Guadalupe Mountains National Park is located in the Guadalupe Mountains, east of El Paso, Texas. It was established in 1972 with an area of almost 350 kilometers. The Park is well-known for its relict mountaintop forests and riparian woodlands. The Guadalupe Mountains also have a variety of animals and plants, such as elk, American black bear, pinyon pine and velvet ash. Due to the hot climate of the region, there are frequently natural hot fires (National Park, n.d.). This reduces the size of the woodlands of the park, as the land is diminishing. Yet nowadays, there are fewer natural wildfires, while human-made wildfires are rare.
I visited the Guadalupe Mountains when I was little and found it exists due to its biodiversity. It was also the first time when I saw a gray fox and this was an amazing experience. I think that the major ecological advantage of the park is its mountains that ensure biological diversity. Moreover, it contains the highest point in Texas, which is Guadalupe Peak. Along with its nature, the park provides economic advantages to the region due to the number of visitors and its store, which is quite popular. There are almost 180 thousand visitors each year contributing to the state’s economy (National Park, n.d.). Regarding recreation, the park is spending its funding on managing wildfires and preserving its ecosystem. Although there is little information on what specifically the park is doing, it is evident that the workers control human-caused fires.
References
National Park. (n.d.). Fire Regime – Guadalupe Mountains National Park (U.S. National Park Service). Web.