Parks & Partners

The Chihuahuan Desert Network serves seven parks that cover more than one million acres in Texas and New Mexico. Our parks lie in the 230,000 square mile Chihuahuan Desert Ecoregion that stretches from the southwestern United States to just north of Mexico City.

From low-elevation desert valleys to woodlands high in the mountain ranges, or "sky islands," our parks are exceptionally diverse and support many plant and animal species that are unique to the region. In addition to desert grasslands, shrublands, rivers, streams, springs, riparian areas, and mountain woodlands, our parks contain gypsum sand dunes and sand fields, the best preserved, exposed Pre-Cambrian fossil reef in the world, and hundreds of limestone caves.

We work together with our partners to compile inventories of park species and natural features and monitor them to detect changes. Inventories help park managers understand the natural resources in their care. Long-term monitoring helps them understand changes that may occur over time. With this knowledge, park managers can protect these special places for future generations.

Guadalupe Mountains and Chihuahuan Desert grasslands
Guadalupe Mountains National Park

NPS Photo

Our Parks

Amistad National Recreation Area

Big Bend National Park

Carlsbad Caverns National Park

Fort Davis National Historic Site

Guadalupe Mountains National Park

Rio Grande Wild and Scenic River

White Sands National Park

Our Partners

Auburn University

Conservation Science Partners

New Mexico State University, Water Resources Research Institute

Northern Rockies Conservation Cooperative

Southwest Network Collaboration

Tucson Audubon Society

University of New Mexico

University of Texas at Austin

USGS Grand Canyon Monitoring and Research

Utah State University

Last updated: September 20, 2022