At long last, a chance to explore Otero Mesa. As a 33-year resident of New Mexico, I had heard about this place for years and wondered if I'd ever see it up close and personal.

The Native Plant Society's state conference, held in Alamogordo last August, provided that opportunity. Let me express appreciation to the conference planners for arranging both speakers and field trips, one of which was a day trip to Otero Mesa.

Guided by Styve Homnick, a dozen of us car-pooled out of the parking lot of the Tays Special Events Center early in the morning to head toward our destination. As we turned east off U.S. Highway 54 South, our vehicles bounced over gravel roads across high prairie terrain. We stopped often to wander through the shrubs and grass, identifying an extensive array of flowering plants.

Some of the members carried their favorite reference book to pinpoint an unusual plant's features. Those of us ignorant of plant life taxonomy heard not only the two-part names, genus and species, but also the plant's family. The botanists in our group often mentioned a learned mentor, Robert Dewitt Ivey, who wrote a book with descriptions and drawings of all flowering plants in New Mexico. I felt awed by the complexities of the plant kingdom and the vast scientific knowledge of my fellow hikers.

After ample time spent looking at spectacular plant life, we parked and ascended on foot the moderate slopes at the base of Alamo Peak atop Otero Mesa.


There are five peaks in all, given names like Wind Mountain, Rain Mountain and Deer Mountain. Their darkened cliff sides loomed in the near distance. After trekking across a base of small rocks, we came upon large boulders and were startled to find so many of them covered with carvings; a large array of figures, animals, plants and natural phenomena.

I noted an eerie sense of how well-known this place was for earlier people. It is obvious they had lived, slept, hunted and prayed here. Though long gone, their spirit presence was very strong in this place. Whatever their purpose for carving into the faces of these boulders, they have communicated across the centuries to us today.

Who were they? How did they treat the natural resources surrounding them? Where did they go and why? It didn't take long for these questions to move from past through present to future.

Who owns this hauntingly beautiful place today? Should it bea protected? How can we share such treasures with others without degrading or destroying its gift? What will this spot look like in the next century? How can I make use of this experience?

We drove home, overlooking evening rays of sun filtered through the dusty air above several mountain ranges to the west: the Jarillas, the Organs, San Augustin, the San Andres. The Sacramentos covered our northern view. This was a day filled with images and ideas from plants, people and petroglyphs. As I write about it now, I am convinced we need to talk with mediation to find common values that will guide our efforts to honor ancestors, protect ranchers and experience undesecrated wilderness.

Physicists tell us that mere observation changes the behavior of an atom's moving electrons. How can any type of preservation efforts avoid altering the face of Otero Mesa? It cannot. Though we picked up every gum wrapper, only 12 day hikers have trampled and changed the mesa slopes a bit. What will happen with a paved road and cars full of daily visitors? This will be an issue for Native American descendants, land owners, botanists and environmentalists to carefully consider.

Linda Frederickson is a retired nurse and small horse farmer in Tularosa. She has lived in New Mexico for 33 years. This article was submitted by Otero County Citizens for Otero Mesa. For more information, contact Styve Homnick at (575) 937-8044 or email