Grulla National Wildlife Refuge has been designated by the Audubon Society as an Important Bird Area.

Located on the High Plains of eastern New Mexico, the 3,236-acre Grulla National Wildlife Refuge consists mostly of a shallow lake, Salt Lake.

The Spanish word for ‘crane,’ Grulla was officially established as a National Wildlife Refuge when the lands were transferred from the Bureau of Land Management in 1969. The refuge is a protected roost site for lesser sandhill cranes and provides a quality winter habitat for migratory waterfowl. It is managed for the benefit of wildlife and is open to the public for wildlife watching and photography free of charge.

Grulla National Wildlife Refuge protects a unique and strategically located habitat that is especially important to lesser sandhill cranes on their wintering grounds, as well as many other migratory birds and resident wildlife.

Most of the 3,230-acre refuge is made up of a saline lake, known as Salt Lake. Wildlife use at Grulla National Wildlife Refuge depends heavily on the amount of water in Salt Lake, which depends on local rainfall. Although the 2,330-acre flat lake bed is often dry, ducks use the area as a resting site during migration when water is present. The lake bed is also used as a roosting ground for large numbers of wintering lesser sandhill cranes, especially during periods of severe weather when freshwater or less brackish areas are frozen over. In the spring, lesser prairie chickens can be heard booming across the prairie all the way across the state line into Texas.

At present, the type of habitat found on Grulla Refuge is limited to a few smaller tracts that are in private ownership and scattered from Portales, New Mexico, to Lubbock, Texas. By protecting this roosting habitat, the sandhill cranes are concentrated in close proximity to large feeding areas, which helps them conserve energy and protects them from predators.

Located on the High Plains of eastern New Mexico, the 3,236-acre Grulla National Wildlife Refuge consists mostly of a shallow lake – Salt Lake.

The Spanish word for ‘crane,’ Grulla was officially established as a National Wildlife Refuge when the lands were transferred from the Bureau of Land Management in 1969. The refuge is a protected roost site for lesser sandhill cranes and provides a quality winter habitat for migratory waterfowl. It is managed for the benefit of wildlife and is open to the public for wildlife watching and photography free of charge.

Grulla National Wildlife Refuge protects a unique and strategically located habitat that is especially important to lesser sandhill cranes on their wintering grounds, as well as many other migratory birds and resident wildlife.

Most of the 3,230-acre refuge is made up of a saline lake, known as Salt Lake. Wildlife use at Grulla National Wildlife Refuge depends heavily on the amount of water in Salt Lake, which depends on local rainfall. Although the 2,330-acre flat lake bed is often dry, ducks use the area as a resting site during migration when water is present. The lake bed is also used as a roosting ground for large numbers of wintering lesser sandhill cranes, especially during periods of severe weather when freshwater or less brackish areas are frozen over. In the spring, lesser prairie chickens can be heard booming across the prairie all the way across the state line into Texas.

At present, the type of habitat found on Grulla Refuge is limited to a few smaller tracts that are in private ownership and scattered from Portales, New Mexico, to Lubbock, Texas. By protecting this roosting habitat, the sandhill cranes are concentrated in close proximity to large feeding areas, which helps them conserve energy and protects them from predators.

The large concentrations of sandhill cranes on the refuge can be impressive with a record peak of 100,000 cranes documented in 2005.