Merrill R. Kaufmann, Laurie S. Huckaby,

Claudia M. Regan, and John Popp

Merrill R. Kaufmann, Laurie S. Huckaby,

Claudia M. Regan, and John Popp

Forest Reference Conditions for

Ecosystem Management in the

Sacramento Mountains, New Mexico Sacramento Mountains, New Mexico

Ecosystem Management in the

Forest Reference Conditions for United States

Department of

Agriculture

Forest Service

Rocky Mountain

Research Station

General Technical

Report RMRS–GTR–19

September 1998

United States

Department of

Agriculture

Forest Service

Rocky Mountain

Research Station

General Technical

Report RMRS–GTR–19

September 1998

This file was created by scanning the printed publication.

Errors identified by the software have been corrected;

however, some errors may remain.
Abstract 

Kaufmann, M.R.; Huckaby, L.S.; Regan, C.M.; Popp, J. 1998. Forest reference conditions for ecosystem 

management in the Sacramento Mountains, New Mexico. General Technical Report RMRS-GTR-1 9. 

Fort Collins, CO: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station. 

87 p. 

We present the history of land use and historic vegetation conditions on the Sacramento Ranger 

District of the Lincoln National Forest within the framework of an ecosystem needs assessment. We 

reconstruct forest vegetation conditions and ecosystem processes for the period immediately before 

Anglo-American settlement using General Land Office survey records, historic studies and accounts, 

and reconstructive studies such as dendrochronological histories of fire and insect outbreak and 

studies of old growth. Intensive grazing, clearcut logging, fire suppression, and agriculture in riparian 

areas have radically altered forest structure and processes since the 1880s, when intensive 

settlement began in the Sacramento Mountains. Present forests are younger and more dense than 

historic Or:les, and in areas that were previously dominated by ponderosa pine, dominance has shifted 

to Douglas-fir and white fir in the absence of frequent surface fire. L'andscapes are more homogeneous 

and contiguous than historic ones, facilitating large-scale, intense 9isturbances such as insect 

outbreaks and crown fires. 

Keywords: Sacramento Mountains, New Mexico, environmental history, ecosystem management, fire, 

logging, grazing 

The Authors 

Merrill R. Kaufmann is a research scientist and Laurie Huckaby is a forest ecologist with the Rocky 

Mountain Research Station, USDA Forest Service, Fort Collins, CO. Claudia M. Regan is a forest 

ecologist with the Rocky Mountain Region, USDA Forest Service, Lakewood, CO. John Popp is a 

forestry technician with the Rocky Mountain Research Station in Fort Collins. 

Publisher 

Rocky Mountain Research Station 

Fort Collins, Colorado 

You may order additional copies of this publication by sending your 

mailing information in label form through one of the following media. 

Please send the publication title and number. 

Telephone (970) 498-1719 

E-mail rschneider/rmrs@fs.fed.us 

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Mailing Address Publications Distribution 

Rocky Mountain Research Station 

3825 E. Mulberry Street 

Fort Collins, CO 80524-8597 

Cover: Water Canyon, 1928 
Forest Reference Conditions for Ecosystem 

Management in the Sacramento Mountains, New Mexico 

Merrill R. Kaufmann, Laurie S. Huckaby, Claudia M. Regan, and John Popp 

Contents. 

PART I. ECOSYSTEM MANAGEMENT ..................................... . 

Detecting Ecosystem Changes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 

An Ecological Assessment Process ...................................... '. 3 

The Role of Reference Conditions in Ecological Assessments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 

PART II. SOURCES FOR REFERENCE CONDITIONS ......................... 7 

Reference Conditions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 

Sources. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 

Historical Records and Studies. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 

Archaeology and Paleontology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 10 

Reconstructive Studies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 11 

Present Conditions .................................................. 11 

PART III. HISTORY OF THE SACRAMENTO MOUNTAINS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 13 

The Study Area . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 14 

Biotic Communities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 14 

Geology of the Sacramento Mountains. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 16 

Quaternary Environment ............................................ " 19 

History of Human Occupation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 20 

Prehistoric Habitation ................................................ 21 

The Apaches and the Spanish ......................................... 21 

The Americans ..................................................... 23 

PART IV. FAUNA OF THE SACRAMENTO MOUNTAINS ....................... " 35 

Historic Fauna. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 36 

Predators. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 36 

Game and Other Animals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 37 

Present Fauna ...................................................... " 38 

Introductions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 38 

Threatened and Endangered Species. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 39 

PART V. HISTORIC VEGETATION IN THE SACRAMENTO MOUNTAINS ........... 41 

Fresnal CanyonlWest Escarpment 

Historic Conditions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 43 

Present Conditions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 45 

James Canyon 

Historic Conditions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 46 

Present Conditions ............................................. . . . .. 48 

RMRS-FILE COpy 
Rio Penasco 

Historic Conditions ................................................. " 48 

Present Conditions ................................................ " 51 

Aqua Chiquita 

Historic Conditions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 51 

Present Conditions ................................................ " 53 

Sacramento River 

Historic Conditions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 53 

Present ,Conditions .... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 55 

Riparian Areas 

Historic .Conditions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 56 

Rio Penasco ....................................................... 57 

Present Conditions .......... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 57 

Historic Disturbance Regimes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 57 

Climate.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 58 

Native American Influences. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 58 

Fire. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 58 

Insects. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 63 

Diseases and Parasites. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 65 

Comparison and Summary of Historic and Existing Forest Conditions. . . . . . . . . . .. 68 

PART VI. USING INFORMATION IN THE ECOSYSTEM NEEDS 

ASSESSMENT PROCESS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 75 

Iterative Assessment Processes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 77 

Old Growth. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 77 

Fire. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 78 

Riparian Conditions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 78 

Gray Wolf. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 79 

Mexican Spotted Owl. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 80 

White Pine Blister Rust . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 80 

Blending Ecosystem Needs With Social and Economic Needs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 80 

LITERATURE CITED ...... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 83 
PART I. ECOSYSTEM MANAGEMENT 

" 
Most people agree that certain troubling natural resource issues exist, generally involving unintended biological consequences of human activities. These include 

threats to rare and endangered species, fragmentation or 

destruction of habitats, and disruption of natural disturbances and other ecological processes. Disagreement exists, however, over the degree to which humans have affected forests and the extent to which these changes are 

acceptable. Responsible resource managers deal daily with 

the difficulty of conserving natural resource features and 

values for future generations while trying to meet human 

needs and wants for today. 

The concept of ecosystem management was brought 

to the forefront of natural resource management in most 

land management agencies in the early 1990s. The 

concept's appeal is in holistically addressing the biological, social, and economic issues facing our use of natural 

resources (Kaufmann et al. 1994). The transition from 

management for multiple use to management that includes a focus on sustainitlg ecosystems has affected activities in and among many agencies at national, state, and 

local levels. The task is not easy, however. On one hand, 

we often have inadequate know ledge of how ecosystems 

function and how much we can use them without destroying important ecosystem functions and characteristics. On 

the other hand, we have a long history of human use of 

forested systems that is difficult to change, even in cases 

where our patterns of use appear unsustainable. 

