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NM history book
http://www.wildlife.state.nm.us/download/education/conservation/coloring-books/Life-Zones-Coloring-Book.pdf

https://watermark.silverchair.com/nafa_35_0001.pdf?token=AQECAHi208BE49Ooan9kkhW_Ercy7Dm3ZL_9Cf3qfKAc485ysgAAApcwggKTBgkqhkiG9w0BBwagggKEMIICgAIBADCCAnkGCSqGSIb3DQEHATAeBglghkgBZQMEAS4wEQQMU8CDmsz4FS4S7OjjAgEQgIICShuqJz0_XqWQLbN1zoKqDc8WPfFZcJ-BXX8uOz4cumDxdkQQ3_rvxhuQTRNDTxuu6g8jjIQJw61WIGwilVSWssn2xzUr1LW0bYgL4-ZnCrGINE862DU0MmVYUELmejJgI0I2vIM3xvvwlTrBiBMQDu55WHj8w9E58znRYff_0LRBcAYmtaWINITpnt3MZzwd1HsONdRqKWiAo_hlqew2-9zQHKREGfnsaLFyDquZa4042tsz8UVJ4EQiQkLbZ72qCW4NDbaf_okeqzBheNCOIB_zK8SlUzhj7ow9cV7EOEv3PxHKFGUEVbGRj1Acwj7nFf3JKpSSbLNijf0jo5Bo6IynO0ggwSGOTHPrYz2Uwva_UZPZ4w5HiRUEzHl6rRThgOjcI4cyPXnM7SIDLmGulbB_-_L4bglP1BTGhfwUg1LZ8Sqqz3egygzJqlXU8VC-1XfZDW6ce33TICPApTC7-KXNKmX2bZvfghlM9R_dujS-RG0xwm0yVYPTioZEMAqhCvLuerO3kZrXN4CM812_AQRDTFKvDn-uH54K3hWiAOsgc6o3b1a15VKgssggsGeCLailrAVGmzg8_PHASNpe3Oe_2JiP1hT6ioowyi16OxFlip59ZdYbk72sg0ApMjLbW06sOujZcuYrHE23TmVabHdsvdG9fPpiu1tn5Pf-zW60rISjJED9iLzh5ZhJ7_anXgSQ-YlAlFfZrLzpFr5__9Z9LahBnL9bGy-ZbcGl_XWNskncbYhYHawXVhSaJmV6mmBhZGK3V9JVp9M

https://plants.usda.gov/factsheet/pdf/fs_bogr2.pdf

https://nhpbs.org/natureworks/pronghorn.htm#:~:text=The%20pronghorn%20is%20the%20only,tan%20to%20reddish%20brown%20body

https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Gambels_Quail/overview

https://editors.eol.org/eoearth/wiki/Ecoregions_of_New_Mexico

https://www.exploringnature.org/db/view/219

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John E. Ubelaker - The Pinyon Jay - Native Plant Society of New Mexico: Taos Chapter

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Dry Farming - Doesn’t need irrigation to grow, grows naturally
Bunch grasses: Grasses that grow in groups, or "bunches"
Semiarid: A dry climate, but having more rain than a arid climate

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Traditional Pinon Pine Nut Picking of the Navajos

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Traditional Pinon Pine Nut Picking of the Navajos

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The Traditional Pinyon Pine Nut Picking of the Navajo

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Common Name(s):

Twoneedle Pinyon
Singleleaf Pinyon
Pinyon Pine

Scientific Name:

Two Species:
Pinus edulis Engelm. (Twoneedle Pinyon)
Pinus monophylla Torr. and Frem. (Singleleaf Pinyon)

Scientific Name Synonyms:

None known

Symbol:

PIED (Twoneedle Pinyon)
PIMO (Singleaf Pinyon)

Description:

Life Span: Perennial

Origin: Native

Season: Evergreen

Growth Characteristics: Pinyon pine is a 10 to 30 foot tall tree, growing in a pyramidal or spreading shape. It reproduces from seeds.

