Elizabeth Miller

3 weeks ago | newmexicomagazine.org | Elizabeth Miller

NOT FAR BEHIND the ranger station, the forest ends. Sunlight floods over grasses, wildflowers, and burnt trunks still standing after the most recent wildfire. The 2013 Thompson Ridge Fire charred the ridgeline by the Cabin District, charging toward the old ranch buildings and one of the last remaining stands of old growth in the Valles Caldera National Preserve.

3 weeks ago | l8r.it | Elizabeth Miller

NOT FAR BEHIND the ranger station, the forest ends. Sunlight floods over grasses, wildflowers, and burnt trunks still standing after the most recent wildfire. The 2013 Thompson Ridge Fire charred the ridgeline by the Cabin District, charging toward the old ranch buildings and one of the last remaining stands of old growth in the Valles Caldera National Preserve.

3 weeks ago | newmexicomagazine.org | Elizabeth Miller

FOOTSTEPS CRUNCH ON a patchy crust of snow as Ranger Adam Dean hikes out to the sunny side of Cerro La Jara, one of the tree-shrouded lava domes in the caldera. He follows a trail visible only as a more consistent line of thin snow in the bare dirt. A trio of bundled-up hikers and a volunteer follow Dean, some of them in their cross-country skiing boots, but their skis have been left in the car.

1 month ago | l8r.it | Elizabeth Miller

ALTHOUGH LOS ALAMOS native Melissa Fu moved to the United Kingdom 18 years ago, she says she’s “always plotting” ways to return home. In September, the author joined the inaugural artist-in-residence program at Valles Caldera National Preserve. Painters, writers, and a mixed-media artist stayed for two to three weeks in the Cabin District and led workshops inspiring others to think about their relationship with this place and the creativity it sparks.

1 month ago | l8r.it | Elizabeth Miller

THE JEMEZ MOUNTAINS SALAMANDER grows to all of three inches long and hides under fallen logs and rocks, where moist soil allows it to breathe through its skin. For nearly a decade, Nancy Karraker, a herpetologist with a doctorate in conservation biology, has monitored this endangered species. Recent years have seen its numbers dwindle, with fewer than 10 found in each of the last two summers.