Arizona/New Mexico Mountains Ecoregion

The Arizona/New Mexico Mountains ecoregion is a land of steep foothills and mountains, home to the largest Ponderosa pine forest in the world. Elevations range from pinyon-juniper woodlands of 4,500 feet to isolated tundra at 12,600 feet on Arizona's highest mountain. Sheer-walled canyons cut through the Mogollon Rim, a high plateau on the southern boundary of the ecoregion, creating spectacular corridors for hiking and wildlife viewing.

San Francisco Peaks as seen from Hart Prairie Preserve © Hal Malde

Ecological Importance:
From the oldest mountains in the Southwest, composed of Precambrian igneous rocks, to the San Francisco Peaks volcanic field, which spewed smoke and ash just a thousand years ago, the ecoregion contains great geographic diversity. This diversity makes it a treasure trove of birds, mammals, and plants, with more than 200 rare species.

Fire and flooding play a crucial role in the ecology of the region. Winter snowstorms and summer monsoons here feed the headwaters of some of the largest river systems in the Southwest, including the Little Colorado, the Gila, the Salt, and the Mimbres.

Conservation Concerns:
A long history of fire suppression, altered water flows, invasive exotic species, and poorly managed grazing critically imperil species and habitat in the ecoregion. Aquatic species are at greatest risk, including the Gila trout, the loach minnow, the spikedace, and the Chiricahua leopard frog.

More than 40 percent of the ecoregion is under federal management, with another 14 percent under tribal control. Ecological threats to national forests and reservations in the ecoregion result primarily from past and present approaches to managing fire, grazing, and water use. Recreation is also increasing as a pressure on the Arizona/New Mexico Mountains. The popularity of this cool mountain country, proximate to an expanse of hot desert, has sparked increased development. Much of this development is taking place along streams and in wetlands. In addition to threats from inappropriate development, exotic invasive species such as non-native fish and crayfish have wreaked havoc on the integrity of aquatic systems.

Top: Field of wildflowers in Hart Prairie Preserve © Peter Warren/TNC Bottom left: Bull elk, Courtesy Arizona Game and Fish Bottom right: Spikedace fish, Courtesy of USFS

© The Nature Conservancy

Ecoregion Facts

• Size: 29 million acres
• Location: Mountains of Arizona and New Mexico above the Mogollon Rim and southwest to Guadalupe Mountains of Texas
• Animals: The Mexican gray wolf has been reintroduced to the canyons and forests. Voles and shrews tunnel through forest openings, while Gunnison's prairie dogs forage in mountains, meadows, and grasslands. American dippers dart at insects in mountain streams, while speckled dace, suckers, chub, and the reintroduced Apache trout struggle to survive in the stream waters. As many as 200 species within the ecoregion are rare.
• Plants: Expansive forests of ponderosa pine dominate much of the ecoregion, with mixed conifer and aspen forests in the high country. Pinon pine and juniper savannas stretch across the lower elevations, with willows and cottonwoods lining the stream banks. Wildflowers like the Gila groundsel and the White Mountains paintbrush are found nowhere else in the world.

Strategies and Actions:
With such a large proportion of the ecoregion under public or tribal ownership, a successful conservation strategy requires close cooperation with the U.S. Forest Service and tribal governments. As part of a broad strategy to preserve the ecological diversity of the Arizona/New Mexico Mountains, we will:

• Exchange information, technical assistance and training with federal, state, and tribal governments in such disciplines as prescribed fire planning, ecological burning, and invasive species management.
• Develop multi-agency groups to manage threats to biological diversity in partnership and across boundaries.
• Permanently protect private lands along stream corridors or wetlands by developing or encouraging public and private funding mechanisms to purchase lands or conservation easements. Work with conservation-minded ranchers to keep lands intact and to improve grazing management in key ecological areas.
• Conduct hydrologic studies of surface and groundwater to guide efforts to restore natural water flows and improve wetland habitat.

Places to Visit:

• Hart Prairie Preserve
• Mimbres River Preserve