by Dan Hughes, Helena Mieras, and Alo Dodge, November 2024
From the scorching heat of the Chihuahuan desert to the etched stone of the Nacimiento Formation, the 2024 rare plants crew worked as intrepid adventurers and scientists in pursuit of New Mexico rare plant conservation.
Since 2016 the Bureau of Land Management has funded field crews to monitor rare plants across the state, and as of 2023, the Institute for Applied Ecology helms this crew. The goal of this initiative is to better understand the life history, long-term population demographics, and important habitat factors that drive trends in rare plant populations. Data collected through these efforts will illustrate long-term trends and be used to inform conservation and management decisions.
The rare plant field season spans four months and distances of nearly 6,500 miles. The great width and breadth of this project is due to the incredible botanical and geological diversity found in New Mexico. Each of the eight major ecoregions harbor rare plants, many of which are endemic or obligate to a specific substrate. Endemic species are restricted to a certain area and obligate species are narrowly restricted to a specific characteristic or environment, such as soil type. We monitor several species that are gypsum obligates—they only grow in gypsum soils.
Monitoring Techniques
Each monitoring location consists of a large ‘origin’ and ‘endpoint’ nail, anywhere from 5 to 40 meters apart, and their location is stored as GPS coordinates. After navigating to the monitoring plot, the crew stretches a long measuring tape between the two nails. This is called a transect (see the diagram to the left). Within the transect the crew tags each individual of the target species: these tags are made of sturdy metal, allowing us to return and take data on the same plant for its entire lifetime. These data include size, phenology (flowering, fruiting, gone to seed), and even evidence of herbivory. Each species has unique measurements and protocols specific to their biology.
The 2024 crew monitored 11 rare species, at 113 monitoring plots, and made over 6,000 observations… What a season!
The Rare Plants and (Not Exactly) Where to Find Them
All photos taken by Alo Dodge or Helena Mieras (2024)
Farmington BLM Field Office
Carlsbad BLM Field Office
Taos BLM Field Office
Rio Puerco BLM Field Office
New and Exciting Monitoring Activities in 2024
This year the rare plants crew established new plots to begin long-term monitoring of an additional rare plant, Abronia bigelovii, the Galisteo Sand Verbena. This plant is a gypsum obligate found on the hills and ridges of the Todilto Formation. The crew established a total of five demography plots that will be monitored in subsequent years.
Creating these plots was very special for the crew. All season long they had been working at established plots, so to be able to survey for and design new plots was very rewarding. The crew is excited for the future and the important data that will be collected for years to come.
Tales From the Field
“The best part of the rare plants field season is the sheer diversity of New Mexican environments in which we work. From the sagebrush plains north of Farmington to the mesquite-filled Chihuahuan desert south of Carlsbad, we experienced nearly every ecosystem the Land of Enchantment has to offer. In our trusty work truck, appropriately christened ‘Gypsum’, we covered nearly 6,500 miles in six months – a longer drive than Maine to Los Angeles and back again – without leaving the state.
We collected stories as readily as we did data. Cooling off in a secret swimming hole on the Black River. Heroic displays of driving ability on a poorly maintained forest road. Stumbling upon mysterious statues deep in the desert. Working among dust devils and curious cattle. Endless hours of ‘Questing with Zakia’. And through it all, the promise of good food and good company at the end of the day; needless to say, many homemade crunchwrap supremes were consumed, many games of bananagrams were played, and many laughs were shared.
Our study focused on eleven fascinating rare plant species, but along the way we learned much more about New Mexico’s landscape and ecology than we ever expected. At each plot, in addition to taking data on the rare species we also record all co-occurring species. This act of honing in and really observing what is present changed the way we see the world. Now when we look out over a landscape and see sagebrush, piñon, and bunchgrass, we know that it is only scratching the surface. We have so much diversity and beauty all around us, we are so thrilled that this job offered us the opportunity to see that more clearly.
We are so grateful for our time in the field and the experiences we have gained. Thank you to the IAE and the BLM for running this vital program. We are excited to see what future crews accomplish and we are always rooting for rare plants!”
—The 2024 Crew
