Description - This physiographic area is located almost entirely in central
New Mexico. Major landforms are valleys, lowlands, outwash plains, and alluvial fans and
terraces. The middle reach of the Rio Grande is found here. Grama and galleta grasses and
four-wing saltbush occur along with sand sage at lower elevations, pinyon-juniper at
higher elevations, and conifers are in the scattered mountain ranges. Riparian strips
along water courses have cottonwood-willow and non-native salt cedar.
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Conservation recommendations and needs - Overgrazing and an interrupted fire regime
are the main factors affecting grasslands and desert shrub habitat. A rest/rotation
grazing system and lowering of stocking rates, especially during drought years, would help
to improve conditions in these habitats. Conversion for development and agriculture, water
diversion, overgrazing, damming, channelization, mining, invasion of invasive non-native
plants, and recreation have severely damaged riparian systems, here and elsewhere in the
arid Southwest. Solutions include grazing regimes that allow regeneration of
cottonwood-willow, restoration of natural flood cycles, and planting of cottonwood-willow.
Pinyon-juniper habitat is affected by fuel wood cutting, conversion for development and
grazing, overgrazing, and fire suppression followed by catastrophic fires. Limiting
fuelwood cutting, especially of mature pinyon trees, and curtailment of conversion for
grazing could retain the mature growth conditions preferred by priority birds. Restoration
of fire at appropriate intervals and intensities, probably cool fires and moderate
intervals, would also be beneficial. Fire suppression and catastrophic fires, overgrazing,
and some timber harvest practices have altered coniferous forests. Rest/rotation grazing,
return of a cool fire regime, timber harvest practices that leave snags and some older
trees, harvesting only part of a salvage sale, and thinning dense pine stands would
improve conditions significantly. |