About Bitter Lake National Wildlife Refuge
Originally designated the Carlsbad Bird Refuge in 1935, Bitter Lake National Wildlife Refuge first appears as a desolate, barren landscape dotted by occasional stumps, sparse grasses and shrubs. Upon closer examination the various geologic features, bubbling springs and unique desert wildlife make the refuge a true oasis. Located where the Chihuahuan Desert meets the Southern Plains in southeast New Mexico, Bitter Lake National Wildlife Refuge is one of the most biologically significant wetland areas of the Pecos River watershed system. Established in 1937 to provide wintering habitat for migratory birds, the 24,563-acre refuge plays a crucial role in the conservation of wetlands in the southwestern desert. The refuge’s namesake, Bitter Lake, is a large playa lake which early explorers to the region deemed “bitter” because of its white alkaline salty appearance. Little did they realize that the lake and similar waters support a wonderful diversity of creatures including a marine algae (Bataphora spp.) normally found only in lagoons along the Gulf of Mexico. The refuge supports approximately 1,200 acres of wetlands that include more than 70 sinkholes, large moist-soil managed impoundments, riverine habitats, ciénegas, and fresh to brackish springs. The wetlands attract more than 26,000 sandhill cranes, more than 50,000 snow geese and ducks during migration, as well as a variety of wading birds shorebirds such as great blue herons, egrets, white faced ibis, snowy plovers, least terns, black-necked stilts, and avocets. Situated along the floodplain of the winding Pecos River, the refuge is dotted by sinkholes created by groundwater from paleozoic aquifers dissolving the gypsum deposits in the soils above. Water bubbles to the surface along the refuge’s western edge from the San Andreas limestone formation, providing water and habitat for several resident threatened and endangered invertebrate, fish, and plant species. The Pecos River itself has undergone many changes i
