Chihuahuan Desert Network - Archived

03/18/2026

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12/07/2021

Internship Opportunities Available!

Got skills in GIS or ecological monitoring? We are hiring three Scientists in Parks interns to work with the NPS Chihuahuan Desert, Southern Plains, and Sonoran Desert inventory and monitoring networks. These are one-year, paid positions starting in spring/summer 2022 for aspiring professionals in ecology and data science who would like to work on important real-world projects while building professional experience and a connection to national parks. Interns will have the opportunity to develop and complete their own projects under the guidance of natural resource professionals.

The Chihuahuan Desert Network intern will work out of Las Cruces, NM, as an Ecology Assistant. This intern will collect data on vegetation in upland and riparian systems, and sample water quality, quantity, and invertebrates at springs. See details at https://rock.geosociety.org/eo/viewJob.asp?jobID=3255.

The Southern Plains Network intern will work out of Santa Fe, NM, as an Ecology Assistant. This intern will collect data on vegetation in upland and riparian systems, and sample water quality, quantity, and invertebrates in wadable rivers and streams. See details at https://rock.geosociety.org/eo/viewJob.asp?jobID=3336.

The Sonoran Desert Network intern will work out of Tucson, AZ, as a GIS Assistant. This intern will work with a team of data managers responsible for supporting natural resource monitoring in parks. Park housing is available for this internship. See details at https://rock.geosociety.org/eo/viewJob.asp?jobID=3334.

For more information on the Scientists in Parks program and to apply, visit https://www.nps.gov/subjects/science/scientists-in-parks.htm.

09/24/2021

Research on the oldest known human footprints in North America at White Sands National Park made it to national news outlets yesterday! Read about these ancient footprints below.

Leave nothing but footprints…

New scientific research conducted at New Mexico’s White Sands National Park has uncovered the oldest known human footprints in North America. The discovery reveals evidence of human occupation in the Tularosa Basin beginning at least 23,000 years ago, thousands of years earlier than previously thought.

The fossilized human footprints were buried in multiple layers of gypsum soil on a large playa. Seeds embedded in the footprints were radiocarbon dated and analyzed by the U.S. Geological Survey to establish age. The research dramatically extends the range for the coexistence of humans and Pleistocene (ice age) megafauna and confirms that humans were present in North America before the major glacial advances at the height of the last ice age closed migration routes from Asia. Learn more at https://www.nps.gov/whsa/learn/news/092321nr.htm

White Sands contains the world’s largest-known collection of Pleistocene age (ice age) fossilized footprints in the world and has been recognized as a megatracksite since 2014. In addition to human footprints, tracks from the Columbian mammoth, saber-toothed cat, dire wolf, and other ice age animals have been discovered. More information about the park’s fossilized footprints is available at https://www.nps.gov/whsa/learn/nature/fossilized-footprints.htm.

Image: Long before the sand dunes formed at White Sands National Park, ice age teenagers left their footprints in the mud, only to be discovered thousands of years later. Courtesy of Karen Carr

07/02/2021

Guadalupe Mountains National Park received heavy rainfall this week. The park posted this video on Instagram with information on park closures. It's definitely the rainy season!

Check out more weather data from weather stations in Guadalupe Mountains National Park and other Chihuahuan Desert parks at https://www.climateanalyzer.org. Click on the Chihuahuan Desert and then choose a park and weather station on the map. You can even create graphs and tables on this site to see weather data over time. We use these data to monitor weather and to understand how weather affects natural resources. Read more about our climate monitoring here: https://www.nps.gov/im/chdn/climate.htm

06/04/2021

Please help us spread the word! We are seeking a Scientists in Parks intern to work in data science and GIS in our network. This is a 12-week, paid position for an aspiring professional who would like to work on important real-world projects while building professional experience and a connection to national parks. Our intern will have the opportunity to develop and complete their own project under the guidance of natural resource professionals.

Each year, the National Park Service hosts hundreds of interns in this program across the United States. The intern in the Chihuahuan Desert Network will work in a dynamic data environment on a team of professional natural resource data managers responsible for supporting natural resource monitoring in Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Colorado, and Utah! This position will be at the Desert Research Learning Center in Tucson, Arizona, and free housing is provided. Applications are due by June 13, 2021.

Details for this opportunity can be found athttps://rock.geosociety.org/eo/documents/sip/2021/winter/2021445_SODN_CHDN_SIP_Intern_PD.pdf

For information on the Scientists in Parks program and to apply, go to https://www.nps.gov/subjects/science/scientists-in-parks.htm.

Read more about the Chihuahuan Desert Inventory and Monitoring Network and the work we do in parks at https://www.nps.gov/im/chdn/index.htm

05/27/2021

Check out the interesting saguaro bloom at our sister network in the Sonoran Desert.

04/16/2021

Check out this new paper that describes how the pandemic affected our field science in the Chihuahuan Desert Network and throughout the National Park Service.

When the pandemic hit, a lot of us moved our work online. But some things can’t be done remotely, and field science is one of them. A new paper describes the impacts of covid-19 on many aspects of the National Park Service—including how cumulative interruptions to long-term monitoring mean missed opportunities to improve park management and visitor experience. At the same time, the past year has shown us some better ways of doing things, and of thinking about the future. Read the article at: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0006320721000902

10/20/2020

Trees grow bent and gnarly due to the strong winds along the iconic escarpment of Guadalupe Mountains National Park.

Check out some of the amazing natural resources we monitor at this park at https://www.nps.gov/im/chdn/gumo.htm

10/15/2020

The Capitan Reef of Guadalupe National Park represents one of the world's largest and most-exposed fossil reefs. These rocks harbor an array of fossil organisms that are studied to understand the abundance, diversity, and complexity of the organisms that inhabited the reef system, which was built mostly of sponges and algae rather than coral like modern reefs. Numerous fossil species and geological formations observed in Guadalupe Mountains National Park were the first of their type to be reported in scientific literature.

Today, we monitor the plants and animals that occupy this area to understand their status and how they might be changing over time. Read more at the Chihuahuan Desert Network Website: https://www.nps.gov/im/chdn/index.htm

06/30/2020

Javelinas may look like pigs, but they are in a totally different family of mammals. Javelinas are much smaller than pigs and don't have a visible tail. They also have short, straight tusks seen in the skull here, whereas pigs have longer and curved tusks. Javelinas are omnivorous animals, which means that they eat meat and plants. They feed on insects, grubs, and small animals, but they particularly love to eat roots, grass, fruit, and prickly pear cactus pads. Check out what a javelina did to this prickly pear!

04/23/2020

Happy Earth Day! Protecting the beautiful and precious Chihuahuan Desert through science-based decision making is our priority!
Visit our website to learn more: https://www.nps.gov/im/chdn/index.htm