Lincoln National Forest spans about 1.1 million acres across southern New Mexico, from Chihuahuan Desert shrublands to high forest and sub-alpine meadows in the Sacramento, Guadalupe, and Capitan mountains. Created through the consolidation of several forest reserves and national forests between 1902 and 1917, it includes lands long inhabited by the Niit'a-héõde band of the Mescalero Apache. The forest combines diverse habitats, recreation, timber history, and scientific work, from the Mexican Canyon trestle and Sunspot solar observatory to Ski Apache. It is also linked to the Lincoln County War and to Smokey Bear, whose rescue after the 1950 Capitan Gap fire gave a living face to the fire-prevention symbol.