Flowers/Inflorescence: Cones. Unisexual, in clusters at the ends of branches. The male cones occurring in clusters of 20 to 40, dark red to purplish red to yellow. Female cones are solitary and purplish. Mature female cones appear as "pine cones", light brown to tan in color with thick scales. The cones don't mature until September of the second year.

Fruits/Seeds: Seeds are pine nuts.

Leaves: 1 to 2 inch long needles, in spirally-arranged fascicles. There are 2 needles per fascicle in P. edulis, and 1 needle per fascicle in P. monophylla. New growth is bluish-green turning yellowish-green.

Stems: Twigs are smooth when young. Branches are rough and scaly. The bark is thin, gray to reddish-brown or nearly black. The trunk is frequently twisted and crooked. The bark is irregularly furrowed with small scales. Pine gum resin abundant.

Ecological Adaptions:

The woodland mosaic formed by pinyon pine occurs primarily on the high plains, plateaus, mesas, canyons, foothills, and lower mountain slopes of the Colorado Plateau. Sites are intermediate between ponderosa pine and submontane scrub above, and semiarid grassland or sagebrush steppe below. In the Great Basin, P. edulis is replaced by P. monophylla. Pinyon occurs most commonly at elevations between 4,500 and 7,500 feet where annual precipitation ranges from 12 to 18 inches.

The distribution of pinyon pine is primarily a function of climate. Its lower limits are determined by lack of moisture; upper limits by biotic competition, low temperatures, and excessive soil moisture. Therefore, the elevational zones it occupies vary considerably depending on local topography and geographical location. Pinyon pine usually grows on the higher elevation sites in the pinyon-juniper woodlands it occupies.

Soils: Dry and rocky soils.

Associated Species: Utah juniper, big sagebrush, Indian ricegrass.

Uses and Management:

Pinyon pine is worthless as forage for livestock. Although not preferred, cattle will use pinyon needles. Pinyon needles are believed to cause abortion in cows. The seeds are important wildlife food for several songbirds, quails, squirrels, chipmunks, black bears, and mule deer.

The seed crop of pinyon pine is valuable and is used in making candies, cakes, and cookies. The seeds were a staple food in American Indian diets and were eaten raw, roasted, or ground into flour. Seed crops are erratic, depending on moisture, and Indian migrations were determined by location of seed crops. Needles were steeped for tea. The inner bark served as starvation food for American Indians.

Today incense is made from crushed cones. Indians still use the pitch as a caulking compound for watertight baskets and as glue for turquoise jewelry. The annual harvest of pinyon nuts exceeds 1million pounds. This crop is second in commercial value only to pecans among the uncultivated nuts of the United States. Singleleaf Pinyon Pine (P. monophylla) nuts are larger and more desirable than those from P. edulis.

The tree is also desired as a Christmas tree because of its aromatic fragrance, and the wood is used for fuel and fence posts.

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Twoneedle Pinyon Singleleaf Pinyon Pinyon Pine Two Species: Pinus edulis Engelm. (Twoneedle Pinyon) Pinus monophylla Torr. and Frem. (Singleleaf Pinyon) None known PIED (Twoneedle Pinyon) PIMO (Singleaf Pinyon) Life Span: Perennial Origin: Native Season: Evergreen Growth Characteristics: Pinyon pine is a 10 to 30 foot tall tree, growing in a pyramidal or spreading shape.

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This odd jay, looking more like a small blue-gray crow, lives mainly in the Great Basin region of the west. Appropriately named, it feeds heavily on the seeds of pinyon pines, and its distribution is tied closely to the range of these trees. Pinyon Jays are sociable at all seasons, traveling in flocks, nesting in colonies. When on the move they fly close together, giving harsh nasal calls.

Conservation status

Local numbers may change drastically from year to year, making it difficult to track the overall population, but surveys indicate general declines in recent decades.

Family
Crows, Magpies, Jays

Habitat

Pinyon pines, junipers; ranges into sagebrush. Under normal conditions, seldom found far from pinyon pines in pinyon-juniper woods. At times, perhaps when the pinyon cone crop fails, flocks are seen elsewhere in streamside groves, oak woods, or other habitats.

