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The life zone is above tree limit. It is about 4,500-7,500 feet.

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A fun fact about New Mexico's Grassland province are that every year New Mexico Game and Fish has a Prarie Chicken Festival in Milnesand New Mexico

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The males of these birds are yellow with black on top of their foreheads and black wings and white around the tails. The females have a more of a dull yellow beneath and olive above. The non breeding birds colors brown and black wings and pale wing bars. The birds will eat seeds like sunflower and thistle and flower buds, berries and insects.

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The flower's colors fade from a yellow to a lime green color. The flower beadles are very thin. The flower get it name from someone named Dr. John Brickell. The flower isn't very well known but you can find it in rocky habitats. The leaves are either opposite or alternet. The florets are mostly 20-40.

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Back GramaIs a prairie grass that usually grows around 1 to 2 feet tall and 12 to 24 inches. It has flowers in the fall and then grows seeds which then grow more grasses.

Grows around areas lower than 7 feet in elevation.

It is very nutritious and remains that way most of the year. Cattle graze on it and some farmers also use it for hay.

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Pinion Jay's eat a variety of nuts, berries, and insects.

They travel all over, usually in large groups.

They hide many pinion seeds in the ground and then come back and eat them later.

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Javelinas like to travel together in small pods.

They have a white collar around their necks and so they are sometimes called white peccaries. They mostly eat plants but will sometimes eat bugs and mammals.

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There is a large variety of animals that include Javelinas, (Wild pigs), antelope, coyote, deer, Gambel's quail, kangaroo rats, ringtails, and Harris Hawks, and diamondback rattlesnakes.

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The weasel's hair changes during seasons like in winter it's white and silky to blend with the snow but in summer it's brown and rough. The weasel's tail is only a third of its actual body size and its black on the end of its tail. One thing I think is really cool about the weasels is that they hunt small rodents but when they eat the rodents they also will take their home. The weasel grown ups average around 170 to 330mm long.

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Sagebrush is common in this zone and has been really useful for pioneers when they were traveling. They used it for food, medicine, and fuel. When the native Americans burned it they found that the smell was so strong that they would cover themselves in it to make the smell of skunk go away.

This province also houses most of Santa Fe and Alburqerque.

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This province has a lot of rocks and gravel and has a lot of prairie grass and other native plants. Most of the time it snows in the winter. Spread out between It is spread out between Mountains and Meadows.

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The plants that are common in this zone across the state are pinion pine, different kinds of juniper trees, oak trees, blue grama, buffalo grass, sagebrush. Fires sweep through this province leaving behind prarie grass that includes desert Williow and tobosa grass.

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Grasslands
Also known as bunchgrass prairie, this grass association stretches in a narrow band from southern Alberta into Montana. In Glacier, the fescue grasslands are found on the southern slopes and valley bottoms of major drainages on the east side of the mountains. Due to the close relationship of the mountains with the grasslands, in some places prairie species have been found above tree limit in association with alpine species. Grasslands west of the divide exist as prairies nestled in the North Fork Valley. Historically, a short natural fire interval has swept through that valley, preserving native prairie species. More than a hundred species of grasses thrive in the drier, windblown areas of the park. Waterton Lakes National Park contains a 13-square-mile (34-sq.-km) area of prairie that is one of only two preserved within the Canadian national park system. [Note: Parks Canada information on life zones, or ecoregions, lists four and does not include grasslands as a separate zone. Their lowest classified zone is the Foothills Parkland Ecoregion "with its associated grasslands and aspen forests." In this discussion that zone is listed next as the Aspen Parkland.]

Aspen Parkland
This zone consists of a broad band of forest and groves, which stretches across parts of three Canadian provinces and south into Montana. This region serves as a transition belt between the grasslands and the coniferous forest zone. The dominant tree cover is quaking aspen along with black cottonwood. Aspen forests are common in the eastern half of Waterton Lakes but are primarily restricted to valley bottoms in Glacier National Park. Shrub wetlands and marsh habitats are common constituents of this region. The aspen parkland is the most important winter range for elk and deer.

Ten percent of Waterton's area is composed of foothills fescue-oatgrass-aspen parkland. Unlike cultivated grasses, native fescues retain much of their nutrient value through the winter. This is crucial for the large herds of elk wintering in the park. Frequent chinook winds also benefit ungulates, as the winds sweep snow from grassy areas. Winds also cause snow drifts on the lee side of hills and in sheltered gullies, creating a distributions pattern of trees and shrubs, shelterbelts for animals during windy winter days.

