National Forest Closed for Months to Protect Jumping Mouse

The Lincoln National Forest has issued a special closure order for Wills Canyon (Mauldin Spring) near Cloudcroft, N.M. The closure is meant to ensure no damage is inflicted upon the shrinking habitat of the New Mexico jumping mouse, an endangered species.

The tiny grey-brown jumping mouse, which can be found hopping around Arizona, New Mexico, and some parts of Colorado, is considered what the US Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) calls a "habitat specialist."

The mouse, which grows no larger than 10 inches long (nearly half of which is just its tail), is pretty picky about where it nests, choosing only dry soils, but requiring moist streamside riparian vegetation to settle in. The mouse also hibernates a whopping nine months out of the year - awake only for a brief window of time where it scrambles to find a mate and gather food and adequate nesting materials.

In the wake of changing atmospheric conditions and a seasonal climate, you can likely see how this can be a problem. And unlike other species - including even the penguin - these adorable hoppers don't appear to be adapting.

Stuck in a rut and losing habitat space, the FWS declared the New Mexico jumping mouse endangered on June 10 after designating critical habitat conditions in April.

Now, in accordance with that declaration, the Lincoln National Forest along with the US Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Forest Service has closed the very specific riparian habitat of the jumping mouse to the public for the next four months (until Nov. 30).

According to the Forest Service, the habitat has already been blocked off by barbed wire and even "temporary electric fenced areas," and any trespassing into the closed portion of the park will result in a heavy fine up to $10,000 and/or jail time.

Officials say the public can still use existing trails outside of the closed area.