Recreation Problem of the United States 		NPS Logo

NEW MEXICO

THE POPULATION, which consists principally of three cultural groups, the Indian, the Spanish-American, and the Anglo, is rather evenly distributed over the State, with the bulk of the population found along the rivers, principally the Rio Grande, the Pecos, and the San Juan. With a population density of 3.5 per square mile in 1930, the State has only about one-twelfth the average density of the United States.

The eastern part of the State is largely devoted to dry farming, while large semiarid regions throughout the State, but principally in the central and western portions, are used solely for grazing. The State's largest and most rapidly expanding source of income is the recreation traveler.

From the standpoint of opportunities for outdoor recreation, it is richly endowed, with its wide variety of physical features, diversified climate, lakes and streams stocked with fish, wooded mountains and valleys where hunting is excellent, magnificent stretches of scenic desert, ancient cliff dwellings and Indian pueblos, colorful Spanish-American villages and countless natural scenic attractions.

With the exception of the oil towns in the southwest corner of the State, most of the population centers are fairly well served by State, municipal, and metropolitan parks and nearby national forests, which provide facilities for picnicking, camping, fishing, hunting, and winter sports.

One large reservoir has been developed and another is now being developed for recreational use. Because of the arid character of the State, water is one of the greatest attractions for residents and tourists. Consideration should be given to obtaining the maximum recreation values of water-control reservoirs.

Preservation of the scenic values of the present highways and provision of waysides should encourage a continued increase in tourist travel in the State.

map
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FEDERAL

National parks:
57. Carlsbad Caverns49,568.4

National monuments:
7. Aztec Ruins26
8. Chaco Canyon21,509.4
11. El Morro240
13. Gila Cliff Dwellings160
29. White Sands143,227.5
33. Bandelier26,026.2
38. Gran Quivira611
63. Capulin Mountain680.4
     Total
192,480.5

National forests:
1. Coronado124,988
2. Gila2,393,752
3. Apache889,657
9. Cibola1,641,828
16. Carson1,128,481
18. Santa Fe1,233,678
39. Lincoln1,145,902
     Total
18,558,286

National wildlife areas:
24. Bosque del Apache Migratory Waterfowl Refuge52,843
26. Rio Grande Wildlife Refuge73,228.3
54. Bitter Lakes Waterfowl Refuge14,549
56. Carlsbad Bird Refuge18,080
     Total
158,700.3

Bureau of Reclamation area:
27. Elephant Butte Lake271,801

Soil Conservation Service land development project:
62. Mills Project1,000


STATE

State parks:
10. Bluewater Lake1605,160
34. Santa Fe-Hyde1,135
55. Bottomless Lakes1,558
59. Eastern New Mexico380
     Total
3,233
5,160

Proposed State parks:
17. El Vado Dam
100,000
41. Ruidosa
3,000
52. Alamogordo Dam
11,000
61. Conchas Dam
18,000
     Total
132,000

State monuments:
20. Jemez6
21. Coronado1,280
30. Abo20
31. Quarai15
32. Paako

37. Gran Quivira160
40. Lincoln County Court House

44. Pecos80
     Total
1,561

Proposed State monuments:
4. Hawikuh

12. Ice Caves

14. Santa Rita Copper Mines

15. Acoma Pueblo

19. Jemez Crater

22. Puray

25. Val Verde Battlefield

35. City of Santa Fe

36. Glorieta Pass

42. San Miguel

43. Fort Marcy

45. Kit Carson Home

47. Elizabethtown

49. Maxwell Ranch House

50. Wagon Mound

53. Fort Summer


State wildlife area:
23. La Joya Game Preserve2,758

Proposed State parkways:
65. Raton Pass
1,000


LOCAL

Metropolitan parks:
60. Tucumcari392

Proposed metropolitan parks:
28. City of Las Cruces
2,000
58. City of Hobbs
1,000
     Total
3,000

1 Area under Federal administration June 1938.

2 This acreage included in Rio Grande Wildlife Refuge.


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park-recreation-problem/new_mexico.htm
Last Updated: 18-May-2016