San Andres NWR is completely surrounded by the White Sands Missile Range and is closed to the public for security reasons.

The San Andres National Wildlife Refuge preserves the largest intact Chihuahuan desert mountain range in the U.S.

The eastern slopes of the San Andres rise sharply from the Tularosa Basin now largely part of the White Sands military base.

Large mammals include mule deer, mountain lion, desert bighorn sheep, black bear, and the introduced oryx.

Some of the springs have sufficient flow to create live streams that run for several hundred yards before becoming dry washes with water only after major rainstorms.

[5] The South African oryx or Gemsbok, a large desert antelope native to Botswana, Namibia and South Africa, was introduced into White Sands Missile Range in the neighboring Tularosa Basin during 1969, in hopes of attracting big game hunters and increasing state income from sales of hunting licenses.

Oryx numbers quickly grew to about 3,000 and their range expanded into San Andres National Wildlife Refuge as well as adjacent areas.

[8] This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service.