Feeding Behavior

Does much foraging on ground, also feeds in trees, and occasionally flies out to catch insects in the air. Almost always forages in flocks. Stores many pine seeds in late summer and fall, burying caches in ground, and is able to find them and feed on them later.

Eggs

4-5, sometimes 3-6. Very pale blue-green to grayish, finely dotted with brown. Incubation is by female, about 16-17 days. Male feeds female during incubation. Young: Both parents bring food for nestlings. Young leave nest about 3 weeks after hatching.

Young

Both parents bring food for nestlings. Young leave nest about 3 weeks after hatching.

Diet

Omnivorous, but especially pinyon pine seeds. Feeds heavily on seeds of pinyon pine; also eats seeds of other pines and many other plants, berries, small fruits, nuts, waste grain. Especially in summer, eats many insects, including beetles, caterpillars, and grasshoppers, also sometimes eggs and young of smaller birds. Young are fed mostly insects.

Nesting

Nests in colonies, close together but usually no more than 1-3 nests in any one tree. Breeds mostly in late winter, the adults feeding largely on stored seeds; may nest again in late summer if pinyon pines produce an exceptional seed crop. In courtship, several males may pursue one female in flight. Nest site is usually 3-20' above the ground in juniper, oak, or pinyon, sometimes much higher in other kind of pine. Nest (built by both sexes) has foundation of twigs, inner cup made of shredded bark, grass, rootlets, pine needles, animal hair. Often steals material from unattended nests of neighbors.

All Seasons - Common

All Seasons - Uncommon

Breeding - Common

Breeding - Uncommon

Winter - Common

Winter - Uncommon

Migration - Common

Migration - Uncommon

A high-pitched caaa, often quavering at the end and resembling a laughing haa-a-a-a.

Audio © Lang Elliott, Bob McGuire, Kevin Colver, Martyn Stewart and others. Learn more about this sound collection.

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This odd jay, looking more like a small blue-gray crow, lives mainly in the Great Basin region of the west. Appropriately named, it feeds heavily on the seeds of pinyon pines, and its distribution is tied closely to the range of these trees. Pinyon Jays are sociable at all seasons, traveling in flocks, nesting in colonies.

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The Sonoran desert is home to this distinctive bird. Gambel's Quail is often abundant near desert streams and waterholes, with coveys walking to the water in the morning and evening, giving a variety of clucking and crowing notes. As cities have grown in the desert southwest, these birds have adapted to life in the surrounding suburbs, coming into back yards to eat grain scattered for them. At night, coveys of Gambel's Quail roost in bushes or low trees.

Conservation status

Local populations rise and fall, apparently reproducing poorly in very dry years. Overall population seems stable.

Family
New World Quail

Habitat

Brushy desert, canyons. May be in very dry country, but concentrates near sources of water. Favors typical Sonoran desert, with open ground and wide variety of shrubs, low trees, and cactus; often around mesquite thickets. Avoids unbroken grassland with no shrubs. May be common in open suburbs where some land is left undeveloped.

Feeding Behavior

Forages in flocks from late summer to early spring. Does most feeding on ground, but readily goes up into shrubs and low trees for berries, leaves, buds.

Eggs

10-12, sometimes more. Dull white to pale buff, rather heavily marked with brown. Two females sometimes lay eggs in one nest. Incubation is by female only, 21-24 days. Young: Downy young leave nest within a day after hatching, and follow parents. Both parents tend young and lead them to food sources, but young feed themselves. Young can fly short distances at age of 10 days but are not full grown until later. One brood per year, two in years with good food supply.

Young

Downy young leave nest within a day after hatching, and follow parents. Both parents tend young and lead them to food sources, but young feed themselves. Young can fly short distances at age of 10 days but are not full grown until later. One brood per year, two in years with good food supply.

