World Wildlife Fund

Join WWF’s Cathy Plume for an insider account of how WWF is conserving this place. Meet local people whose eco-businesses are the hope of this desert. Experience nighttime border crossings, a day on horseback and the culture of the Southwest. Learn what WWF and partners are doing to keep water flowing through the Rio Grande – while also meeting the needs of the five million people who call this desert home. 

Part 1: Arrival in Chihuahua | Part 2: Goals and Ghouls | Part 3: Thirsty Rivers | Part 4: Hermelinda's Story | Part 5: Señor Vallina's Vision | Part 6: Bighorn Sightings | Part 7: Starry Night | Part 8: Coffee and Congress | Part 9: Re-thinking Water | Part 10: Conserving Together

Party 6: Bighorn Sightings

Relampago carried me safely over uneven desert terrain.
© WWF/Cathy Plume

After a good night’s sleep in bunk beds we’re up early – though Sr. Vallina and his staff have already been awake for hours. Breakfast is ready and the horses are all saddled for our ride out to see the bighorn.  The last time I was on a horse I was 17 and fell off, so I’m a little nervous. None of the Brits can really boast much horsemanship either.  We feel like cityfolk.  I bet we look like cityfolk, too.

Sr. Vallina picks up on our lack of experience and has somehow found the tamest horses on Earth for our trip.  I’m riding Moro, a gentle soul whom I immediately rechristen Relampago – or “Lightning.”  We can’t help but be impressed with the beauty of Sr. Vallina’s desert holdings.  He’s kept cattle off of his lands since he purchased it back in the mid-80’s and the results are obvious.  The landscape is filled with native grasses that the horses are eager to nibble.  Even though this is autumn and the rainy season has passed, there is a green hue to this landscape – a far cry from most of the desert we’ve been driving through. A common misconception about the Chihuahuan and other deserts is that they are barren moonscapes. As Sr. Vallina shows us, this land can be quite productive when it is well-managed. 

View of the Sierra de la Tasajera mountain range, you can see Relampago’s ears at the bottom of the picture.
© WWF/Cathy Plume

We see a few mule deer as we scurry up the trails. Sr. Vallina has a trained eye and scours the hillsides for signs of his bighorn sheep. His herd gave birth to some 40 calves this spring and all of them have survived. The sheep are adapting well to this land and hopefully he will have enough animals to start his trophy hunting business in a few years.  He’s also very open to the idea of stocking other well-managed protected areas like Hermelinda’s with bighorn sheep.  He tells us that he would need to provide them with a minimum of 25 to 40 animals minimum to get started. At $10,000 a head, this would represent quite a donation to Hermelinda’s ejido. WWF is working to ensure that her UMA is successful so that Sr. Villegas will want to donate his bighorn sheep. This would be a win/win situation for all involved.

Sr. Vallina sees bighorn.  We see a grey hillside.  He keeps pointing.  Finally we see a clump of white rumps about halfway up.  Now that we know what to look for we start seeing bighorn sheep everywhere and spot over 40 on our two-hour ride.  Several of them are already sporting well-developed horns and we see two bulls ramming each other.  The “whack” of their horns clashing reverberates through the valley.

Can you spot the bighorn sheep? Look for their white rumps. Bighorn sheep populations are beginning to stabilize as a result of conservation efforts.
© WWF-Mexico/Jenny Zapata

Back at the house, we’re all boasting about our horsemanship skills – though I’m sure that Sr. Vallina is hoping that we know more about conservation than we do horseback riding. 

Part 1: Arrival in Chihuahua | Part 2: Goals and Ghouls | Part 3: Thirsty Rivers | Part 4: Hermelinda's Story | Part 5: Señor Vallina's Vision | Part 6: Bighorn Sightings | Part 7: Starry Night | Part 8: Coffee and Congress | Part 9: Re-thinking Water | Part 10: Conserving Together