Important links to journals and magazine articles and more.
Chihuahuan Desert Education Coalition PowerPoint Presentation by Rick LoBello
Proposed Big Bend US Mexico International Protected Area
Greater Big Bend summary, video and timeline
Big Bend National Park: Mexico, the United States, and a Borderland Ecosystem (America’s National Parks) Paperback – April 6, 2021 by Michael Welsh
Big Bend National Park Administrative History
Management plans for the protected areas in Mexico.
The easiest way to download the management plans, decrees, and other information for protected areas in Mexico, including Cañón de Santa Elena Área de Protección de Flora y Fauna (APFF), Ocampo APFF, and Maderas del Carmen APFF is through the CONABIO Atlas de Naturaleza y Sociedad: https://www.biodiversidad.gob.mx/atlas/social/
National Commission of Natural Protected Areas (CONANP)
This is the official site of the agency responsible for managing federally protected areas in Mexico. You can find management plans, decrees, conservation programs, and other technical documents here.
Direct link to the protected areas section:
https://www.gob.mx/conanp
Directory of Protected Areas https://www.gob.mx/conanp/acciones-y-programas/areas-naturales-protegidas-federales-de-mexico
On each protected area’s page, key documents (including management plans) are sometimes available for download.
Official Gazette of the Federation (DOF)
This is where official creation decrees and sometimes updates to management plans for protected areas are published.
You can search by the name of the area or by keywords like “Área Natural Protegida”, “Plan de Manejo”, etc.
https://www.dof.gob.mx
SEMARNAT (Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources)
Although CONANP operates under SEMARNAT, the ministry’s website also hosts resources related to environmental policy, protected areas, and regulatory documents.
https://www.gob.mx/semarnat
National Biodiversity Information System (SNIB) – CONABIO
Although more focused on biodiversity data, you can also find spatial data layers and references to official documents regarding protected areas.
https://www.snib.mx
State-level platforms (State environmental agencies)
Some protected areas under state jurisdiction (non-federal) have information available on the websites of state environmental secretariats or institutes (such as IMECBIO in Jalisco, State of Mexico’s Environmental Secretariat
https://sma.edomex.gob.mx
Updated 3.14.2025