Photo: Broom snakeweed, Southeastern New Mexico. © 2017 Delena Norris-Tull
Road Logs for New Mexico
These notes were taken while driving between Montana and Texas.
Summarized and prepared by Dr. Delena Norris-Tull, Professor Emerita, University of Montana Western.
[Note: all the road logs were recorded by myself or my traveling companions, Laura Tull or Debra Noble, as we drove. We occasionally stopped to verify species or collect specimens for later identification. Thus, we only recorded what we could see from the road, and could readily identify at driving speeds. Thus this evaluation is not thorough, but provides the impressions of what we observed.]
September 9, 2017
(This is part of the trip south from Montana to Texas)
Clayton, New Mexico, State Highway 87, west of town, heading to Texas border.
Six M Cattle Ranch
Huge over-grazed ranch land covered with a yellow flowered perennial, broom snakeweed, Gutierrezi sarothrae (photo 965 & pressed plant). We did not see much cattle in the snakeweed area. There is a feedlot just outside Clayton, but that did not have many cattle in it.
(Note: broom snakeweed is a native plant but it is poisonous to livestock. It causes abortions in cattle and sheep. Resource: Weeds of the West).
Along the roadsides, just north of the Kiowa National Grasslands, sagebrush and yucca.
When we got into Texas, we saw no more snakeweed. (Texas road log)
October 19, 2017 – Carlsbad to Springer, New Mexico
(This is part of the trip back north, from Texas to Montana)
Road from Carlsbad (2395 feet elevation) to Roswell (3573 feet):
There are lots of oil rigs for a while.
Still quite a bit of creosote bush (a Chihuahuan Desert indicator species), from west Texas to Roswell.
Cotton farms, pecan groves, hay farms, fallow fields with many weeds: Russian thistle.
Overgrazed ranchland, cattle are sparse - mesquite, yuccas, grasses (probably invasive grasses), snakeweed.
Roswell, north to Vaughn (5978 feet), State Highway 285
Lincoln County, red clay soil. Still abundant creosote bush in many areas, but no ocotillo spotted, and lots of grasses (possibly KR bluestem & other invasive grasses).
Mesquite near road, yucca, Russian thistle.
Guadalupe County (higher elevation), whiter soil (limestone?):
No more creosote bush apparent. Heavy infestations of cholla and invasive grasses (KR bluestem, etc.?); yucca, mesquite, Russian thistle. (Note: in Big Bend, the cholla was mostly at the higher elevations, such as in the Chisos Mountains).
Vaughn to Santa Rosa – state highway 54
Heavy infestations of cholla, grasses.
A fair amount of juniper and yucca. No mesquite or creosote bush apparent.
Garrett Brothers Ranch – limestone soil – a bit of red soil occasionally in the limestone.
Mesquite along road; various grasses; some large bunch grasses –maybe muhly?
State highway 84 to Las Vegas, New Mexico
Lots of rocky mountain juniper at higher elevations. Red clay soil. Still a lot of cholla, some yucca. Lots of grasses (KR bluestem?, etc.). Some big bunch grasses.
Snakeweed?; some thistle (invasive species)
Then, lower part of the hills, a lot of cholla, grasses, snakeweed, yucca
Lazy Z Bar Ranch – virtually no trees except an occasional juniper.
Then another rise covered in juniper, and into cholla and grasses (San Miguel County)
River valley with lots of large trees – willow, aspen? poplar, in yellow fall colors
Then more junipers with snakeweed, cholla, grasses, bunch grass, yucca, all the way up the nearby hills.
Cattle
Four-winged saltbush?, sunflowers along roadside
Apache Springs – red clay soil, limestone hills(??). Some hills high enough to have tall pines on top.
Occasional small rivers with lots of native trees
Salt-cedar on some of the rivers
After Las Montoyas, high enough elevation to see pines (pinyon and ponderosa) in the valley floor and hills, added to the juniper forest. We see more and more pines as we approach I-25 at Las Vegas.
I-25 at Las Vegas, north to Springer
Just north of Las Vegas, we abruptly leave the juniper-pine forests. We are in a high elevation plateau, with massive amounts of ranchland with much more cattle than south of here. Over-grazed land with snakeweed, grasses (invasives?) and little else. No trees. Cattle are grazing among the snakeweed. Yucca grows along road side. This is the same vegetation I saw in September, east of Raton.
As we drive north, in the higher hillsides, we see more juniper-pine forests.
Sunflowers and mulleins along roadsides.
Large farm near Valmora (exit 366), river valley.
I-25 near Springer
Same vegetation as above. Snakeweed, Russian thistle, sunflowers, kochia.
Friday, October 20, Springer to Raton
Same vegetation as yesterday. We are still seeing large infestations of cholla in the over-grazed ranchlands. Lots of grasses (invasives?) and sunflowers. Quite a few yuccas. Large areas of sagebrush (A. incana).
Sumac and maples in red fall colors.
Rocky Mountain junipers on hillsides and valleys at higher elevations. Typical broadleaf native trees along rivers.
Rabbitbrush becoming more prevalent.
Has over-grazing and prolonged drought caused the Chihuahuan Desert to start moving northward, beyond its historical range? Although there is no creosote bush, there are lots of cholla. And we are now starting to see plants indicative of the sagebrush steppes (sagebrush and rabbitbrush).
Bunch grasses. Lots of either kochia or Russian thistle, or both.
I’m impressed by the lack of diversity in the over-grazed areas.
(LOG CONTINUES WITH COLORADO ROAD LOG FOR OCTOBER).
