Fauna Series No. 1 Cover Contents Foreword Approach Methods Analysis Conspectus Suggested Policy

Fauna of the National Parks of the United States CONSPECTUS OF WILD-LIFE PROBLEMS OF EACH PARK CARLSBAD CAVERNS A cursory examination of the interesting animal and insect life of the caverns gave us the impression that on the whole it remains unhampered by the introduction of the human factor. The bats, ring-tailed cats, spotted skunks, cave mice, crickets, spiders, and flies were all about their dark and devious businesses. The surface area of the park is insignificant, offering small asylum for the wild life of the region. After hours of isolation from the living world, the green plants and moving creatures of sunlight were hungrily sought for. We were entertained by the nesting activities of a pair of cactus wrens close by. A rock wren dined on delicatessen fare, cold-storage insects from the radiator of an old Cadillac bus. A horned toad sat blinking in the center of a white-pebbled ant hill. Curve-billed thrashers, black-throated sparrows, and rock squirrels were seen within a radius of 500 feet of the cave entrance. FIGURE 40. – A pair of cactus wrens were building this nest near the mouth of Carlsbad Caverns. After the visitor has spent hours in the still dark cave, the bustling activity and lively calls of these wrens and other surface dwellers provide a welcome contrast. Photograph taken April 25, 1931, at Carlsbad Caverns, by G. M. Wright. Wild Life Survey No. 2411 The cavern, however, is located at the very edge of a wonderful game country. The valleys and canyons of this region tap the great faunal reservoir of the Lower Sonoran Zone, which spreads away to the south and down into Mexico. Immediately adjacent rise the Guadalupe Mountains, a high desert range intersected by deep, hidden canyons and wild gorges where there is haven for many of the rare animals now gone from the more settled localities. This was the natural habitat of peccaries, mountain sheep, deer, mountain lions, wild cats, wolves, coyotes, grizzlies, black bears, and the colorful birds of the desert, such as the pyrrhuloxias and phainopeplas, and even the rare zone-tailed hawk and Aplomado falcon of the arid tropics. The plants range in type from the sotol, lechuguilla, and narrow-leaved yucca of the desert up through the junipers and straggling hardwoods to the yellow pine forest on top of the mountain. The Carlsbad region takes on added significance in the enlarged concept of the national parks to include the preservation of representative and outstanding examples of the biotas of the country. Fauna and flora of this section belong principally to old Mexico. Yet in the northern forms which have found a haven on the cooler walls of the north slopes there is seen a striking mingling of austral and boreal types. In consideration of flora and fauna, it would be a fine thing to supplement the underground feature of Carlsbad with the addition of the eastern watershed of the Guadalupe Mountains southeastward to their culmination in Guadalupe Peak in Texas. The present park is located in the northeastern foothills of this range. FIGURES 41a, 41b. – Immediately adjacent rise the Guadalupe Mountains, a high desert range intersected with deep, hidden canyons and wild gorges where there is haven for many of the rare animals now gone from the more settle localities. Photographs taken April 25, 1931, in Guadalupe Mountains, New Mexico, by G. M. Wright. Wild Life Survey Nos. 2415 and 2416 Four outstanding species native to the Guadalupes have not at the present time a place in the national parks. They are: MERRIAM TURKEY (Meleagris gallopavo merriami). – This great bird is present in the Guadalupes to-day through reintroduction a few years ago and is reported to be doing well. Mr. J. Stokley Ligon, who assisted in this task, hunted turkeys in these mountains 20 years ago when they were still common. TEXAS BIGHORN (Ovis canadensis texiana). – The Guadalupe Mountains are the type locality of this rare form. In spite of protection, under the present set-up the Texas sheep is barely holding its own. Estimates indicate that there may be 100 in these mountains. The only other places in the United States where Texas bighorns arc found are the Big Hatchet Range, supporting a few, and the San Andres Mountains, which still harbor a bare remnant. "It is highly desirable that the main portion of the Guadalupe Mountains, from the Carlsbad Cavern, south to the point of the mountains in Texas, be made a permanent mountain sheep sanctuary and nature wonderland. In order to do this, the area should be set aside as a national park or a wilderness area and left in its natural state, except for saddle-horse and pack-animal trails. This is one of the most interesting, rugged, and picturesque mountain ranges of the country, and is of little use to the State for grazing or other economic purposes; but as a mountain sheep sanctuary and a public reservation, it is of prime importance. There is ample overflow range both in New Mexico and Texas for surplus game and by establishing such a reservation, the citizens of both of these States would be creating a lasting monument of beauty and interest." 19 COLLARED PECCARY (Pecari angulatus). – These so-called wild pigs used to roam in the foothill country of the Guadalupe Mountains near Carlsbad Caverns. Years ago they were wiped out of this area by the encroachment of civilization. But they still exist in the desert east of the Pecos River, whence a small supply for reintroduction into the Guadalupes might be procured. This would introduce a very rare and interesting animal to many who would otherwise never see it. It would provide a sanctuary for an animal which is rapidly disappearing. And it would restore to its native habitat an animal which is a unique product of the desert foothills and ravines, to increase the interest and pleasure in this wild and fascinating country. MEARNS QUAIL (Cyrtonyx montezumae mearnsi). – This bizarre little quail is to be found in the lower places along the Guadalupes where it digs its favorite food, the bulbs of the nut grass. Its numbers are becoming rapidly decimated through the destruction of cover by grazing. In an enlarged Carlsbad Park the Mearns quail would find real protection. Besides the species noted above which would be of exceptional interest, there are many other forms of wild life, such as kangaroo rats, prairie-dogs, band-tailed pigeons, and scaled quail. The Merriam elk of the Southwest has vanished forever, but the American wapiti has been planted in the southern end of the Guadalupes and is reported to be spreading northward already. The grizzly was exterminated long ago, but the black bear remains. There is real scenic grandeur in the Guadalupe Mountains and canyons, although the range looks like a barren mesa when viewed from the highway far off in the desert. The Guadalupes are the nearest mountains to a large population south and east of this section of the country, and therefore have a high potential recreational value. 19 Wild Life of New Mexico, by Ligon, J. Stokley. State game commission, department of game and fish, Santa Fe, N. Mex., 1927, p. 92. SOUTHWEST PARKS Bryce Canyon | Carlsbad Caverns | Grand Canyon | Mesa Verde | Zion Canyon PARKS Southwest | Rocky Mountain | Pacific Coast | Eastern | Territorial

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