Unit 19, New Mexico

Terrain is a stark mix of flat Tularosa Basin desert floor and abrupt, rocky mountain ridges. Elevations range from approximately 4,500 feet on the basin floor up to 8,965 feet at Salinas Peak in the San Andres Mountains (North Oscura Peak at 7,998 feet and St. Augustine Pass at 5,633 feet are other prominent landmarks). The San Andres are a narrow, 75-mile-long fault-block range composed largely of San Andres Formation limestone, with steep canyons (including Rhodes Canyon) cutting through the range. The broader basin contains gypsum sand dunes (White Sands National Park lies within the unit boundaries) and rolling mesquite-covered hills at the bases of the ranges. The Organ Mountains frame the southwest corner near Las Cruces.

Access to GMU 19 is uniquely restricted by military operations. Roughly 97.5% of the unit is public land, but nearly all of that is within White Sands Missile Range (WSMR), an approximately 3,200-square-mile U.S. Army installation and the largest military installation in the United States. Civilian hunters who draw licenses for on-range hunts must complete a multi-step military clearance process: obtain a hunt authorization code from an approved WSMR security sponsor (outfitters facilitate this), complete a mandatory background check, and pay a $150 per-hunter WSMR access fee. Active missile tests cause periodic road closures on US-70 and US-380 during the hunting season; hunters may be evacuated from range roads at short notice. The main access corridors are: US-70 (Las Cruces to Alamogordo), which bisects the southern unit; US-54 (Tularosa to El Paso), forming the unit's eastern boundary; and US-380 (Socorro to Carrizozo), running along the northern boundary. Rhodes Canyon (San Andres Mountains) is accessed through the Tularosa gate off US-54 near Tularosa. The Stallion Range Center is accessed through a gate near Socorro off US-380. No dispersed camping is permitted on the missile range; lodging is based in Las Cruces, Alamogordo, or Socorro. The southern fringe of Unit 19 near Las Cruces (bounded by I-10, US-70, and the Texas state line) is outside WSMR and includes BLM-administered Chihuahuan desert accessible without military permits. The BLM Las Cruces District Office (1800 Marquess St, Las Cruces, NM; 575-525-4300) manages this small non-WSMR public portion.

Vegetation follows a clear elevational gradient. Basin floor and bajadas (roughly 4,500-5,000 ft) support Chihuahuan desert scrub dominated by creosote bush and mesquite, with scattered desert grasses and yucca. Mid-elevation foothills and canyon mouths (5,000-6,500 ft) transition to yucca, one-seed juniper, and scrub oak in washes and canyons. Upper mountain slopes carry open pinyon-juniper woodland. Northern canyon aspects at higher elevations support limited ponderosa pine stands. Riparian corridors in deep canyons such as Rhodes Canyon represent the only mesic, shaded habitat between the Sacramento Mountains and the Rio Grande. The San Andres NWR (57,215 acres within WSMR) provides critical bighorn habitat in steep, rugged canyon country.

Mule deer inhabit the unit year-round, moving between the bajadas and mountain canyons seasonally. Rocky Mountain elk are present on the range and in the San Andres, San Augustine, and Oscura mountains; the WSMR herd is smaller and more localized than north-central NM herds. Desert bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis mexicana) occupy the San Andres Mountains; the San Andres NWR herd was devastated by scabies (reduced to a single ewe by 1997) and has recovered to approximately 200 animals through transplant programs beginning in 2002. African oryx (gemsbok, Oryx gazella) are the most abundant and widely distributed large ungulate across the entire unit; introduced to WSMR in 1969, the free-ranging population is estimated at 3,000-6,000 animals and spreads into adjacent units. Javelina (collared peccary) are present in the desert scrub and canyon habitats of the southern unit. Mountain lion and black bear occur in the mountain ranges within the unit. Pronghorn antelope are present in limited numbers on the grassland and scrub fringes but are not a primary huntable species in this unit.