While examining the social and economic patterns and 

practices of human use of natural ecosystems is beyond 

the scope of this paper, our focus here is on understanding ecosystem characteristics that should be taken into 

account when evaluating management alternatives, so that 

goods and services can be provided while sustaining ecosystems for future generations. Recent conclusions from 

the Interior Columbia Basin Ecosystem Management 

Project illustrate the magnitude of the problems faced in 

sustaining ecosystems (Haynes et al. 1996, Quigley and 

Bigler-Cole 1997, Quigley et al. 1996, USDA Forest Service 1996). A scientific assessment of the Interior Columbia Basin demonstrated that more than half (55 percent) 

of lands administered by the USDA Forest Service and 

USDI Bureau of Land Management were found to have a 

high or moderate rating of ecological integrity, but 45 percent were found to have a low rating of ecological integrity. In this assessment, ecological integrity was judged 

on the basis of factors such as the risk of severe, standreplacing fire and loss of old forests and grasslands, and 

on the likelihood of the system rebounding from negative ecological trends, while continuing to provide predictable flows of resources for human consumption. 

At the center of sustaining ecosystems is the conservation of ecosystem structure, composition, and function 

across the full range of spatial and temporal scales. 

Kaufmann et al. (1994) and Grumbine (1994) provide guiding principles for conserving these features. They may be 

paraphrased as follows: 

2 

Think long term. Ecosystems must be sustained for the 

well-being of humans and other forms of life. 

Save all the pieces. Ecosystems must have the potential 

for keeping all the naturally occurring organisms, their 

assemblages into communities, and the physical environment supporting them present in the system. 

Save all the processes. Natural ecosystem processes, including their frequency and intensity, should be retained 

to allow ecosystems to self-regulate. 

Assure sustainability. Human impacts should not affect 

ecosystems in such a way that they would not return to 

their natural state if left alone. 

Applying these principles in the management of natural resources requires a framework for analyzing ecosystems. This framework has been developed during the last 

several years as an ecosystem assessment process. Assessments have developed primarily at two degrees of scope 

(not to be confused with scale). The larger scope, represented for example by the Columbia Basin Assessment, 

includes both the ecological considerations related to ecosystem sustainability and the social and economic considerations associated with sustainable natural resource 

management as a whole. At a smaller scope (but not 

smaller scale), the ecosystem needs assessment process 

focuses on identifying ecosystem needs and capabilities 

associated specifically with ecosystem sustainability 

(Kaufmann et al. 1994). While this approach requires integration with social and economic considerations in management decision processes (as was done in the Columbia Basin assessment), its advantage is that it focuses 

clearly on the well-being of ecosystems at multiple spatial and temporal scales. This focus is crucial to developing an understanding of how human activities impact 

ecosystem sustainability. 

Detecting Ecosystem Changes 

Detecting changes in forests is relatively easy when 

done in terms of resource inventories and land use practices. Detecting changes in ecosystems and evaluating 

their importance to ecosystem sustainability is far more 

difficult, however. Forests in most areas have been altered 

from their natural state as a result of human activity, such 

as timber harvest, grazing, suppression of wildfires, introduction of weedy and exotic species, and encroachment 

by rural and urban development. Even though certain 

features of forests have been adversely impacted by these 

activities, past treatment of forests in many cases has not 

resulted in obvious loss of tree health at the individual 

level, and this has made it difficult to recognize certain 

ecosystem or forest health problems. For example, forests 

that were harvested in past decades, even by clearcutting 

large areas, often have regenerated and are growing vigUSDA Forest Service Gen. Tech. Rep. RMRS-GTR-19. 1998 
orously. In many grazed stands, trees appear to be productive. Where fire suppression has seriously altered stand 

structure in forest types that normally experienced fire, 

stands usually contain large numbers of trees that appear 

healthy. To the casual observer, such forests appear to be 

in a satisfactory condition. 

Even when forests appear to be healthy, however, their 

condition may be far from ideal for sustaining their productivity and for sustaining features in the landscape important for conserving biodiversity. For example, fire suppression in ponderosa pine, caused initially by heavy grazing and later by a policy of putting out small fires, has 

resulted in much higher stand densities than might have 

occurred historically (Covington and Moore 1994, Fule et 

al. 1997). In turn, this may have contributed to outbreaks 

of mountain pine beetles that have been much more severe and widespread in some heavily stocked stands than 

they were historically (Dahms and Geils 1997). When fires 

occur in dense stands, they often burn much more intensely than they would have· historically, killing many 

trees and either resetting the stand back to the regeneration stage or even putting the site on an entirely new successional trajectory. Similar conditions are found in mixed 

conifer and other forest types in the Southwest. 

Conditions have also been altered at larger scales, leaving landscapes considerably different from their historical condition. These changes are often subtle, but their 

effects can be serious. The landscape mosaic may consist 

of healthy forest stands, but if a significant component 

has been removed or reduced in occurrence, or if the landscape has become fragmented or unnaturally connected, 

the condition of the forest landscape may be far from ideal. 

As an example, old-growth forests have been depleted in 

many regions, resulting in a loss of habitat and forest function not readily substituted by other seral stages 

(Kaufmann et al. 1992). 

Detecting the more subtle changes in forest ecosystems 

and evaluating their ecological consequences requires an 

approach that evaluates ecosystem characteristics and 

human effects on ecosystems in different ways than has 

been done in the past. Through much of this century, forests and grasslands have been managed to assure production of timber, wildlife, water, livestock, and recreational 

opportunities, with the primary focus on outputs rather 

than on the condition of the ecosystems left behind. 

An Ecological Assessment 

Process 

Managing forests and grasslands as sustainable ecosystems is difficult, in part because forest, grassland, and 

riparian ecosystems are very complex. Ecosystems are 

characterized by their structure and composition, and by 

USDA Forest Service Gen. Tech. Rep. RMRS--GTR-19. 1998 

the processes that regulate them. A critical component of 

understanding ecosystems and their sustainability is that 

structure, composition, and function are important at 

multiple scales in space and time. Traditional forest management has occurred at the stand level. Ecosystem management requires an understanding of structure, composition, and processes at spatial scales ranging from trees 

to patches to stands to landscapes, and changes over time 

scales from years to millennia. For example, stand management often focuses simply on number of trees per hectare (or acre), their diameter distribution, and perhaps their 

height, selected to 'achieve certain conditions or outputs 

of timber, forage production, etc. Such management usually overlooks spatial and temporal heterogeneity - patterns of distribution, including species of trees within 

patches, patches within the stand, and stands within the 

landscape, and changes in their distribution over time -

that may be critical for supporting plant and animal diversity and sustaining ecosystems. 

What are the consequences of human activities on ecosystem sustainability, and how can management practices 

resolve ecological concerns? The consequences of human 

impacts can be evaluated using an ecological assessment 

approach based on conservation biology and several subdivisions of ecology, including landscape . ecology. The 

ecosystem needs assessment process outlined by 

Kaufmann et al. (1994) includes specific components that 

help address these questions (Fig. 1). The steps outlined 

in Figure 1 lead to improved understanding of (1) the reference or historic conditions of the analysis area, which 

can be used to evaluate the present condition; (2) the existing state of the analysis area, including additional ecological information not typically found in traditional inventories; (3) an assessment of components of the landscape mosaic that are presently under- or over-represented 

Ecosystem Needs Assessment 

Figure 1. Ecosystem needs assessment flow diagram. Reference 

conditions and existing conditions are described in more 

detail in Fig. 2, and the coarse filter and fine filter components are described in more detail in Fig. 30. 

