San Guillermo, Argentina
- San Guillermo, Argentina Photo
- Julie Larsen Maher ©WCS
The San Guillermo Biosphere Reserve was created in 1998 to protect the biggest concentration of wild vicuñas and other camelids in Argentina. Spanning nearly 4,000 square miles, this mixed landscape encompasses the humid and swampy Chaco region and the steep, rugged highlands of the Andes. Andean flamingos depends on the area’s lakes during their seasonal migrations, and the highlands support populations of vicuña and guanaco, culpeo fox, puma, and the rare and endangered Andean mountain cat.
Fast Facts
- San Guillermo National Park harbors virtually intact plant and vertebrate communities that are seriously altered almost everywhere else in southern South America.
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Challenges
Not many people live in this landscape, but in recent years, this once isolated region has begun to attract human activities such as gold and silver mining, road building, and energy projects.
WCS Responds
WCS is surveying the populations of vicuñas and
guanacos and the Andean mountain cat. We are also working with the national park service, provincial governments, and mining companies to lessen the impact of humans in the reserve. Finally, we are helping to develop a management plan for the landscape with local authorities and communities.