Place:  Silver Lake Recreation Area

City:  Mescalero Apache Reservation

Person interviewed:  Loren Gallerito, Director, Mescalero Apache Tribe Parks and Recreation Department

How this place/site benefits you and your community: “Thanks to the Land and Water Conservation Fund, the Silver Lake Recreation Area continues to generate revenues for the Mescalero Apache Tribe by offering campers a beautiful place to park their RV or pitch a tent.  This site is one of three on the reservation that supports 24 jobs throughout the year.  Our lake is stocked once a month with 450 pounds of rainbow trout, providing great fishing for our visitors.

With 55 RV sites and up to 500 tent sites, we are often full on weekends, requiring the use of law enforcement to safely direct traffic into our compound. There is a full range of stays here. For some, it’s one weekend, or one week, or sometimes 6 months at a time.  This place is green, with great scenery, and wildlife like elk, deer, and wild horses that sometimes come on to the property.  It’s beautiful out here.  What more can I ask for in working in the great outdoors every day? ”