The conservation of the Sierra La Laguna continues to be one of the most relevant cases of environmental resilience in Baja California Sur. Despite having faced historic forest fires and multiple natural pressures, specialists maintain that the ecosystem remains in favorable conditions of conservation and balance.
According to Jesús Eleazar Quiñones Gómez, a Master of Science in Environmental Law, forestry engineer, and environmental expert for the Judiciary, there are currently no indicators showing significant deterioration in the reserve.
“Sierra La Laguna, as far as we know, is an ecosystem in a very acceptable balance, apart from those species listed in Mexican Official Standard 059 as endangered species, which are very few in number in Sierra La Laguna,” said Quiñones.
The specialist explained that although maintaining genetic reservoirs and monitoring biological populations is always important, there are currently no records indicating severe damage or accelerated biodiversity loss.
One of the events that remains vivid in the collective memory of residents and ranchers in the area is the 1965 forest fire, considered the last major fire recorded in the Sierra La Laguna.
Quiñones Gómez recounted that those who lived through that event described a fire that burned for a month in the upper reaches of the mountain range.
“There were people living in the Sierra as early as 1965, and well, in those years Mexico was just beginning to organize itself with this type of administration, and there wasn’t a forest fire prevention brigade in the state.”
Due to the vastness of the mountain range, residents from various ranches climbed up to help with the firefighting efforts, while from nearby communities they could watch the flames consuming the upper reaches of the forest.
Despite the magnitude of the fire, specialists emphasize that the species present in the Sierra demonstrated an extraordinary capacity for adaptation.
The specialist pointed out that although a fire of that magnitude might suggest irreversible destruction, many species present in the area evolved precisely under conditions where fire is a natural part of ecological cycles.
“Anyone talking about a forest fire lasting a month would say it was over, but this pine species was prepared for such events.”
The first scientific investigations carried out decades after the fire confirmed what mountain residents had already suspected: ecological recovery was successful.
Quiñones Gómez recalled that more in-depth studies began in the region during the 1980s, and the findings revealed a stable ecosystem.
“The most significant discoveries were made in the 1980s, and at that time they found an area with considerable balance and preserved without any trace of fire.”
Currently, specialists consider the Sierra La Laguna to remain one of the best-preserved ecosystems on the peninsula, although they caution that maintaining this balance will depend on constant monitoring, prevention, and the protection of its unique species.
Source: oem
