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Elevations range from 4,400 ft along the foothills, where the state park is located, to 7,448 ft at Florida Peak in the Florida Mountains. The Florida and Little Florida Mountains are typical of the mountain desert throughout southern New Mexico and Arizona. Spring Canyon in the Florida Mountains is a sheltered canyon and offers solitude common to many canyons throughout the desert Southwest. The dark mountain north of Deming is called Black Mountain. The Cedar Mountains lie to the south-southwest.
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The Florida Mountains lie directly to the south of the main state park Florida Gap separates the two ranges. The Burro Mountains lie to the west-northwest the Victorio Mountains lie to the west-southwest. The Cobre Mountains form the far northern horizon behind the smokestacks. On a clear day the smokestacks of the Hurley smelter can be seen to the northwest. Basin and Range topography is easily seen in the distance. The main park provides excellent views of the surrounding mountain desert. Spring Canyon lies in the northern Florida Mountains, south of the main park, and is open for day use only from Easter through November. Rockhound State Park actually consists of two separate units, the main park and Spring Canyon Recreation Area ( Fig. Each visitor is allowed to collect as much as 15 lb of rocks and minerals from the 1,100-acre park mineral dealers are not allowed to collect for sale. It was established in 1966 as the first park in the United States that allowed collecting of rocks and minerals for personal use.
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Rockhound State Park lies in the Little Florida Mountains southeast of Deming, New Mexico ( Fig.
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Introduction Figure 1 – Location of Rockhound State Park. Modified from McLemore, V., and Dunbar, N., 2000, Rockhound State Park and Spring Canyon Recreation Area: New Mexico Geology, v. National Uranium Resource Evaluation database (NURE).Notice of Right to Inspect Public Records.I should have gotten down when I saw the apples, but instead I stayed up there for a few minutes, and the wardens arrived shortly thereafter. “When I got up there, I realized there were apples below it. Durand said he was bow-hunting with his brothers near a hunting camp they own, and because all of the tree stands he owns were in use, he took a walk in the woods and discovered the empty tree stand. It wasn’t my apples,” he said of the bait. Batchelder said he could not comment on whether the bait was discovered through routine patrol or as the result of a tip.ĭurand was arrested without incident, and Batchelder said Durand’s “resume” came up several times in conversation, though he did not ask for any special treatment.ĭurand, president of Durand & Anastas Environmental Strategies, a company he co-founded in 2003, said he is innocent of the charges, which he calls a misunderstanding. On that day, a warden spotted an all-terrain vehicle registered to Durand near the site and found him in the stand. “We were waiting for someone to be in that tree stand, but we didn’t know who it was going to be,” Batchelder said. Batchelder said the wardens made several trips to the area, attempting to find a hunter using the bait as a lure.