San Andres National Wildlife Refuge protects a twenty-one-mile section of the southern San Andres Mountains in south-central New Mexico, preserving a large intact Chihuahuan desert mountain range within White Sands Missile Range. Its steep elevation changes support desert grassland, pinyon-juniper woodland, and rare spring-fed riparian pockets that sustain wildlife in an arid landscape. Established in 1941 to save desert bighorn sheep, the refuge saw the herd recover, then nearly vanish, before reintroductions rebuilt it to about one hundred by 2012, making this New Mexico’s largest protected area for the species. The refuge also supports diverse birds and mammals while managers work to limit introduced oryx competing for scarce resources.