3 
or poorly distributed (coarse-filter analysis); (4) an assessment of human impacts that have created problems in 

ecosystems within the analysis area, including the disruption of natural disturbance processes (also part of the 

coarse-filter analysis); and (5) an assessment of plant and 

animal diversity of the area, including rare or threatened 

components (fine-filter analysis). These analyses help 

identify ecosystem needs and capabilities, based on conservation principles applied at relevant spatial and temporal scales. Individual components of Fig. 1 are described 

in more detail later. 

Ecosystem needs assessments address a number of 

questions. At the landscap~ scale, for example, what is a 

reasonable model of the patch and stand structure of the 

reference landscape, i.e., what would the landscape have 

looked like without the effects of modern human activities? How did natural processes contribute to the makeup 

of the reference landscape? What is the structure of the 

existing landscape, and what natural events or human 

activities contributed to the development of existing conditions in the landscape? What temporal changes affect 

landscape structure? How have past and present conditions affected species, biotic communities, or ecosystems? 

What are the ecological implications of different management strategies? And what management practices help 

mitigate negative impacts to ecosystems? A similar range 

of questions is relevant at both smaller and larger spatial 

scales. 

The Role of Reference 

Conditions in Ecological 

Assessments 

Reference conditions generally refer to the properties 

of ecosystems that are free of major influence by humans. 

Examining the condition of forests generally free of significant human impacts provides insight into the characteristics of sustainable ecosystems (Kaufmann et al. 1994). 

Because most ecosystems have been modified by human 

activities, the usual approach for understanding reference 

ecosystem conditions is to study sources of information 

that help describe the properties of ecosystems during 

some relevant past period; in the case of the American 

west, the period is generally just prior to European-American settlement in the 19th century. Reference conditions 

include information about potential vegetation, soil properties, the structure and composition of landscapes, patterns of natural disturbances such as fire and insect or 

disease outbreaks, and the abundance/rareness of individual species, successional stages, or biotic associations 

(Fig. 2). 

Reference conditions are not a single snapshot in time, 

but rather reflect the historic variability of the structure, 

4 

Figure 2. Factors that contribute to reference conditions and 

existing conditions of the ecosystem needs assessment process shown in Fig. 1. 

composition, and processes of ecosystems over time (Fule 

et al. 1997). Existing conditions may reflect only the results of recent human-induced changes, rather than the 

patterns sustained by centuries of natural processes. Historic reference conditions are useful in managing ecosystems by telling us which processes and pieces we need to 

preserve to sustain ecosystems. If current conditions are 

the only criteria used to make management decisions, 

there is no basis to determine whether management practices or impacts will lead to ecological outcomes that fall 

within the historic range of variability; yet, until recently, 

many resource management activities were based solely 

on current resource conditions and opportunities. If management activities are conducted in such a way that the 

ecological outcome is consistent with conditions that existed historically, the activities are more likely to sustain 

or restore ecological properties. Reference conditions provide a basis for determining management options that are 

most desirable for ecosystem sustainability and restoration. 

The study of reference conditions has both strengths 

and limitations. As noted above, knowledge of historic or 

reference forest conditions is especially useful for comparison with existing forest conditions (a coarse-filter 

analysis) to determine how current management practices 

succeed or fail to maintain a healthy forest landscape. 

Logging, grazing, and reductions in fire frequency have 

occurred through much of the West, and it is widely hypothesized that forests today are more dense and tend to 

be younger and less heterogeneous structurally than they 

were at the time of European settlement. It is generally 

perceived that the old-growth component of landscapes 

has been decreased in spatial extent, and current forests 

may be composed of more uniform stands with limited 

discernible patch structure. A scientific evaluation of reference conditions for comparison with current conditions 

helps document the degree to which these perceived 

changes are real. The study of reference conditions helps 

USDA Forest Service Gen. Tech. Rep. RMRS-GTR-19. 1998 
identify meaningful dimensions of patches and stands in 

the landscape and the vegetation structural stages to be 

expected, including their frequency and distribution. 

Reference and existing conditions are both moving targets, however, because vegetation is constantly changing. 

Thus reference conditions are not useful for providing 

detailed maps and descriptions of geographically specific 

patterns in the landscape that can or should be restored 

to their historic condition. Rather, reference conditions 

help determine characteristics such as the amount and 

kinds of heterogeneity in spatial patterns that existed before significant human impacts occurred, and the natural 

disturbance patterns and conditions that created these 

. patterns over time. This kno~ledge can provide a basis 

for evaluating existing conditions and identifying places 

in the landscape where management activities might efficiently bring current forests into alignment with historic 

landscape features. Reference conditions can help clarify 

which management activities work in the direction of 

improving ecosystem sustainability and which ones might 

further exacerbate ecosystem ansustainability. 

USDA Forest Service Gen. Tech. Rep. RMRS-GTR-19. 1998 

A limitation of reference conditions is that Native 

American effects might have been significant at certain 

places or times, but these effects are rarely recorded or 

measurable separate from natural processes. Identifying 

the condition of forest landscapes in the absence of all 

human activities is impossible because of the lack of any 

descriptive material. Consequently, where Native American influences may have been significant, information 

about historical ecological conditions may rely more 

heavily on characterizing natural disturbance processes 

such as fire and insect activity, often done through models of these processes. Gradual climate changes during the 

last several centuries may reduce the value of reference 

condition information, because forest development and 

landscape 'patterns depended on earlier environmental 

conditions that may no longer exist. Models are being 

developed to assess the incremental effects of climate 

change on forests, and they may provide insight regarding the analysis conditions where concern about climate 

change is warranted, particularly during the last half of 

the 20th century. 

5 

PART II. SOURCES FOR REFERENCE CONDITIONS 
Reference Conditions 

Ecosystems are extremely complex, and that complexity evolved through the interaction of many dynamic elements. Reference conditions characterize the variability 

associated with biotic communities and native species diversity, provide insights to natural disturbance regimes 

and distributions and abundances of plants and animals, 

and can be used to define target conditions for sustainability or to estimate how current ecosystems differ from 

historical ones (Kaufmann et al. 1994). Reference conditions include past natural trequency, intensity and scale 

of disturbances, demographics of plant and animal species and their interactions and distributions, physical properties such as the condition and cycling of soil, water, and 

climate, and patterns of heterogeneity across the landscape 

and through time. 

While it would be preferable to study present undisturbed ecosystems to obta.in reference conditions, few, if 

any, ecosystems have been unaffected by humans. Aboriginal peoples are known to have had profound and widespread effects on the ecosystems in which they lived. 

However, the rapidity, intensity, and spatial scope of ecological change precipitated by American settlement of the 

West during the 19th century was unprecedented. Therefore, we must search for evidence of what the landscape 

was like before or at the time of European-American settlement to get a glimpse of more natural conditions and processes. The Sacramento Mountains were settled and developed relatively late in the history of westward expansion, in part because of their harsh climate and inaccessibility, and in part because of the ferocity of the Mescalero 

Apaches who lived there after 1600. However, changes 

happened very quickly once settlement began in the 1880s. 

The largest number of sources are available for the settlement period, and these are perhaps the most relevant because they reflect ecosystem conditions under climatic 

conditions similar to those of the present day. 