Diet

Mostly seeds, leaves, berries. Adults apparently are mostly vegetarians at most seasons. They eat many fresh plant shoots, leaves, and buds, especially during spring. Cactus fruits and the berries of mistletoe, hackberry, and other plants are eaten when available. Seeds are important in the diet at all times. Usually few insects are eaten, although young birds may eat more.

Nesting

In breeding season, male gives clear descending note from high perch. Mated pairs spend much time exploring territory, apparently prospecting for good nest sites. Nest site is usually on ground, in shade of shrub or grass clump; sometimes above ground on stump or on old nest of thrasher or roadrunner. Typical ground nest (probably built by female) is shallow depression lined with grass, leaves, twigs.

All Seasons - Common

All Seasons - Uncommon

Breeding - Common

Breeding - Uncommon

Winter - Common

Winter - Uncommon

Migration - Common

Migration - Uncommon

A ringing puk-kwaw-cah, with second syllable highest in pitch.

Audio © Lang Elliott, Bob McGuire, Kevin Colver, Martyn Stewart and others. Learn more about this sound collection.

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The Sonoran desert is home to this distinctive bird. Gambel's Quail is often abundant near desert streams and waterholes, with coveys walking to the water in the morning and evening, giving a variety of clucking and crowing notes.

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Montana Natural Heritage Program and Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks

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Montana Field Guide contains a wealth of information about Montana's diverse species.

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(Antilocapra americana)
Jump to a section:
Taxon: Ungulate

Status: State managed, hunted

Traveling at speeds of up to 60 miles per hour across the sagebrush sea, pronghorn are the fastest land mammal in North America. They are crepuscular, meaning that they are most active at dawn and dusk, however they can be spotted at any time of day.

The only species in their antilocapra genus, North American pronghorn are unique and have no relation to African antelope. However, pronghorns evolved alongside cheetahs. Many (but not all) pronghorn herds are migratory, traveling long distances to warmer climates in the fall, and back to greener locations in the spring. Fences are one of the greatest barriers to their survival during these migrations, because although pronghorn are fast, they don't like to jump, so when a pronghorn encounters a fence it may not know how to get around it.

The pronghorn species discussed here include all pronghorn found in sagebrush country. These pronghorn are not protected under the Endangered Species Act and are managed by state wildlife agencies. There are two subspecies of pronghorn not discussed here that are protected as endangered under the Endangered Species Act: Peninsular pronghorn in Baja California and Sonoran pronghorn in Arizona.

A pronghorn buck stands in sagebrush at Seedskadee National Wildlife Refuge. Photo by Tom Koerner, USFWS.

Research

News Articles

Videos

Hunting the Sagebrush Sea: This video by the Idaho Department of Fish and Game features hunters who share their experiences hunting pronghorn antelope in sagebrush country.

Somewhat similar in appearance to a long-legged goat, pronghorns are generally reddish tan in color, with white patches on the chest, neck, underbelly, and rear-end. Both males and females can have horns, although female horns are much smaller, reaching only 4 inches in length whereas male horns can be as long as 20 inches.

Pronghorns are also distinguished by their large, round eyes, the largest of any hoofed animal in relation to size. Their eyes are dark with defined eyelashes, and provide the animals with nearly 300 degrees of vision.

The face of a pronghorn. Photo by Tom Koerner, USFWS.

In addition to sagebrush country, pronghorn can be found in grasslands, deserts, river basins, and just about any wide open space. They once were found across the country from Canada to Mexico. The construction of highways and fences have altered the migration patterns of pronghorns, so establishing wildlife corridors and building wildlife-friendly fences are two helpful conservation practices that improve habitat conditions.

Sagebrush leaves are an important source of food and water for most pronghorns, particularly in winter. They are plant eaters, feeding on flowering plants, cacti, and grasses. Pronghorn have four chambers in their stomachs which help them to digest plant cellulose. They are also able to obtain most of the water they need to survive from the plants they eat.

Pronghorn crossing highway 372 in Wyoming. Photo by Tom Koerner, USFWS.

