The office and park are located in Capitan.

The Capitan District spans the Southeast corner of the state which includes the counties of Lincoln, Otero, Chaves, De Baca, Roosevelt, Lea and Eddy.  The District provides technical assistance to landowners and has wildland fire suppression responsibilities that cover 30,877 square miles encompassing 8,591,874 acres of private, non-federal and non-municipal lands.  The District staff includes:  Eddie Tudor, District Forester; Lynn Lovelace, Fire Management Officer; Andrew Frederick, Timber Management Officer and Donna Carmichael, Administrative Management Officer.  The District staff provides assistance to its cooperators on forest and watershed health and fire safety issues across the seven county areas.

The Capitan District also manages Smokey Bear Historical Park. The District assumed management in 1990. Park staff includes David Cunningham, Park Manager Rebecca Judd, Park Ranger and Linda Wallace, Park Ranger. The Park exhibits include a historical timeline of the fire prevention program, the history of Smokey Bear from poster concept to finding the cub in the Capitan Mountains to his final resting place at the Park, black bear information (Smokey was a black bear) and informational panels on fire's role in the ecosystem. Outside gardens and boardwalk take visitors throughout six of the seven New Mexico life zones, desert to sub-alpine.

The park is a major participant in annual Conservation Days with local schools in April, Smokey Bear Days the first weekend in May and the Village of Capitan’s Fourth of July celebrations. The Park also hosts Easter and Halloween events.

Go to District index page with map