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Smokey Bear Historical Park honors the iconic mascot of the U.S. Forest Service, Smokey Bear. It’s located in the small town of Capitan, New Mexico.
History
Smokey Bear is an advertising campaign to educated the public on wildfire prevention. It began in 1944, and the famous slogan, “Remember… Only YOU Can Prevent Forest Fires”, first appeared in 1947.
The living symbol of Smokey Bear was a three month old American black bear cub rescued from the Capitan Gap fire in the spring of 1950 near Capitan. He had climbed a tree to escape the flames but his hind legs and paws had burned. The bear was originally named Hotfoot Teddy, but was renamed Smokey.
New Mexico Department of Game and Fish Ranger Ray Bell took Smokey to Santa Fe where his wife, Ruth, and his children cared for him with the help of veterinarian Dr. Edwin J. Smith. National news picked up the story and Smokey became a celebrity. He was then presented to the U.S. Forest Service and given a home at the National Zoo in Washington, D.C.
Smokey Bear lived at the zoo for 26 years. He received so many letters that the U.S. Postal Service gave him his own ZIP code in 1964. He retired on May 2, 1975, and died on November 9, 1976. His remains were flown to Capitan for burial.
Smokey Bear Historical Park was established in 1960 with a log cabin museum. A memorial park was added in 1976 to accommodate Smokey’s remains.
Visiting
Smokey Bear Historical Park is open daily except Mondays. Admission is US$2 for adults, US$1 for children age 7-12, and free for children six and under (as of September 2024). The park has been run by the New Mexico Forestry Division since 1992.
Museum
The museum at Smokey Bear Historical Park contains interesting exhibits about the history of Smokey Bear, his life, and his impact on wildfire prevention worldwide.
There are also exhibits on the history of wildfire prevention, forest health, wildfires, and the science of fire ecology.
Memorial Park
Outside the museum is a memorial park with exhibits on different vegetative life zones found in New Mexico. There’s also an outdoor amphitheater, playground, picnic area, and Capitan’s original train depot.
One corner of the memorial park contains the final resting place of Smokey Bear. The memorial plaque reads:
“This is the final resting place of the first living Smokey Bear. In 1950 when Smokey was a tiny cub, wildfire burned his forest home in the nearby Capitan Mountains of the Lincoln National Forest. Firefighters found the badly burned cub clinging to a blackened tree and saved his life. In June 1950, the cub was flown to our Nation’s Capitol to become the living symbol of wildfire prevention and wildlife conservation. After 25 years, he was replaced by another orphaned black bear from the Lincoln National Forest.”
