El Malpais Potential Wilderness Protected - 320-acre private property within it preserved.

At one point the owner’s father thought he could discover water on this land and provide it to prospectors and speculators in one of the many booms and busts in the area. Later it was eyed as a homestead, but the owner wanted it preserved.  Now one of the last remaining private land holdings within the El Malpais National Monument Wilderness Study Area has been transferred to Federal ownership by The Wilderness Land Trust. This 320-acre property, known as Hoya de Cibola, will no longer threaten the wilderness that surrounds it by becoming a cabin site, recreational retreat or anything other than an addition to the increasingly rare wilderness of our country.

Ponderosa Pines dominate this property, which is also home to a collapsed lave tube used by the University of New Mexico to study the rare micro fauna that reside in this unique environment. The Wilderness Land Trust acquired this property to protect critical wilderness values and give the land owner the fair deal he deserved”, said Reid Haughey, President of the Trust.  “We have worked on this acquisition since 2003, and are now finally able to transfer it to the National Park Service” continues Haughey. 

 “When the Wilderness Land Trust purchased the property several years ago, they also bought us some time - the National Park Service did not have land acquisition funds in hand when the prior owners were ready to sell” said Superintendent Kayci Cook Collins. “The Trust's action and willingness to hold onto the land gave us the time we needed to secure funding. Thanks to the Trust, now those lands and their fantastic volcanic features are owned by all Americans, and just in time for the monument's 22nd anniversary" continues Collins.

The Wilderness Land Trust is a nonprofit organization established to buy and protect wilderness land. The Trust works with willing landowners to acquire their land and transfer it to federal ownership for future generations of Americans. Since 1992, the Trust has completed over 340 transactions in 75 designated and proposed wilderness areas, acquiring and transferring to federal ownership more than 30,000 acres of inholdings within public lands. It has offices in California, Colorado and Washington State, with strong programs in these states, as well as Arizona.  

At one point the owner’s father thought he could discover water on this land and provide it to prospectors and speculators in one of the many booms and busts in the area. Later it was eyed as a homestead, but the owner wanted it preserved.  Now one of the last remaining private land holdings within the El Malpais National Monument Wilderness Study Area has been transferred to Federal ownership by The Wilderness Land Trust. This 320-acre property, known as Hoya de Cibola, will no longer threaten the wilderness that surrounds it by becoming a cabin site, recreational retreat or anything other than an addition to the increasingly rare wilderness of our country.

Ponderosa Pines dominate this property, which is also home to a collapsed lave tube used by the University of New Mexico to study the rare micro fauna that reside in this unique environment. The Wilderness Land Trust acquired this property to protect critical wilderness values and give the land owner the fair deal he deserved”, said Reid Haughey, President of the Trust.  “We have worked on this acquisition since 2003, and are now finally able to transfer it to the National Park Service” continues Haughey. 

 “When the Wilderness Land Trust purchased the property several years ago, they also bought us some time - the National Park Service did not have land acquisition funds in hand when the prior owners were ready to sell” said Superintendent Kayci Cook Collins. “The Trust's action and willingness to hold onto the land gave us the time we needed to secure funding. Thanks to the Trust, now those lands and their fantastic volcanic features are owned by all Americans, and just in time for the monument's 22nd anniversary" continues Collins.

The Wilderness Land Trust is a nonprofit organization established to buy and protect wilderness land. The Trust works with willing landowners to acquire their land and transfer it to federal ownership for future generations of Americans. Since 1992, the Trust has completed over 340 transactions in 75 designated and proposed wilderness areas, acquiring and transferring to federal ownership more than 30,000 acres of inholdings within public lands. It has offices in California, Colorado and Washington State, with strong programs in these states, as well as Arizona.