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Kiowa National Grasslands
The Kiowa National Grassland includes 12 miles of the
Canadian River Canyon. The
well-paved Hwy 39, from Roy to Mills and the
Canadian River Canyon actually
travels through the Kiowa National Grasslands. There aren't welcome signs, just
the sturdy green bunches of gramma grasses that manage to survive
drought,
cattle, wind and questionable soil.
The Kiowa are part of a national grasslands system that also include the Rita
Blanca, McClellan Creek and Black Kettle. These four grasslands are administered
for the U.S. Department of Agriculture by the Cibola National Forest and cover
263,954 acres scattered throughout New Mexico, Texas and Oklahoma and are part
of the Panhandle National Grassland. In New
Mexico, the grasslands are in Harding, Mora and Union counties. The biggest
grassland attractions are Lake McClellan, Lake Marvin, Spring Creek Lake and Skipout Lake, where water-related recreation activities are available. The
Forest Service has developed camp and picnic grounds at these lakes for the
public's convenience and enjoyment.
In addition to their recreational value, the grasslands furnish feed for cattle
and wildlife and provide protection to important watersheds -- plus, a number of
producing oil and gas wells contribute to the local economy.
Originally, these areas were plowed for farming, but because of poor soil,
recurrent drought and other factors they became part of the Great Plains Dust
Bowl in the 1930's, when their top soil blew away. The federal government purchased
55,000 acres of cropland in the Mills area
during the depression years and they were reseeded to grassland agriculture. The
grasslands are now largely revegetated. Successful restoration has permitted
game and bird habitat to be reestablished, thus fostering the growth of resident
bird and animal populations.
The grasslands furnish food, cover and water for a wide variety of
wildlife.
Wildlife varies as much as does the climate over the wide expanse of country
which these units cover. The Black Kettle National Grassland is in an
intermediate moisture zone, which provides habitat for wild turkey and
white-tailed deer. Antelope and
mule and white-tailed deer roam both the Rita
Blanca and Kiowa grasslands. Scaled quail are found throughout the grasslands,
and pheasant hunting is available on the Rita Blanca and
Kiowa National
Grasslands.
Kiowa and Rita Blanca National Grasslands
Union and Harding Counties
714 Main Street
Clayton, NM 88415
505-374-9652
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