Sevilleta NWR, LaJoya, NM, May 1 - 11, 2013

We saw a lot of blue, clear skies during our early spring visit to Sevilleta NWR in Central NM. There were trails that ran throughout the area and lots of exploring to do. The daytime temps were in the 70s and 80s and it cooled down nicely at night. The evening skies were clear and perfect for star-gazing. 

From the refuge website: "Sevilleta National Wildlife Refuge is unique because four different kinds of biomes intersect on the refuge, including the Colorado Plateau Shrub Steppe, Great Plains Short Grass Prairie, the Chihuahuan Desert, and the Pinyon-Juniper Woodland. A biome is a regional ecosystem with distinct types of vegetation, animals and microbes that have developed under specific soil and climatic conditions.  The result:  an area with a remarkable array of plant and animal life. In addition, the Rio Grande flows through the center of the refuge creating an oasis along the river that plays a vital role within these mixed ecosystems.  Because the environments are so diverse, they attract and support a wide diversity of native species, including 251 species of birds, 80 species of mammals, 58 species of reptiles, 15 species of amphibians, and more than 1,200 species of plants. "

We had a terrific and productive week at Sevilleta, which is less than an hour south of Albuquerque.

Here are some scenes from outside our backdoor on a three mile loop trail that took you up on a vista that overlooked the Rio Grande Valley and one entire side of the refuge. We used it frequently.

This is Jeanine and Prince (one of her four dugs). The entire staff at Sevilleta was so nice and helpful. We were very happy here and were also able to get a lot of work done.

Here are some photos inside our spacious and comfortable living quarters. It had strong wifi, so we were able to watch all of the NBA play-off games that happened during our stay. We really enjoyed our time at Sevilleta and were grateful for this wonderful home.

On the Saturday we were at the refuge, Jon let us take a Tahoe out to San Lorenzo Canyon. Our little HHR would not have made it through some of the roads you travel to get to the heart of the Canyon. It was a beautiful area and we had a ball hiking and exploring.

We spent a few hours one morning with Michael, a retire college professor who volunteers monthly at the refuge, travelling to all of its camera sights (it takes him five mornings a month to do this, due to the size of the refuge!). It was nice to chat with him and to see a part of the refuge that is closed to the public.

These camera stations have captured some incredibly images of wildlife. Most of the stations are located at drinking spots for the wildlife, so they become frequently-visited areas of the refuge. These cameras therefore have taken photos of many different kinds of wildlife.

We saw some really interesting wildlife on our camera detail with Michael. This guy is an Oryx, a non-native antelope-type creature. These were intentionally brought to NM from Africa to generate revenues from the hunting licenses that are purchased every year.

We also saw several pronghorn throughout our travels. They thrive on this landscape and are incredibly to watch run as they are fast and strong.

This is Kathy, the refuge manager. She says that Sevilleta is the most beautiful place and takes great pride in the refuge and her staff.

We had the good fortune to be able to visit the Mexican Gray Wolf Recovery Program, on the outskirts of the refuge. This program is successfully raising and integrating healthy wolves back into their native habitat. The program has about 50 of them now out in the wild and continues to work to increase that number. We travelled to the facility with Steve and Kris, two of our supervisors who came down from Albuquerque for the day to visit, and Keenan, from Ft Collins, who was also in town. 

When we first arrived, the wolves were a little skiddish. They paced around the perimeter of their area and kept a distance. This was really fine with us. Our job was to bring them food and place it in shaded places, fill water tubs, and scoop the poop. No one said it was a glamorous job! It was super-cool to be able to see them and to be inside their pen with them.

This is Kris and Keenan, taking their jobs seriously!

 As soon as we  filled the tubs with water, this guy jumped in to cool off.

Oliver and Steve were sent to a different area where there were more wolves.

"Four decades of work by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and its partners to protect and recover the gray wolf have brought the species back from the brink of extinction in the lower 48 states. In recognition of this success, the Service proposed to remove the gray wolf from the Endangered Species List throughout its range, but to maintain protection for the Mexican wolf in the Southwest."

Oliver and Kris (above). The whole group (below) which includes Susan, the Vet who is one of the good folks in charge of caring for the wolves. She gave us a lot of good info and was nice to let us come out and "help" with her daily tasks.

The landscape around the refuge is so vast and fascinating.

In the above-photo are Keenan and Jon. Jon is the biologist at Sevilleta and was incredibly helpful and supportive of our efforts during our visit.

This is Ann, who recently received her Master's degree! She will be transferring to Buenos Aires NWR this summer to take over the biologist reigns from our good friend, Dan (the Pima Pineapple King). We are learning that the FWS family is small. The next set of images are from the Sevilleta Vistor's Center, also part of the main office/HQ. It is one of the nicest we have seen on our travels.

Sevilleta is home to several hummingbird feeders that attracts dozens of the little creatures. They are fun to watch and provide visitor's with a wonderful first impression of the Visitor's Center.

Here are some more photos of our living space; a nice and totally comfortable "park model" just up the hill from HQ.

This is Rich and Rene - a married couple from Upstate New York. They both work at the refuge and are terrific people. The photos below are from the section of the refuge that borders the Rio Grande. This was our final night at Sev and it was a rainy one! Rain is always a welcome event, so we were happy about it - just did not get a lot of photos of this area. We hope to be able to return during our travels to do more exploring.