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November 2002

The Rio Grande

Feature Articles:

What are the Sky Islands?
by Randall Gray, New Mexico Wilderness Alliance

The Sky Islands are located in south-eastern Arizona, southwestern New Mexico, and northern Mexico.  This region is ecologically unique because it is the crossroads of the temperate Rocky Mountains and the tropical Síerra Madre Occidental, as well as the meeting place of the Sonoran and Chihuahuan Deserts.  About 40 small mountains, and some not so small, arise within a sea of rolling grasslands and deserts, hence the name Sky Islands.  In New Mexico, the most prominent Sky Islands are the Peloncillos, Animas, and Big Hatchets, all of which contain Wilderness study areas.  The combined topographic, geological and climatic diversity provides habitat for a myriad of plants and animals.  The bottoms of the mountains and surrounding landscape are composed of grassland or desert shrub, but as you ascend the mountains, the vegetation changes to oak grassland, then coniferous forests.  In fact, with a light pack you can climb from the southwestern deserts to “Canada” in a matter of hours, ecologically speaking that is!  Continued . . . 

Sky Islands Wildlands Network Links Landscapes and People
by Kim Vacariu, Southwest Representative, Wildlands Project

Since its release in 2000 as the first Wildlands Network Design to be published in North America, the Sky Islands Wildlands Network Conservation Vision (Sky Islands Wildlands Network) has added a new approach to land and wildlife protection in the borderlands region of southwestern New Mexico, southeastern Arizona, and northern Mexico.

In essence, the Sky Islands Wildlands Network provides a broad-brush painting of what conservation can look like if applied across a 10,000,000-acre ecoregional landscape that includes the work areas of hundreds of conservation groups, state and federal agencies, private individuals, ranchers, outdoors organizations, land trusts, and many other land-protection advocates.

Based on a connected matrix of large Core Wildlands Areas, Wildlife Movement Linkages, and Compatible Use Lands, the overall goal of the plan is to first slow, then reverse the extinction crisis that threatens many species in the borderlands ecoregion.  To accomplish this lofty end will likely take generations of effort, including specific conservation actions aimed at “healing ecological wounds” across the landscape. Continued . . . 

The Peloncillos: A Special Part of the Sky Islands
by Rachel Kondor, Ecosystem Defense and Policy, Director for the Sky Island Alliance

As we rounded the bend in the road, I saw a tawny-colored flash out of the corner of my eye.  My companion exclaimed, “Mountain lion!”  The animal was magnificent, running full speed across the valley in front of us.  Within just seconds, the lion had run the full stretch of the valley and had disappeared over the ridge to out left.  We ran to the top of ridge hoping to catch one more glimpse, but our human legs were too slow, and the animal was gone.  Never had I seen an animal move so fast, with such power.  The encounter left us all breathless.

We were in the Peloncillos conducting road surveys, when we caught sight of the lion.  Although we had hoped to see some birds and other small mammals that weekend, none of us expected to see a large cat-the Peloncillo mountain range can surprise you sometimes.

Straddling the Arizona-New Mexico-Mexico border region, the Peloncillos are relatively dry and low-lying in the United States, compared to other sky islands in our region. Continued . . . 

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Last Modified: December 2, 2002
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