National Wildlife Refuges in New Mexico

New Mexico is home to nine (or more, I never really know: every time I look it seems another one pops up) National Wildlife Refuges and two National Fish Hatcheries. These properties are all administered by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. These are places to visit with your binoculars and cameras, your duck and turkey calls. Some are open only in particular seasons as they are, after all, set aside to preserve and protect sensitive and important wildlife habitat. Some allow hunting (in season), some allow fishing, some even allow boating. But all National Wildlife Refuges that allow people to visit on a regular basis also have special wildlife observation stations (like hunting blinds) so that we, the people, can get up pretty close and personal to see things in nature we might never see any other way.

An overlook of Brown's Marsh at Las Vegas National Wildlife Refuge
An overlook at Las Vegas National Wildlife Refuge

National Wildlife Refuges

Bitter Lake NWR
4065 Bitter Lakes Road, Roswell, NM 88201
575-622-6755
Visitor Center, Open year round, Day use only, Nature trails, Auto tour route, Wildlife viewing areas, Hunting (in season)
Bosque del Apache NWR
PO Box 1246, Socorro, NM 87801
575-835-1828
Open year round, Visitor Center, Day use only, Auto tour route, Nature trails, Wildlife viewing areas, Hunting (in season), Fishing, Fee site
Grulla NWR
PO Box 549, Muleshoe, TX 79347
806-946-3341
Closed in winter, Visitor Center, Day use only, Auto tour route, Nature trails, Wildlife viewing areas, Hunting (in season)
Las Vegas NWR
Route 1, Box 399, Las Vegas, NM 87701
505-425-3581
Closed in winter, Day use only, Wildlife viewing areas, Boating allowed (non-motorized and motorized), Fishing
Maxwell NWR
PO Box 276, Maxwell, NM 87728
575-375-2331
Open year round, Visitor Center, Day use only, Auto tour route, Wildlife viewing areas, Fishing
Rio Mora NWR
NM Highway 161, Mile marker 16, Watrous, NM 87753
505-425-3581
Not open to the public
San Andres NWR
PO Box 756, Las Cruces, NM 88004
575-382-5047
Not generally open to the public, Hunting (in season), Fee site
Sevilleta NWR
PO Box 1248, Socorro, NM 87801
505-864-4021
Closed in summer, Visitor Center, Day use only, Nature trails, Wildlife viewing areas, Hunting (in season)
Valle de Oro National Wildlife Refuge
Albuquerque, NM
 
 

National Fish Hatcheries

Mora NFH
PO Box 689, Mora, NM 87732
575-387-6022
 
Birds in the air above Bitter Lake National Wildlife Refuge
Bitter Lake National Wildlife Refuge
Map showing locations of National Wildlife Refuges in New Mexico
Looking across the fields and ponds at Maxwell National Wildlife Refuge
Maxwell National Wildlife Refuge

Some photos courtesy of the US Fish & Wildlife Service
Some photos courtesy of TheArmchairExplorer, CCA-by-SA 3.0 License
Map courtesy of Cartesia MapArt US Terrain