Sabinoso Wilderness (United States)

Photo credit: Matt Griffis

In 2015 and 2019, the Wyss Foundation provided  $3,150,000 and $5,600,000 million grants to the Wilderness Land Trust and the Trust for Public Land, respectively, to help expand New Mexico’s Sabinoso Wilderness. The two purchases added a total of 13,123 acres to the existing wilderness area, nearly doubling its size.

The properties purchased and added to the wilderness area encompass a pristine, canyon-rich landscape surrounded by the wide-open New Mexico plains unique to the region. The deep incisions cut by Cañon Largo create a striking topographical and geological contrast in an otherwise flat terrain. The ecosystem teems with pinon pine, juniper, and clusters of ponderosa pines; streams flow in canyon bottoms, supporting riparian ecosystems characterized by willow and cottonwood vegetation. Elk, deer, bear, mountain lion, and turkey frequent canyon springs. The landscape is also a critical nesting habitat for raptors and the long-billed curlew.

The first property acquisition provided legal and physical access to the previously landlocked Sabinoso Wilderness, while the second added an additional access point. The wilderness is also adjacent to the US Fish and Wildlife Service’s 952,000-acre Rio Mora Conservation Area; the protected areas comprise a vast, contiguous habitat in one of North America's great prairie grassland landscapes.

This conservation success was made possible through the work of grantees the Wilderness Land Trust and the Trust for Public Land.