Sources 

We used multiple types of sources to reconstruct reference conditions for the Sacramento Mountains landscape 

at the time of European-American settlement. Many 

sources were not quantitative in nature, or were only 

partly quantitative, such as historic records and studies 

(Table 1). Other sources, such as tree-rings, are censored; 

the full range of data may not be available because we 

can now sample only what has survived by chance from 

earlier times. 

None of the earliest observers in the Sacramento Mountains were trained scientists, nor did they observe the eco8 

systems in a quantitative way. The things they reported 

were relevant to the military significance of the mountains, or to their potential as sources of wealth in the form 

of water, timber, or grass. Archaeological evidence is necessarily incomplete, including only what has been preserved by chance, recording some history of human land 

use and those plants and animals of importance to the 

people who lived at the sites, but with no reliable indication of their relative abundance or distribution. Subsequent disturbances such as fire, logging, and development 

have destroyed many potential sources of evidence of past 

environments, such as stands of old, fire-scarred trees. 

Tree-ring studies are limited temporally by the lifespans 

of tree species~ the rarity of ancient trees, and the unusual 

environmental conditions that allow them to persist. 

Therefore, we have few long quantitative records of the 

composition and distribution of forests in pre-settlement 

times. The pre-settlement condition of riparian environments is virtually unknown because no evidence of their 

condition has survived. 

Some of the sources are derived from negative evidence: 

records of the last wolf or bear killed, remembrances of 

when the bison (Bison bison) still roamed the plains to the 

east, records of how much timber was cut in a given area. 

Some of the first scientific, or at least q~antitative, studies 

were done as settlement began, in the form of General 

Land Office surveys and Bureau of Biological Survey studies. It was a time of rapid change, as Anglo-American settlers streamed into the area and began to exploit the land 

in unprecedented ways and at an unprecedented pace. 

Settlers, intent on making their fortunes on this last frontier, ran cattle, cut trees, and used water with little regard 

for sustaining the ecosystems that provided their livings 

and little thought to the future. The exploitation of the 

resources, and the acute effects on the ecosystem, reached 

their peak in the first half of the 20th century. Observations after that time reflect conditions much altered from 

their natural state. 

Historical Records and Studies 

General Land Office Survey Notes 

Some of the earliest and most quantitative information 

about pre-settlement landscapes comes from the General 

Land Office Survey notes. The General Land Office was 

formed in 1812 to oversee the survey of public lands in 

the United States (Galatowitsch 1990). Generally, surveys 

were done in an area just prior to settlement. Survey techniques evolved during the first half of the 19th century, and 

surveys were contracted to the lowest bidder unti11908. New 

Mexico was surveyed between 1854 and 1925, using the 1855 

guidebook, which was the standard until the end of the contract system (Bourdo 1956). After 1908, surveys were done 

by federal employees, due in part to the high incidence of 

fraud by contractors (Galatowitsch 1990). 

USDA Forest Service Gen. Tech. Rep. RMRS-GTR-19. 1998 
Table 1. Sources for reference conditions. 

Sources 

Historical records and studies 

USFS Documents, General Land 

Office surveys, Bureau of Biological Survey, logging company 

records, climate measurements 

Historic accounts 

Literature, personal accounts, 

interviews, photographs, newspapers 

Archaeology and paleontology 

Digs of pre-historic habitations, 

historic structures, reconstruction of past land use, packrat 

middens 

Reconstructive studies 

Pack rat middens, tree-rings, fire 

history, forest age structure, insect 

signals in tree-rings, repeat photography, climate reconstruction 

Information provided 

Somewhat quantitative data on vegetation 

pattern and distribution, wildlife distribution, 

climate, historic disturbances, historic land 

use, rates of environmental change 

Non-quantitative records of vegetation 

distribution, wildlife distribution, notable 

disturbances, historic and recent land 

own~rship and use 

Cen§>ored but quantitative evidence of prehistoric vegetation and wildlife distribution, 

human land use, climate 

CenSored but quantitative evidence of prehistoric to recent vegetation composition, 

pattern, and distribution, climate, and 

disturbance regimes 

Period covered 

Settlement period 

to present 

Settlement period 

to present 

Pre-settlement to 

settlement period 

Pre-settlement to 

present 

References 

Anderson 1915, 1923, Bailey 1931, Bronson 1908, 

Bourdo 1956, De Mastus 1976, Galatowitsch 1990, 

Habeck 1994, Holmes 1906, Kerr 1909, Kent 1905, Kent 

and Reynolds 1906, Lee 1923, Neal 1909, Krauch 1936-

1956, Plummer and Goswe1l1904, Regan 1997, Regan 

eta1.1997, Smith 1907a,b, Strickland 1927, USFS 1908, 

1918-1952,1946,1978,1977,1980, Woolsey 1911. 

Baker et al. 1988, Charles 1954, Betancourt 1981, 

Glover 1984, Hawthorne 1980, Jenkins 1988, Lincoln 

Grazing Advisory board 1944-1975, Longwell 1914, 

Neal 1966, Nolan 1992, Opler 1983, Sonnichsen 1973, 

1980, Tucker 1989, 1991, 1992. 

Broster and Harrill 1983, Driver 1985, Kelley 1984, 

Tainter 1981, Sebastian and Larralde 1989, Spoerl 

1981 a,b,c, Tainter and Tainter 1995, Stuart and Farwell 

1983, Van Devender and Spaulding 1979, Van Devender 

et al. 1984. 

Betancourt et al. 1990, Brown et al. 1995, Cooper 1960, 

Covington and Moore 1994, Dick-Peddie 1993, D'Arrigo 

and Jacoby 1991, Davis and Brown 1988, Huckaby and 

Brown 1995, Lynch and Swetnam 1992, Regan 1997, 

Sallach 1986, Swetnam and Brown 1992, Swetnam and 

Baisan 1996, Swetnam and Betancourt 1990, Swetnam 

1990 Touchan et al. 1995, Wilkinson .1997. 

Present conditions Quantitative records of recent vegetation Present Alexander et al 1984, Dick-Peddie 1993, Findley et al. 

1975, Hawksworth 1990, Hawksworth and Conklin 

1990, Hawksworth et al. 1989, Harrington and 

Hawksworth 1990, Kennedy 1983, Kinloch 1994, Lang 

1957, Lee-Chadde and Huenneke 1997, Negron 1996, 

Regan 1997, Scott and Ramontick 1992, Sublette et al. 

1990, USFWS 1995, Wilson and Tkacz 1994, Wood 

1993. 

Vegetation studies, tree age 

structure, wildlife distribution, insect outbreaks, fires, present 

land use 

composition, pattern and distribution, 

wildlife distribution, climate, land use, 

disturbances 

Surveys were done using the range and township 

method. Each township was 36 square miles (93.6 square 

km), divided into 36 sections of one square mile each (2.6 

square km). Surveyors marked section and quarter section corners by marking four "witness trees," the nearest 

tree to the corner in each quadrant (Leitner et al. 1991). 

Information recorded about the witness trees included 

their species, diameter, distance and direction from the 

corner. Trees along the survey lines were also recorded; 

species were listed in order of dominance. The location of 

every major change of cover type was noted, and prominent understory features were also recorded. Ideally, witness trees were randomly selected, though crews were 

instructed to choose trees that were likely to be long-lived, 

so very small and very large trees were usually not selected. In general, survey records resemble plotless, pointcentered sampling methods (Habeck 1994). 