Links to additional Road Logs:
Road Logs for New Mexico
These notes were taken while driving between Montana and Texas.
Summarized and prepared by Dr. Delena Norris-Tull, Professor Emerita, University of Montana Western.
[Note: all the road logs were recorded by myself or my traveling companions, Laura Tull or Debra Noble, as we drove. We occasionally stopped to verify species or collect specimens for later identification. Thus, we only recorded what we could see from the road, and could readily identify at driving speeds. Thus this evaluation is not thorough, but provides the impressions of what we observed.]
September 9, 2017
(This is part of the trip south from Montana to Texas)
Clayton, New Mexico, State Highway 87, west of town, heading to Texas border.
Six M Cattle Ranch
Huge over-grazed ranch land covered with a yellow flowered perennial, broom snakeweed, Gutierrezi sarothrae (photo 965 & pressed plant). We did not see much cattle in the snakeweed area. There is a feedlot just outside Clayton, but that did not have many cattle in it.
(Note: broom snakeweed is a native plant but it is poisonous to livestock. It causes abortions in cattle and sheep. Resource: Weeds of the West).
Along the roadsides, just north of the Kiowa National Grasslands, sagebrush and yucca.
When we got into Texas, we saw no more snakeweed. (Texas road log)
October 19, 2017 – Carlsbad to Springer, New Mexico
(This is part of the trip back north, from Texas to Montana)
Road from Carlsbad (2395 feet elevation) to Roswell (3573 feet):
There are lots of oil rigs for a while.
Still quite a bit of creosote bush (a Chihuahuan Desert indicator species), from west Texas to Roswell.
Cotton farms, pecan groves, hay farms, fallow fields with many weeds: Russian thistle.
Overgrazed ranchland, cattle are sparse - mesquite, yuccas, grasses (probably invasive grasses), snakeweed.
Roswell, north to Vaughn (5978 feet), State Highway 285
Lincoln County, red clay soil. Still abundant creosote bush in many areas, but no ocotillo spotted, and lots of grasses (possibly KR bluestem & other invasive grasses).
Mesquite near road, yucca, Russian thistle.
Guadalupe County (higher elevation), whiter soil (limestone?):
No more creosote bush apparent. Heavy infestations of cholla and invasive grasses (KR bluestem, etc.?); yucca, mesquite, Russian thistle. (Note: in Big Bend, the cholla was mostly at the higher elevations, such as in the Chisos Mountains).
Vaughn to Santa Rosa – state highway 54
Heavy infestations of cholla, grasses.
A fair amount of juniper and yucca. No mesquite or creosote bush apparent.
Garrett Brothers Ranch – limestone soil – a bit of red soil occasionally in the limestone.
Mesquite along road; various grasses; some large bunch grasses –maybe muhly?
State highway 84 to Las Vegas, New Mexico
Lots of rocky mountain juniper at higher elevations. Red clay soil. Still a lot of cholla, some yucca. Lots of grasses (KR bluestem?, etc.). Some big bunch grasses.
Snakeweed?; some thistle (invasive species)
Then, lower part of the hills, a lot of cholla, grasses, snakeweed, yucca
Lazy Z Bar Ranch – virtually no trees except an occasional juniper.
Then another rise covered in juniper, and into cholla and grasses (San Miguel County)
River valley with lots of large trees – willow, aspen? poplar, in yellow fall colors
Then more junipers with snakeweed, cholla, grasses, bunch grass, yucca, all the way up the nearby hills.
Cattle
Four-winged saltbush?, sunflowers along roadside
Apache Springs – red clay soil, limestone hills(??). Some hills high enough to have tall pines on top.
Occasional small rivers with lots of native trees
Salt-cedar on some of the rivers
After Las Montoyas, high enough elevation to see pines (pinyon and ponderosa) in the valley floor and hills, added to the juniper forest. We see more and more pines as we approach I-25 at Las Vegas.
I-25 at Las Vegas, north to Springer
Just north of Las Vegas, we abruptly leave the juniper-pine forests. We are in a high elevation plateau, with massive amounts of ranchland with much more cattle than south of here. Over-grazed land with snakeweed, grasses (invasives?) and little else. No trees. Cattle are grazing among the snakeweed. Yucca grows along road side. This is the same vegetation I saw in September, east of Raton.
As we drive north, in the higher hillsides, we see more juniper-pine forests.
Sunflowers and mulleins along roadsides.
Large farm near Valmora (exit 366), river valley.
I-25 near Springer
Same vegetation as above. Snakeweed, Russian thistle, sunflowers, kochia.
Friday, October 20, Springer to Raton
Same vegetation as yesterday. We are still seeing large infestations of cholla in the over-grazed ranchlands. Lots of grasses (invasives?) and sunflowers. Quite a few yuccas. Large areas of sagebrush (A. incana).
Sumac and maples in red fall colors.
Rocky Mountain junipers on hillsides and valleys at higher elevations. Typical broadleaf native trees along rivers.
Rabbitbrush becoming more prevalent.
Has over-grazing and prolonged drought caused the Chihuahuan Desert to start moving northward, beyond its historical range? Although there is no creosote bush, there are lots of cholla. And we are now starting to see plants indicative of the sagebrush steppes (sagebrush and rabbitbrush).
Bunch grasses. Lots of either kochia or Russian thistle, or both.
I’m impressed by the lack of diversity in the over-grazed areas.
(LOG CONTINUES WITH COLORADO ROAD LOG FOR OCTOBER).
Links to additional Road Logs: