The San Andres National Wildlife Refuge is located in the southern San Andres Mountains of southcentral New Mexico , USA. The refuge, which lies within the northernmost extension of the Chihuahuan Desert , has elevations ranging from 4,200 feet (1,300 m) to 8,239 feet (2,511 m) feet. Refuge habitats vary from creosote and Chihuahuan desert grasslands in the bajadas to pinyon - juniper woodlands at higher elevations. A few springs, seeps, and seasonal streams provide water for wildlife and riparian habitats in the refuge.
22-480: WSMR may refer to: White Sands Missile Range , a military base in New Mexico, United States West Shropshire Mineral Railway , a UK railway authorised in 1862 but not built West Somerset Mineral Railway , UK railway, with inclined plane, transporting minerals to port. Opened in 1861. Wrexham, Shropshire & Marylebone Railway , a former train operating company in
44-609: A V-2 rocket returned in May 2004 after restoration. The White Sands Missile Range Hall of Fame inducts members such as the first range commander, Colonel Harold Turner (1945–1947), in 1980. A recreational shooting range just inside the "El Paso gate" on the south is outside of the Post Area. The 1972 DoD Centers for Countermeasures (CCM) evaluates precision guided munitions and other devices in electronic counter- and counter-countermeasures environments. Other operations on WSMR land include
66-469: A range of pathogens. Exposure to Parainfluenza-3 virus was detected in 20% of 50 WSMR animals tested for this pathogen, while two-thirds had been exposed to Bovine Respiratory Syncytial Virus , and almost all animals showed evidence of exposure to Bluetongue Virus as well as Malignant Catarrhal Fever . Pasteurella trehalosi was detected in oryx from San Andres NWR. Pneumonic pasteurellosis can cause high mortality in bighorn sheep, and susceptibility to
88-773: Is a United States Army military testing area and firing range located in the US state of New Mexico . The range was originally established in 1941 as the Alamogordo Bombing and Gunnery Range , where the Trinity test site lay at the northern end of the Range, in Socorro County near the towns of Carrizozo and San Antonio . It then became the White Sands Proving Ground on 9 July 1945. White Sands National Park founded in
110-579: Is also subject to periodic closures during test firings. New Mexico State Road 525 provides access from U.S. Highway 380 to the north end of WSMR near Stallion Army Airfield . El Paso International Airport is the nearest airport with regularly scheduled commercial flights. There have been no regularly scheduled commercial passenger flights from Las Cruces International Airport since 25 July 2005, when Westward Airways ceased operations; general aviation, New Mexico Army National Guard (4 UH-72 Lakota Helicopters), private charters and CAP, among others, still use
132-546: The Jornada del Muerto . The refuge is in the Upper Sonoran life zone characterized by semi-desert vegetation and grassland. One hundred and seventy two species of birds, including 5 species of hummingbirds , have been seen on the refuge. Large mammals include mule deer , mountain lion , desert bighorn sheep , black bear , and the introduced oryx . On rare occasions, javelina have been seen. The average precipitation on
154-826: The Launch Abort Flight Test Complex for the Pad Abort-1 , the White Sands Launch Complex 37 built for Nike Hercules tests, the White Sands Launch Complex 38 built for Nike Zeus tests with Launch Control Building now used for Patriot missile firings, the North Oscura Peak facility of the Air Force Research Laboratory Directed Energy Directorate, and the 1963 NASA White Sands Test Facility 's ground station for Tracking and Data Relay Satellites , and
176-598: The National Register of Historic Places on 15 October 1966. The White Sands Test Center , headquartered at the WSMR post area, has branches for manned tactical systems and electromagnetic radiation, and conducts missile testing and range recovery operations. "WSMR Main Post" includes several smaller areas such as the housing area, golf course, "Navy Area", and "Technical Area" The WSMR Museum offers tours and exhibits including
198-552: The SDO ground station with two 18 m (59 ft) antennas. Las Cruces Public Schools operates White Sands School on the missile range property. San Andres National Wildlife Refuge San Andres NWR is completely surrounded by the White Sands Missile Range and is closed to the public for security reasons. The San Andres National Wildlife Refuge preserves the largest intact Chihuahuan desert mountain range in
220-480: The 1930s is located within the range. As the largest military installation in the United States , WSMR encompasses almost 3,200 sq mi (8,300 km ) including parts of Doña Ana , Otero , Socorro , Sierra , and Lincoln counties in southern New Mexico . Holloman Air Force Base borders WSMR to the east; and WSMR borders the 600,000-acre (2,400 km ) McGregor Range Complex at Fort Bliss to
242-696: The U.S. The refuge runs 21 miles north to south at the southern end of the San Andres Mountains. San Andres Peak is the highest point at 8,239 feet (2,511 m). Bennett and Big Brushy Mountains rise to more than 7,000 feet (2,100 m). The range is a fault-block tilted to the west. The eastern slopes of the San Andres rise sharply from the Tularosa Basin now largely part of the White Sands military base. The western slopes are more gradual, merging into
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#1732852565327264-527: The United Kingdom Wrexham, Shropshire & Midlands Railway , proposed train operating company in the United Kingdom. WSMR (FM) , a radio station (89.1 FM) licensed to Sarasota, Florida, United States Topics referred to by the same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title WSMR . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change
286-624: The airport. Regularly scheduled commercial flights are also available at the Albuquerque International Sunport , which is located 200 miles north of White Sands Missile Range's main base, but is closer to the northern test ranges than El Paso. On 21 December 1965, the Trinity Site , selected in November 1944 for the Trinity nuclear test conducted on 16 July 1945 , was designated a National Historic Landmark district, and added to
308-409: The borders of WSMR. New Mexico State Road 213 enters the range from the south from Chaparral, New Mexico and terminates at U.S. Highway 70 , which traverses the southern part of the range in a west-northeast direction and is subject to periodic road closures during test firings at the range. U.S. Highway 380 runs east-west along the northern edge of WSMR between San Antonio and Carrizozo , and
330-735: The disease is higher in bighorn previously exposed to Parainfluenza-3 or Bovine Respiratory Syncytial Virus. Deer on the other hand are especially vulnerable to Malignant Catarrhal Fever. To limit the number of oryx on the San Andres NWR and White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico state with the cooperation of the Fish and Wildlife Service issues permits to hunt oryx. Between 2000 and 2007, a reported total of 284 animals in San Andres NWR were killed by hunting. More recently, about 50 animals are culled per year. [REDACTED] This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of
352-406: The herd and only one lone female remained alive in 1997. Beginning in 1999, desert bighorns were re-introduced into San Andres from other areas and their numbers slowly increased to about 100 in 2012. San Andres NWR is the largest area of protected land for desert bighorns in New Mexico. The South African oryx or Gemsbok , a large desert antelope native to Botswana , Namibia and South Africa ,
374-456: The link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=WSMR&oldid=1213770491 " Categories : Disambiguation pages Broadcast call sign disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages White Sands Missile Range White Sands Missile Range ( WSMR )
396-459: The plants they eat. Except for calves, the oryx is too large to be preyed on by mountain lions and other local carnivores. Oryx may also impact bighorn and deer by harboring several diseases that are thought or known to reduce recovery chances of bighorn and deer populations. In 2001, fecal and serological samples were collected from over 100 oryx at White Sands Missile Range and also an unspecified number at San Andres NWR, and tested for evidence of
418-672: The refuge is 13 inches (330 mm) annually, although it is highly variable ranging from about 7 to 25 inches per year. Multi-year droughts are frequent. Most precipitation comes in the summer. At least 10 springs and spring complexes on the refuge provide water for wildlife and create riparian zones with cottonwood , willow , and ash trees. Some of the springs have sufficient flow to create live streams that run for several hundred yards before becoming dry washes with water only after major rainstorms. The springs are located at elevations of 4,900 feet (1,500 m) to 6,000 feet (1,800 m) in elevation. The San Andres National Wildlife Refuge
440-494: The south (southeast Tularosa Basin and on Otero Mesa ) making them contiguous areas for military testing. WSMR is located between Las Cruces, New Mexico to the west, Alamogordo, New Mexico 40 miles to the east, and Chaparral, New Mexico and El Paso, Texas to the south. White Sands National Park and the San Andres National Wildlife Refuge are federally-protected natural areas contained within
462-422: Was created to preserve the desert bighorn sheep which was becoming rare in much of its range. At the time of the creation of the refuge, in 1941, the population of desert bighorn sheep was 33. With protection, this number increased to 140 in 1950 before declining to 70 after a severe drought. Grazing on the refuge was ended in 1952 and the numbers of the herd increased to about 200 in the 1970s. Disease then struck
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#1732852565327484-533: Was introduced into White Sands Missile Range in the neighboring Tularosa Basin during 1969, in hopes of attracting big game hunters and increasing state income from sales of hunting licenses. Oryx numbers quickly grew to about 3,000 and their range expanded into San Andres National Wildlife Refuge as well as adjacent areas. By 1997, at least 50 oryx inhabited the refuge, successfully competing for scarce resources with bighorn sheep and mule deer because oryx need little or no water to survive, getting their moisture from
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