In the United States, hunting is both a wildlife management tool and an outdoor tradition. The North American Model of Wildlife Conservation describes the way we manage access to wildlife to ensure healthy wildlife populations into the future. By respecting seasons and limits, hunters help ensure that wildlife populations are sustainable. Funds from licenses and excise taxes on hunting equipment and ammunition help to fund the purchase and conservation of millions of acres for wildlife.

With a few exceptions that vary by state, everyone who hunts must have the required state license(s). If you're hunting on a national wildlife refuge, some also require their own permits and/or user fees. Learn more about conserving and hunting antelope in each state:

A pronghorn buck at Seedskadee National Wildlife Refuge. Photo by Tom Koerner, USFWS.

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(Antilocapra americana) Jump to a section: Taxon: Ungulate Status: State managed, hunted Traveling at speeds of up to 60 miles per hour across the sagebrush sea, pronghorn are the fastest land mammal in North America. They are crepuscular, meaning that they are most active at dawn and dusk, however they can be spotted at any time of day.

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Some areas in this zone may have more shrubs than actual grass, which is a negative influence of climate change on this zone.

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Precipitation: It usually rains between 10 and 20 inches annually, and the rainy season is generally between April and September. There is also snow in the winter.
Temperature Range: This zone has mild temperatures, and it is semiarid.
Elevation: The Upper Sonoran region is located between 4,500 and 7,000 feet.

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- The Upper Sonoran is a transition zone between the Desert and the Woodlands zones
- It covers around two thirds of NM
- It has high plains in northeast NM (in the Great Plains province)
- It has rocky and gravelly land in most parts
- it is full of bunch grasses and shrubs, which are very common
-Most parts of this region are covered in grasslands

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Common Uses of this Habitat for Animals and Humans

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Common Uses of this Habitat for Animals and Humans

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- Many humans use this region for the grazing of their livestock
- Wild cattle also use this region for grazing
- This area is also used for dry farming
Down below are images of dry farming and cattle grazing:

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- Pronghorns
- Deer
- Cattle
- Coyotes
- Mountain Lions
- Prairie Dogs
- Roadrunners
- Kangaroo Rats
- Rabbits
- Bats
- Hawks
- Toads
- Lizards
-Turtles

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- Piñon Pine, Nut Pine
- Juniper Trees, Oak Trees
- Mesquite, Desert Willow
- Yucca, Prickly Pear
- Cholla, Agave
- Wheatgrass, Beargrass
- Buffalo Grass
- Blue Grama, Black Grama
- Sagebrush, Saltbush
- Little Bluestem
- Sotols
- Catclaw

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Facts about the pronghorn:
- they are usually tan/red brown and white - the males have black markings
- males will fight over females
- baby pronghorns can run faster than people at just four days old

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Facts about western spotted skunk:
-They are smaller than a regular skunk, weighing less than 1.5 pounds.

-They are nocturnal.

-Their sharp claws and traction on their paws make them good diggers and climbers.

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Facts about Pinon Jay:
-Piñon Jays nest in colonies, and usually lay up to 6 pale blue eggs
- They travel in flocks
-They bury their findings of Piñon nuts in the fall and come back later to eat them
-They are very social birds, living in big flocks
- They live in areas full of juniper trees and sage, and also with oak and pine trees
- Their appearance is a faded blue color all over there body with a lighter color on their chins, with blue spots on their face.
- Unlike most Jays their tails are shorter

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Facts about Gambel's quail:
- Gambel's quails have trademark black feathers on their heads
- they live in family groups
- they prefer running to flying

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Facts about blue grama:
- its leaves are short and narrow
- it grows in bunches
- it can be mixed with other grasses for erosion control
- it is a good grazing grass for livestock

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Facts about Pinon Pine:
-The Pinon Pine can Grow up to 30 feet
-It produces one of New Mexico’s Favorites, the Piñon Nuts
- The needed on the Piñon Tree can only grow in bunches of 2-3
-Native Americans use the Piñon Nut in many of there ceremonies and rituals
-The Native Americans also use the Piñon nut for food
-This is a very common food for many animals, such as the Piñon Jay