NATURAL AREAS AND REGIONS 



571 



II. PRESENT BIOTIC CONDITIONS 



Relatively small areas, except in some 

 of the valleys, have been utilized for 

 agriculture, but grazing has done a great 

 deal to alter former conditions, espe- 

 cially in the short-grass regions, and to 

 a lesser extent in the forests. In many 

 places the original grasses have been 

 almost entirely replaced by such plants 

 as Gutierrezia and Russian thistle 

 (Salsola). Efforts are being made to- 

 ward the extermination of prairie dogs 

 and other characteristic rodents which 

 interfere with the complete utilization 

 of the land, as well as so-called preda- 

 tory animals such as the coyote. The 

 bison, which formerly ranged to points 

 west of the Rio Grande, remains only in 

 captivity, and the prong -horn owes its 

 preservation from final extinction to a 

 few interested ranchers. Compara- 

 tively little lumbering has been done, 

 and in all of the National Forests (see 

 Pearson's account of D-3 National 

 Forests, page 232) are considerable 

 areas, inaccessible for grazing purposes, 

 practically undisturbed except in so 

 far as the larger animals have been 

 killed off by sportsmen and government 

 hunters of predatory animals. The 

 Arizona elk, which made its last stand 

 in northwestern New Mexico, has 

 entirely disappeared, while individuals 

 of the northern form have been brought 

 back to the state within recent years 

 and are reported to be flourishing. 

 There are a few mountain sheep in the 

 Guadalupe mountains on the southern 

 border. The ranges and numbers of all 

 other large animals have been sharply 

 reduced. 



III. NATURAL AREAS 



The National Forests of New Mexico: 

 (Carson, Santa Fe, Manzano, Lincoln, 

 Datil, and Gila) comprise an area of 

 approximately 9^ million acres, located 

 mainly in the Rocky Mountain and 

 Colorado Plateau regions of the state. 

 About half of this area is in the pinyon 

 and juniper zones. For further de- 

 scription refer to the section on National 

 Forests. 



1. U. S. Preserves, exclusive of National 

 Forests 



*Bandelier National Monument. See 

 account of Santa Fe National Forest, 

 Jemez division, in National Forests of 

 the Southwestern District (page 000). 



*Chaco Canyon National Monument. 

 (B2.) 36 sq. mi. semi-desert with moun- 

 tain, canyon and rocky situations. 

 Near Putnam, San Juan County. 

 Reached via Gallup (60 mi.) on main 

 line of A. T. & S. F. Ry. 



*Carlsbad Bird Preserve. (B3.) 36 

 sq. mi. savanna, marsh, pond, river, 

 with land and water birds. Eddy 

 County, two mi. from Lakewood, on 

 Pecos Valley branch of A. T. & S. F. 



2. Available for preservation 



A. Stinking Lake. (B2.) 8 sq. mi. 



of swamp and Lake. Rio Arriba 

 County, 4 mi. from El Vado. 

 Reached via Chama on D, & R. G. 

 Ry. Should be made a Bird 

 Preserve, as it is the most im- 

 portant breeding ground for 

 aquatic birds in the state. 



B. Areas suggested for reservation 



in the national forests by G. A. 



Pearson : 

 a. Upper desert: 



1. Manzano National Forest. 

 Montezuma Ranger Sta- 

 tion. Camp pasture, 30 

 mi. southwest of Moun- 

 tainair. Go to L. H. 

 Claunch ranch about 25 

 mi. south of Mountainair, 

 known locally as Pueblo 

 Pardo Ranch. From there, 

 follow dim road 6 to 7 mi. 

 west by auto. (Sandy.) 

 Woodland and grassland 

 (Talbot). 



2. Jornado Range Reserve. 



Areas under fence to be 

 selected. 



3. Santa Fe National Forest. 



Abundant material avail- 

 able within forest bounda- 

 ries or on federal domain 

 nearby. Fencing prob- 

 ably necessary. — G. A. P. 