Montane Forest
This zone occurs at low to mid-elevations in both parks but on the eastern slopes is largely restricted to the dry foothills and major river valleys. It is a mix of dry grasslands and relatively open mixed poplar and coniferous forests. Douglas fir, white spruce, and limber pine are distinctive trees of this zone. Lodgepole pine is found but is not a good indicator species as it extends up into the Subalpine. In areas of greater moisture west of the divide in Glacier, cedar-hemlock forest is at the eastern edge of its range. On drier sites with higher fire frequencies, ponderosa pines predominate. Shrubs associated with the Montane are bearberry and juniper. Twinflower, thimbleberry, and meadow rue grow on the forest floor.

Subalpine Zone
With increased elevation, the dense forest zone gives way to widely-spaced islands of dwarfed trees and lush meadows. The subalpine forest is the single most extensive vegetation community in both Waterton and Glacier. It is a region characterized by heavy snowfall and a short growing season. A boreal element is present with dwarf birch and fireweed.

In Waterton, at around 5000 - 6000 feet (1500-1800 m), the lower subalpine is a dense forest of spruce and fir characterized by heavy snowpack. In the upper subalpine, firs provide shelter for each other against battering winds and frigid temperatures. Wind and ice can shear off the growing buds of a tree so that the branches only grow on the leeward side; this is called flagging, as the trees resemble flags unfurled. Trees often form krummholz vegetation, growing stunted and twisted on exposed slopes.

Whitebark pine can grow in the harshest of sites, creating a microhabitat suitable for subalpine fir, thus extending the elevation of treeline. The park's whitebark pine populations have nearly been decimated by white pine blister rust which was introduced from Europe in 1910. Other species include Englemann spruce and lodgepole pine.

Subalpine meadows are key habitat for bighorn sheep and seasonally for bears. The elusive wolverine inhabits this zone. Marmots, chipmunks and ground squirrels are commonly seen during summer months. Logan Pass is a good example of a well-traveled subalpine area.

Alpine Tundra
The word "tundra" comes from the Finnish tunturi meaning "a treeless plain." Treeline occurs at about 6 900 feet (2100 m) on the west slope and 6000 feet (1800 m) on the east side. The alpine zone above that covers nearly one-quarter of Glacier and Waterton. This is the land above the trees. Expanses of bare rock make up much of this zone. The high country is a land of harsh conditions. Winds are often strong. The sun is intense, 5 percent brighter than at sea level with increased ultraviolet radiation. Plant leaves are often covered by tiny hairs, as an adaptation to diffuse light and prevent burning. Though there is ample rainfall, the winds neutralize much of it. Summers are short, temperatures low, soils shallow.

There is a profusion of miniature plants, a universal adaptation. Short stature protects life from the most whipping winds. It means less exposed surface, cutting evaporation. It spares energy that might be used for growing tall stalks and broad leaves and puts the energy into essentials: production by seed or vegetatively (through rhizomes, bulbs, tubers). Most plants are perennial and grow in cushions, mats, and low clumps. Many alpine plants cope with the short growing season by developing in stages: stems and leaves one year, buds the next, blossoms, and seeds the third year. In Waterton-Glacier, cushion plant communities, alpine meadows, and alpine bog areas are common. A number of mammals including the pika, marmot, and mountain goat have also adapted to this harshest of environments.

Natural Processes and Baseline Studies
The components of local plant communities constantly change over time. Short-term natural disturbances (fires, avalanches, floods, windstorms) and long-term shifts in environmental conditions (climate, glaciation) continue to cause change. All parks have already been modified to some extent by human activities. A major challenge for ecosystem researchers and managers will be to distinguish between natural changes and human-caused changes. Waterton-Glacier is unique in that, although there is human influence here, the area is relatively pristine and therefore offers a benchmark for baseline studies of such things as air quality, water quality, and wildlife in a relatively uncontrolled environment.

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Life Zones - Glacier National Park (U.S. National Park Service)

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Grasslands Also known as bunchgrass prairie, this grass association stretches in a narrow band from southern Alberta into Montana. In Glacier, the fescue grasslands are found on the southern slopes and valley bottoms of major drainages on the east side of the mountains.

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Our state is now in the top ten for the warmest state and wildfires are increasing. Luckily Governer Michelle Lujan Grisham passed a climate change executive order along with the legislature who passed several bills that will put New Mexico in leading position to be one of the top states with clean energy.

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New Mexico governor signs executive order to fight climate change

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Rainfall range is from 10 to 20 inches per year. Southern rainy season from April till September. Most of the rain that falls turns into snow.

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The higher you go up in elevation the temperature drops 3-4 degrees F. below freezing temperatures are normal even in the summertime. Snow storms also might happen at any time