Adventures in Mexico: Sierra de Picachos
by Maria Araujo

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Perhaps few nortenos realize what natural wonders are to be found in the mountains and canyons of Northern Mexico. Sierra de Picachos is a land where quaint villages are nestled amid spectacular scenery and a rich diversity of plants and animals.

After the first Texas Parks and Wildlife Department's Cloud Forest Adventure in fall 1994 to El Cielo Biosphere Reserve in the state of Tamaulipas, Mexico, organizers decided to scout for a scenic route from South Texas following the Sierra Madre through the state of Nuevo Leon. The Cloud Forest Adventure is a joint ecotourism project between Tamaulipas and Texas to acquaint Texans with the natural resources of the neighboring Mexican states and to help raise funds for the reserve.

Instead of a scenic route to the Cloud Forest, the trek through Nuevo Leon yielded a new Conservation Passport Adventure. The scenic beauty of Rayones, Iturbide and other communities, coupled with the biological significance of areas such as Sierra de Picachos, made it imperative to explore this area as a separate destination. Since the trend in recreational travel is for shorter and more frequent trips, extending the one-week Cloud Forest Adventure was not considered an option. Club Ecologico Novaterra was the gateway to the Nuevo Leon exploration. Novaterra is a 606-acre recreation area on the Mexican side of Falcon Lake with a botanical garden, trails, sites for primitive and recreational vehicle camping, Pueblo-style cabins and activity buildings and excellent birdwatching opportunities.

Novaterra gives a glimpse into Mexican private efforts to promote outdoor recreation. "Above all," said Alfredo Perez, owner of the site, "We are trying to promote an appreciation for the outdoors that leads to a strong conservation ethic." The nonprofit organization founded by Perez, which recently won a prestigious conservation award, sponsors underprivileged children to attend environmental education programs at Novaterra and other sites.

About an hour after we left Novaterra, we arrived in the town of Cerralvo, our entry point to visit a ranch in the Sierra de Picachos, a region of impressive biodiversity. It is an outlying portion of the Sierra Madre Oriental that reaches elevations up to 5,000 feet. On clear days, Picachos can be seen from Falcon Lake State Park.

"Birdwatching is excellent out here," said Benito Hinojosa, a resident of Cerralvo. "Black-headed orioles and white-tipped doves are especially abundant." U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service biologists recently heard or sighted ferruginous pygmy-owls, black-chinned hummingbirds, peregrine falcons, Montezuma quail, acorn woodpeckers, yellow-green vireos and trogons. Mammals found in the area include black bears, ocelots, mountain lions and ring-tailed cats.

The vegetation of Picachos is diverse: with Tamaulipan brushland on the eastern slopes, low chaparral on the northern slopes and more dryland vegetation on the south and western slopes. The interior slopes show marked differences in vegetation, depending on slope, exposure, drainage and elevation. North-facing interior slopes, for example, have plants also found in the Texas Hill country, the Tamaulipan brushland and the humid temperate and tropical forests from the Mexican interior.

Above 3,000 feet elevation, an open woodland similar to the oak-hickory forests of the Missouri Ozarks is found. The highest elevations are a mixed pine-oak forest. Dr. Francisco Gonzalez, a botany professor at the Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico, has been studying the flora of northeastern Mexico since 1963. Gonzalez reports that while no botanical inventories have been conducted in Picachos, it is probable that Picachos has endemic and even undiscovered species. Chris Best, a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service plant ecologist, said its plant diversity might surpass that of El Cielo Biosphere Reserve. "The drainages of Sierra de Picachos are extremely important to ensure a natural source of water and seeds into the Rio Grande," said Larry Ditto, USFWS project leader. Ditto reports that efforts are underway to protect a wildlife corridor from the Picachos north to the Rio Grande. "The beautiful evergreen limoncillo illustrates why these discoveries are important," said Best. "Limoncillo is abundant in Picachos, but only 15 plants are known to exist in the Texas wild."

Next on the itinerary was Linares, which is approximately 100 miles south of Cerralvo. There we met Dr. Cesar Cantu, head of the Forestry Sciences Department of the Universidad Autonoma de Nuevo Leon. We visited the university's botanical garden and traveled to "Bano de San Ignacio," a hot spring that now gives its name to the entire wetland area being proposed for protection as a special biosphere reserve, a category under Mexico's federal system of protected areas.

"The Commission of Natural Protected Areas is working toward a state system of protected areas," said Dr. Cantu, who presides over the Commission. The commission is one of several under the Nuevo Leon Advisory Council of Flora and Fauna, which reports to Governor Socrates Rizzo and directed by Andres Mancelo Sada, a renowned conservationist.

Though we were unable to visit Cerro El Potosi, one of the areas that the commission has identified as a priority area for protection, we went as far as the Bosque Escuela, the university's field station southwest of Linares about an hour's drive before El Potosi. One of the projects at the Bosque Escuela is a deer breeding and management program. Dr. Alfonso Martinez, a university professor, and some technicians were trapping a mule deer to release on a nearby ranch. The mountainous topography of the dense pine-oak forest made the task extremely challenging. The nursery of the Bosque Escuela is another important program of the university's field station for reforestation projects throughout the state.

On leaving the Bosque Escuela, we learned that work to pave the road between Galeana and Rayones had just begun, so we decided to take that route. Spectacular vistas across canyons made the bumpy ride worthwhile. Rayones proved to be worth the rough trip. It's a quaint town with cobblestone streets and surrounded by Sierra peaks and mature pecan trees. We met Laurentino Sanchez and his wife, owners of the only hotel in town, to make arrangements to bring a group at a later date. "We have great weather pretty much year-round," said Sanchez, "including summer, because of the altitude."

As we headed back to McAllen from Rayones, we took stock of the trip and decided that Sierra de Picachos would be the cornerstone of any nature study excursions in Nuevo Leon. Since there is no public access to the Picachos, we will be visiting with the permission of landowners willing to share the nature experience that their ranches offer. Desarrollo Ecologico y Sobrevivencia Integral, a Mexican conservation group, and Texas Parks and Wildlife are planning a series of nature study tours. Proceeds from this tour will be used for environmental education and to promote the protection of natural areas in Nuevo Leon.

In addition to the Nuevo Leon Adventure, the 1995 schedule of tours to the Cloud Forest in Tamaulipas has been published. Proceeds from this tour will continue to be used for conservation projects at El Cielo Biosphere Reserve. For information on these nature tours, fax your address to 512-389-8029 or call 512-389-4901.

This article is reprinted with permission from Texas Parks and Wildlife magazine.

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