It's a place of serenity, a West Texas landscape with the power to mesmerize. Monahans Sandhills State Park encompasses almost 4,000 acres of sand dunes and sandhills – part of a larger expanse of sandhills here at the southwestern edge of the High Plains. The sandhills are an ecosystem unlike any other in Texas, and they conceal a surprising diversity.

Monahans' fortunes have ebbed and flowed since the 19th century. Its economy contracted with the oilfield bust of the 80s. Now, it's in the midst of a fracking boom. Thousands of wells have been drilled. Housing is scarce. There's daily rush-hour traffic on Interstate 20. 

But out in the dunes, that haywire pace recedes. It's a surre...