Services

At Bosque del Apache, we offer the following public services: 

Special Use Permits - please send questions and completed applications to BosqueDelApacheNWR@fws.gov (you may reach out to this email address for a special use permit application). Please allow at least 8 weeks for us to process your permit. We do not allow commercial photography workshops during the Festival of the Cranes excluding approved Festival of the Crane workshops (December 2-5, 2026).

Apply for a Special Use Permit on National Wildlife Refuges

Some commercial, recreational and research activities are allowed on national wildlife refuges only with a special use permit issued by the local office, and are subject to specific conditions and fees. This permit requirement is meant to ensure that all activities at the federal site are compatible with the refuge’s Congressionally mandated wildlife conservation goals.

Federal Recreation Passes

Passes can be purchased online or in person at a federal recreation facility. By purchasing passes at your local site, you ensure that the funds from your purchase support projects at that site.

A pass covers entrance and certain day use and amenity fees for the pass owner and all occupants in a personal vehicle at sites that charge per vehicle or, the pass owner and up to three additional adults (16 and over) at sites that charge per person. Children ages 15 or under are admitted free. Each pass covers entrance fees at national parks and national wildlife refuges as well as some other fees at national forests and grasslands and at lands managed by the Bureau of Land Management, Bureau of Reclamation and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.