Survey records have been used to reconstruct past landscapes and forest structure at many locations (Bourdo 

1956, Galatowitsch 1990, Habeck 1994, Leitner et al. 1991, 

Whitney 1986). The strengths of these methods are that 

the data were collected by trained observers using a standardized set of methods, and they are first-hand accounts 

USDA Forest Service Gen. Tech. Rep. RMRS-GTR-19. 1998 

of vegetation, soil, and landscape features from pre-settlement times. In some cases, researchers have been able to 

reconstruct approximate tree density and basal area from 

survey notes (Leitner et al. 1991). However, the usefulness of survey notes is hampered by inconsistencies in 

observations between crews, varying levels of detail, ambiguous plant identification, and bias in sampling (and 

rarely, outright fabrication). Surveyors used common 

names for plants that are not in use today, such as "red 

spruce" for Douglas-fir and "balsam" for white fir, or 

sometimes Engelmann spruce. Surveyors were not always 

consistent with the usage of common names. Because the 

notes represent only one point in time, they do not adequately describe past disturbance regimes, though they 

do note effects of disturbances when the surveyors encountered them. Descriptions included some standardized 

terms no longer in use: "heavy timber" indicated largesized trees, though not necessarily densely stocked forests; 

"scattered timber" indicated a savanna-like woodland. 

General Land Office surveys began in the Sacramento 

Mountains in 1884 and continued into the 1930s, though 

most of the higher parts of the range had been surveyed 

before 1910. Much of the land now part of the Lincoln 

9 
National Forest was private land until after the turn of 

the century and so was surveyed after considerable human effects had accumulated. Settlement had already begun in some canyons by 1884, but surveys done before 

the advent of logging in 1899 probably represent the presettlement landscape in terms of structure. Regan (1997) 

used General Land Office survey notes to reconstruct the 

distribution of old-growth mixed conifer forest in the Sacramento Mountains before 1899. 

Other Government Records 

In addition to regulating land use, after 1907 the Forest 

Service (Fig. 3) began to .assess what resources were 

present on the land and their condition. The boundaries 

of the Alamo National Forest were not set until the 1940s, 

and throughout the first two decades of the 20th century, 

requests to add to or subtract land from the Forest were 

accompanied by detailed teports of the resources available on the lands, descriptions of the vegetation communities, climate, known disturbances, streams, settlements, 

and present and past land use (Anderson 1915, Anderson 

1923, Kent 1905, Kent and Reynolds 1906, Longwell et al. 

1914, Neal 1909, Plummer and Goswell 1904, Reynolds 

1909, Smith 1907 a,b). The descriptions are qualitative for 

the most part, except for some quantitative measures of 

timber, but they are quite detailed and spatially explicit. 

Letters document the exchange of lands with private owners (Lee 1923). The Forest Service assessed the operations 

of the Alamogordo Lumber Company (Holmes 1906) and 

10 

later obtained those lands after logging was finished. The 

Forest Service also kept records of grazing after 1908, and 

after the allotment system was in place, the records of how 

many animals grazed in the mountains in a given year 

were spatially explicit. Careful records were maintained 

of how many animals were allowed to graze in any given 

area, though trespass grazing was very common and allotment records probably represent a minimum number 

of animals that were actually present. Early scientific studies on the forest have also been preserved (Krauch 1936-

1956, Woolsey 1911). 

The Bureau of the Biological Survey published the results 

of their survey of New Mexico fauna in 1931 (Bailey 1931), 

thQugh most o£ the data were collected around 1900. By that 

time, many large predators and game were being hunted to 

extinction, but the report contained detailed life histories of 

species and range maps as far as they were known. 

Historic Accounts 

Historic accounts are non-quantitative, often biased, 

and rarely directly about the ecosystem features of interest, but they do reflect the observations of people who 

were there at the time. Most preserved historical accounts 

are from the settlement era, and they reflect the values of 

the time. Such accounts document the land ownership and 

use, rapid changes in vegetation and wildlife, and notable 

disturbances as they affected people. Historic accounts 

include written and oral histories, literature, personal accounts and interviews, newspapers, and photographs. 

Figure 3. The Alamo National 

Forest Supervisor's Office 

around 1910. Lincoln 

National Forest Heritage 

Resource Program 

collection in Alamogordo, 

on file at the Lincoln 

National Forest 

Supervisor's office. 

USDA Forest Service Gen. Tech. Rep. RMRS-GTR-19. 1998 
Archaeology and paleontology 

These methods provide censored but quantitative evidence of pre-historic human presence and land use, and 

the availability of animal and plant species used by past 

peoples. Environment strongly influences the development of human cultures. How people lived within ecosystems, whether their lifeways were sustainable or not, 

and what parts of their environment they used tell us 

much about the structure and function of past ecosystems. 

The environments documented by paleontology and 

such methods as carbon dating, packrat middens, and 

palynology may not be directly. relevant as reference conditions for management purposes because they occurred 

so long ago and probably under different climate regimes. 

However, such documentation is useful for understanding the potential magnitude of environmental change over 

time and for tracking the development of modern communities and processes. 

Reconstructive studies 

Reconstructive studies are those that use evidence surviving in present ecosystems to reconstruct past conditions. They provide censored but quantitative evidence 

USDA Forest Service Gen. Tech. Rep. RMRS-GTR-19. 1998 

of prehistoric to recent forest structure, climate, and disturbance regimes. Such studies include reconstructions of 

vegetation communities from material found in packrat 

middens, histories of fire and insect outbreaks and reconstructions of climate from tree-rings, and documentation 

of vegetation changes through repeat photography. 

Present conditions 

The present is tlle product of the past. Because present 

ecosystems evolved from past environmental conditions, 

the present distribution of species, composition and structure of communit'ies, and disturbance regimes can give 

us clues about past ecosystems and the changes they have 

undergone. Most importantly, recent studies provide testable, quantitative records of vegetation composition, pattern, and distribution; wildlife populations; climate; disturbance frequency, intensity, and effects; and land use. 

This knowledge can be compared with what we know of 

past landscapes and records of known land use changes. 

If we know what changes have occurred as the result of 

human activities (such as which species are exotics, which 

forest structures are the result of logging and fire suppression, which species have been extirpated),.we can begin 

to extrapolate from present conditions to those of the past. 

11 

PART III. HISTORY OF THE SACRAMENTO MOUNTAINS 4 
The Study Area 

The Sacramento Mountains are located in south-central New Mexico, south of the contiguous Rocky Mountains, between 32°30' and 33°00' north latitude and 106°00' 

and 106°30' longitude, within the Basin and Range Physiographic province (Fig. 4; Regan 1997). The range is oriented north-south, with the Tularosa Basin and San Andres 

mountains to the west, and the Pecos River and Great 

Plains to the east. Elevation ranges from 1300 m (4225 ft) 

at the base of the mountaips to 3693 m (12,003 ft) at the 

summit of Sierra Blanca. The highest point on the Sacramento Ranger District is an unnamed peak, at 2983 m (9695 

ft). Soils under forested areas are mostly Argiborolls, derived from limestone and siltstone parent material (USDA 

Forest Service 1977, 1986, Regan 1997). Like many Southwestern mountain ranges, the Sacramentos are an island 

of forest surrounded by desert or desert grassland. This 

isolation has influenced d~velopment of endemic species 

in the Sacramentos. 

Much of the Sacramento Mountain range is administered by the Lincoln National Forest, which includes several fragmented mountain ranges: the White Mountains 

to the north, the Capitan Mountains to the northeast, the 

Carrizo Peak area, and the Guadalupe Mountains to the 

south. Our area of interest is the Sacramento Ranger District, which includes most of the Sacramento Mountains. 

It extends from the boundary with the Mescalero Apache 

Reservation in the north to the boundary with the 

MacGregor military range and the southern extent of the 

mountains in the south. The eastern boundary of the Forest is in the foothills just east of Alamogordo, and the 

western boundary is a few miles east of Mayhill, where 

the mountains slope gradually to the Pecos valley. The 

Sacramento Ranger District includes several large 

inholdings of private land, including the area around 

Timberon, the Harvey ranch, and MacDonald flat, as well 

as many smaller holdings that are concentrated along 

watercourses. Livestock grazing, tourism, and logging are 

the primary uses on the Forest. 

Water is critical to forests in the Sacramento Mountains, 

and its availability is highly variable. Mean annual precipitation ranges from 500 mm (12.7 inches) to 750 mm 

(19.05 inches). More than 60 percent of this falls during 

July and August as rain from convective thunderstorms. 

The rest of the precipitation falls during the winter as snow 

from frontal systems (DeMastus 1976). Spring (April-June) 

and fall (October-November) are typically dry (Alexander 

et a1. 1984). Mean temperatures vary with elevation, from 

about 20°C (60 OF) at the lower National Forest boundary, to about 4 °C (40 OF) in the central part of the range. 

The mean annual growing season at Sacramento Peak (2843 

m; 9240 ft) is 143 days, with the average date of the last freeze 

May 17, and the first freeze October 7 (DeMastus 1976). Prevailing winds are generally from the west, though they have 

14 

a more northerly component in the winter and more southerly and easterly components in the summer. Gusts of more 

than 100 miles per hour were observed several times during 

20 years of observation (DeMastus 1976). 

Mountains modify local climates through orthographically induced precipitation and adiabatically cooled temperatures. The temperature lapse rate from Alamogordo 

at 1326 m (4310 ft) to Mountain Park at 2048 m (6656 ft) to 

Cloudcroft at 2652 m (8619 ft) is -0.72 °C per 100 m (-1.3 of 

per 325 ft) of elevation (Van Devender et a1. 1984). Cold 

air drainage and inversions produce differences between 

winter and summer lapse rates. Mean annual precipitation increases considerably with elevation, from 250 mm 

(9.8 inches) annually at Alamogordo to 436 mm (17.2 

inches) at Mountain Park to 654 mm (25.8) at Cloudcroft 

(Van Devender et a1. 1984). Vegetation distribution in the 

Southwest is strongly dependent on precipitation. A long 

growing season and fertile soils make Sacramento Mountains forests very productive. 

Biotic Communities 

Biotic communities of the Sacramento Mountains are 

similar to those of the Southern Rocky.Mountains and to 

other Southwestern mountain ranges, and they are distributed largely in response to elevation and moisture gradients (Fig. 5). The lower foothills from 1380 m to 1830 m 

(4485 to 5948 ft) are covered with desert scrub-grassland 

mosaic. The foothills formerly supported extensive desert 

grassland, which has been altered by intensive livestock 

grazing. Above about 1700 m (5525 ft) on the steep west 

escarpment and about 1800 m (5850 ft) on the gentler east 

slope, pinyon-juniper (Pinus edulis/Juniperus monosperma 

or Juniperus deppeana) woodland and dense oak (Quercus 

gambelii or Quercus undulata) scrub cover canyon walls and 

ridges. Above 2100 m (6825 ft), ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa) forms open stands that are often mixed with pinyon-juniper on dry slopes, or Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga 

menziesii) on moist slopes, often with a shrubby understory dominated by oaks. 

Above 2200 to 2500 m (7150 to 8125 ft), the Sacramento 

Mountains are covered with nearly continuous mixed 

conifer forest, dominated by white fir (Abies concolor) or 

Douglas-fir, and mixed with ponderosa pine, southwestern white pine (Pinus strobiformis), aspen (Populus 

tremuloides), and occasional pockets of blue spruce (Picea 

pungens) or Engelmann spruce (Picea engelmannii). Perennial streams are rare in the Sacramentos, and riparian vegetation is sparsely distributed. Cottonwood (Populus 

angustifolia), willow (Salix sp.), and walnut Uuglans major) 

are found in low-elevation canyons. Shallow canyons at 

higher elevations are grassy, and many are cultivated or 

used as pasture. There is no alpine vegetation in the 

Sacramentos. Fire and insect outbreaks are the primary 

natural disturbances that have shaped the forest structure 

. of the Sacramento Mountains. 

USDA Forest Service Gen. Tech. Rep. RMRS-GTR-19. 1998 
NEW MEXICO 

• Albuquerque 

Las Cruces. 

SACRAMENTO 

@ RANGER DISTRICT 

N 

Figure 4. Map of the Sacramento Mountains and surrounding area. Shaded areas in Sacramento Ranger District map at bottom 

indicate privately owned land. 

USDA Forest Service Gen. Tech. Rep. RMRS-GTR-19. 1998 15 
Geology 

The Sacramento Mountains area was under a succession of seas until about 60 million years ago, when the 

modern Rocky Mountains began to rise (Table 2). Around 

49 million years ago, a period of geological instability began in the region, including volcanic activity, uplift, and 

crustal sinking. By the end of this period, many of the 

present mountain ranges in New Mexico had formed 

(Dick-Peddie 1993). About 30 million years ago, a pair of 

parallel fault zones began to develop in what is now central New Mexico, running north-south from what is now 

Colorado to Texas. A long. piece of crust dropped down 

between these faults, creating the Rio Grande Rift which 

traverses central New Me~dco (Chronic 1987). 

The Tularosa Valley and the Sacramento and San 

Andres Mountains were created by pull-apart faulting, 

and the valley is considered the easternmost part of the 

Rio Grande rift. During the early Cenozoic era(66 to 24 

million years ago), it was' part of a large anticline of Paleozoic sedimentary rocks· arching across what is now the 

Tularosa valley from the San Andres Mountains to the 

Sacramento Mountains. When the crust pulled apart during the Miocene epoch (24 to 5 million years ago), the center of the arch collapsed, dropping the valley nearly 5000 

ft and leaving the two mountain ranges at the faulted 

edges. Increased tension in the Earth's crust during this 

period created many of the tilted ranges and deep basins 

of the Southwest. The Tularosa valley has no outlet; water flowing into it from the mountains sinks below the 

East Side 

--.. 

1:400000 

o Surface OwnershIp Boundary 

VEGETATION: Based on UAP Stand data 

_ASPEN 

_GRASS NO DATA 

/// PlNON-JUNIPER 

;~'.'!. PONDEROSA PINE 

~~~ SHRUBlAND Wi MIXED CONIFER 

Figure Sa. Geographic extent of the major biotic communities of 

the Sacramento Mountains. 

Mixed-Conifer 

WAC 

2700m 

DEL 

MON 

T300m DEH 

I I I I 

o 10 20 30 

Kilometers 

Figure 5b. Elevational distribution of major biotic communities on the steeper west escarpment and the more gradual eastern slope. 

Abbreviations indicate sampling locations described in Table 8 (page 62). From Brown et al. (1988). 

16 USDA Forest Service Gen. Tech. Rep. RMRS-GTR-19. 1998 
Table 2. Timeline of Sacramento Mountains history 

Cultural events 

Archaic period: Paleo-Indian hunter-gatherers in 

Tularosa Basin and surrounding area 

Fresnal Canyon shelter site occupied 

Jornada Branch of Mogollon Culture: 

Mesilla phase-pithouses, rudimentary agriculture 

Dona Ana phase-pithouses, agriculture 

EI Paso phase-pueblos, agriculture 

Pueblos and farms abandoned 

Coronado passes through New Mexico 

First confirmed record of Apaches in Sacramentos 

First recorded battle between Spanish and Apaches 

in the Sacramentos 

Famine 

Jumanos Pueblo abandoned 

Pueblo revolt; Spanish temporarily leave New Mexico 

Commanches defeat Apaches, who move west 

Only Mescaleros in Sacramentos 

Sawmill in existence above Tularosa around this time 

Period of relative peace between Apaches & Spanish 

Mexico declares independence from Spain 

Texas statehood; Apaches driven out of Texas 

Mexican-American War 

Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo 

California gold rush; Americans come to New Mexico 

First U.S. Military expedition in Sacramentos 

Gadsden purchase 

Rio Penasco expedition; Fort Stanton established 

American Civil war; Apaches at Bosque Redondo 

Tularosa founded 

Lincoln County war 

Mescalero Apache Reservation established 

Three Rivers Ranch founded 

Date 

60 million years ago 

30-24 million years ago 

24-5 million years ago 

2 million-11 ,000 years ago 

11,000 years ago 

10,000 years ago 

9000 years ago 

5400 years ago 

4000 years ago 

2500 years ago 

2000 BC to 0-100AD 

250 AD 

900 AD 

1100 AD 

1200 AD 

1217-1226 

1400 AD 

1429-1440 

1487-1498 

1540 AD 

1577-1598 

1579 

1609-1623 

1630 

1653 

1660 

1672 

1680 

1723 

1748 

1750 

1773 

1778-1787 

1800 

1801 

1810 

1820 

1821 

1835-1849 

1840 

1842 

1845 

1846 

1847 

1848 

1849 

1850 

1851 

1853 

1855 

1860-1865 

1862 

1872-1881 

1873 

1874 

USDA Forest Service Gen. Tech. Rep. RMRS-GTR-19. 1998 

Ecological events 

Sacramentos under shallow seas 

Rio Grande Rift formed 

Tularosa valley and Sacramento and San Andres ranges formed 

Pleistocene era; glaciation on Sierra Blanca, Lake Lucero formed 

Holocene era begins 

Ponderosa pine range expands dramatically, moves into 

Sacramentos 

Altithermal climate-warmer and drier than now 

Desert scrub-grass community in place at lower elevations 

Monsoon climate begins, cooling. Modern vegetation types in 

place. Rocky Mountain juniper becomes more restricted in range; 

alligator junipe~ increases. 

Gradual warming until about 800 years ago 

Little Black Peak erupts, creates lava flow; Medieval Warm Period 

begins 

Agriculture concentrated in riparian areas, especially Rio 

Penasco and westside canyons 

Settled peoples cut timbers for buildings 

Drought 

End of Medieval Warm Period; Little Ice Age begins 

Wet period 

Wet period 

Horses re-introduced to New Mexico 

Severe drought 

Earliest tree-ring record in Sacramentos 

Wet period; tree establishment 

Apaches bring livestock into the mountains 

Apaches concentrated in the mountains 

Regional fire year 

Regional fire year 

Drought 

Limited logging above Tularosa 

Regional fire year 

Spruce budworm outbreak begins 

Spruce budworm outbreak ends 

Wet period 

Spruce budworm outbreak begins 

Regional fire year 

Regional fire year 

Little Ice Age ends; Game scarce in Sacramentos 

Regional fire year 

Spruce budworm outbreak ends; bison exterminated on the 

plains 

Farming begins in river valleys; water diverted for irrigation 

Intensive livestock grazing begins 

continued on next page 

17 
valley floor or pools to the south of the White Sands. North 

of Three Rivers, the Valley of Fire lava flow fills the center 

of the Tularosa valley. It erupted from Little Black Peak 

less than 1000 years ago (Chronic 1987). 

Though there has been considerable volcanic activity 

nearby, the Sacramento Mountains are composed of sedimentary rocks formed on the bottoms of shallow seas, and 

marine fossils are common in the mountains. Sierra Blanca, 

Table 2. (Continued) Timeline of Sacramento Mountains history. 

Cultural events 

Texas cattlemen begin to arrive 

Apaches confined to Reservation; railroad reaches EI Paso 

General Land Office survey begins 

Fountain murder 

Railroad reaches Alamogordo 

Railroad reaches Cloudcroft; logging begins; Lodge built; 

Biological survey begins 

Golf course built 

Railroad reaches Russia 

Sacramento National Forest Reserve created 

Alamo National Forest created 

Lodge rebuilt 

New Mexico statehood 

Longwell petition 

Circle Cross Ranch founded 

Modern Lincoln National Forest 

Title to Apache reservation confirmed 

Civilian Conservation Corps begins 

Cloudcroft Experimental Forest established 

Developed campgrounds established 

Ski Cloudcroft established 

Holloman Air Force Base established 

End of Civilian Conservation Corps 

White Sands proving grounds (missile range) 

Railroad abandoned 

Smokey Bear found in Capitan Mountains 

Sunspot Solar Observatory opened 

Present as of this writing 

18 

Date 

1876 

1879 

1880 

1881 

1884 

1886 

1889 

1890 

1893 

1896 

1898 

1899 

1901 

1902 

1903 

1904 

1907 

1908 

1910 

1912 

1913 

1914 

1917 

1920 

1922 

1923 

1927 

1928 

1930 

1933 

1934-1937 

1935 

1940 

1941 

1942 

1944 

1945 

1947 

1950 

1951 

1952-1954 

1953 

1956 

1966 

1967 

1974 

1980 

1990 

1993 

1994 

1998 

Ecological events 

Last fire recorded at JAM (see Fig. 21) 

Regional fire year; last fire recorded at SSP, WAC, DEL, MNU, 

MON, MOR, LPS, USA (see Fig. 21) 

Period of high rainfall, good grass; livestock grazing intensifies 

Apache influence removed from Sacramentos 

Settlemeht accelerates; development in canyons 

Last fire recorded at CHR, SAC, LPS (see Fig. 21) 

Sudden drought, collapse of livestock industry 

Spruce budworm outbreak; last fire recorded at FCF (see Fig. 21) 

Drought ends 

Last fire recorded at PSS (see Fig. 21) 

Water diversion for railroad 

Last sighting of Merriam's elk, Fresnal Canyon flood, Last fire 

recorded at UPS (see Fig. 21) 

Last fire recorded at DEH (see Fig. 21) 

Drought 

Logging begins in mixed conifer forests 

Drought; last fire recorded at PEA (see Fi9. 21) 

Active fire suppression begins 

2000 ac burned in human-caused wildfires 

Fir looper outbreak 

Intensive grazing on southwestern part of range 

Peak years of railroad logging 1920-1936 

Insect outbreaks 

Big blowdown on southwest side of range; insect outbreaks 

Last grizzly bear shot in New Mexico 

Insect outbreaks, spruce beetles 

Mule deer population explosion; grazing allotments established to 

regulate stock. 

Flood control structures built in canyons, road construction 

Drought, insect outbreaks (Ips) 

Spruce budworm outbreaks; goats removed from grazing on 

USFS lands 

First atomic bomb exploded on Jornada del Muerto 

End of railroad logging; most State land acquired by U.S. Forest 

Service, logged and overgrazed 

Severe drought 1951-1957; Allen Canyon fire 15,820 ac 

Spruce budworm outbreak; aerial pesticide spraying 

Circle Cross fire 25,874 ac 

Pendelton fire, 5,825 ac 

Rocky Mountain Elk introduced to Sacramentos 

Danley fire 2,400 ac 

Spring fire 15, 354 ac 

Spruce budworm outbreak; cable logging 

White pine blister rust detected 

Burgett fire burns 4277 ac 

Bridge fire burns 4946 ac 

USDA Forest Service Gen. Tech. Rep. RMRS-GTR-19. 1998 
'.: ' . ~ . 

the highest peak in the Sacramento-White Mountains, is 

an intrusion of Tertiary rocks surrounded by volcanic 

material. The west slope of the Sacramento Mountains is 

abrupt, with steep cliffs and much exposed rock. Paleozoic sedimentary rocks ranging in age from Cambrian to 

Permian, the complete Paleozoic sequence, overlie Precambrian granite. The visible cliffs on the west side are 

Devonian and Mississippian limestone; older rocks are 

buried under alluvial fans at the base of the mountains. 

Caves and springs are common in the Sacramentos because the rock is very porous, in part because salt and 

gypsum have been leached out, and in part because the 

limestone itself is also slightly soluble. The mountains 

slope gradually to the east toward the Pecos Valley. 

During the Pleistocene epoch, small mountain glaciers 

developed in some of the isolated mountain ranges. Acirque and moraines on Sierra Blanca peak are evidence of 

the southernmost extent of glaciation in the United States 

(Richmond 1964). The Pleistocene climate in New Mexico 

was cooler and much wetter:than that of today. Lakes 

formed in the closed valleys, Including the Tularosa Valley to the west of the Sacramento Mountains, and frequent 

floods carried huge amounts of material into the intermountain basins, building alluvial fans along the valley 

margins. At the deepest part of the Tularosa valley is a 

playa, the dry bed of ancient Lake Otero. At its southern 

end, Lake Lucero, a smaller playa, still holds water after 

heavy rains. These dry lake beds are the source of the gypsum that forms the dunes of the White Sands. Water 

washes the gypsum from the Permian rocks in the San 

Andres mountains and deposits it in the playas, where 

strong southwest winds in early spring pick it up and blow 

it into the dune field (Chronic 1987). 

Quaternary Environment 

Reconstruction of past vegetation must necessarily be 

based on incomplete evidence; the further back into the 

past, the less complete the evidence. Most useful for such 

reconstructions are fossils of plant parts, fossil and subfossil pollen, and preserved plant parts from packrat 

middens preserved in caves or crevices, some of which 

have been carbon-dated to more than 40,000 years old. 

The vegetation of the Sacramento Mountains and of New 

Mexico in general has been determined by topography, 

climate, and, after about 11,000 years ago, by human activities. The rise of the Rocky Mountains in the Tertiary 

Period created a cooler, drier climate than had existed 

before. Grasslands developed in the rain shadow of the 

mountains. Communities of more or less modern aspect 

existed in New Mexico by the beginning of the Quaternary period 2 to 3 million years ago (Dick-Peddie 1993). 

The Pleistocene epoch lasted from the beginning of the 

Quaternary period (about 2 million years ago) until about 

11,000 years ago and was characterized by a cooler, wetter 

climate than at present, punctuated by periods of glaciation 

USDA Forest Service Gen. Tech. Rep. RMRS-GTR-19. 1998 

and glacial retreats. Vegetation advanced and retreated both 

elevationaUy and latitudinally before the glaciers. By about 

18,000 years ago, vegetation zones in general were displaced 

900 to 1200 m (2925 to 3900 ft) below their present elevations. The plant species did not retreat south or downward 

as intact communities; some species migrated, while others 

stayed as small components of new communities or concentrated in refugia. When the vegetation migrated northward 

or upward again, it formed communities different in species 

composition from those that had been there before. 

During the Pleistocene, the Sacramento Mountains 

were forested with subalpine conifers and supported an 

area of alpine tundra along the summit. Most of New 

MexicO" was cove:red by montane coniferous forest dominated by Douglas-fir, southwestern white pine, and white 

fir, similar to modern mixed conifer forests, with very little 

woodland or grassland in the entire state (Van Devender 

and Spaulding 1979). Limber pine (Pinus flexilis) is now 

found in the northern third of the state and southwestern 

white pine in the southern part. Dwarf juniper Uuniperus 

communis) was found in the Guadalupe mountains; the 

nearest dwarf juniper today is 417 km (250 miles) to the 

north. The high plains to the east were dominated by 

spruce forest from 17,000 to 12,000 years ago, when dominance changed to pinyon pine woodland. Much of the area 

now occupied by desert grassland or Chihuahuan desert 

scrub was dominated by pinyon pine woodland 24,000 years 

ago. Grassland and desert vegetation did not appear in New 

Mexico until about 18,000 years ago (Dick-Peddie 1993). 

Thirteen packrat and two porcupine middens from the Sacramento Mountains, located between 1555 and 1690 m (5054 to 

5493 ft) in elevation, document vegetation assemblages in their 

immediate areas from 390 to 18,300 years ago (Betancourt et al. 

1990; Van Devender et al. 1984). Packrats (rodents of the genus 

Neotoma) and other small mammals build houses that may be 

occupied by generations of animals for thousands of years. They 

collect plants and other materials, and over time, these collections, along with fecal pellets, become cemented and preserved 

by crystallized urine. 

Fossil and sub fossil midden sites have been located in 

dry rock shelters in Big Boy Canyon, San Andres Canyon, 

Marble Canyon, and Dog Canyon, all on the western escarpment of the Sacramento Mountains. The vegetation 

of these areas is presently classified as Chihuahuan desert 

scrub, but evidence from the middens indicates that this 

vegetation has apparently only been in place since the late 

Holocene, about the last 4000 years. During the Wisconsin full glacial period 18,000 to 16,000 years ago, the oldest site, at 1555 m (5054 ft) elevation, was dominated by 

Colorado pinyon and Rocky Mountain juniper in association with one-seed juniper, wavyleavf oak, and Douglas-fir, and was probably near the upper elevationallimit 

of woodland. The high species richness compared to pinyon-juniper woodlands at similar elevations to the north 

suggests that winters were not much colder than today. 

Precipitation occurred mostly in the winter and spring 

(Van Devender et al. 1984). 

19 
During the early Holocene, between 11,000 and 8000 

years ago, under warmer and somewhat drier conditions, 

the same area supported a juniper-oak woodland under a 

climate that was still characterized by winter precipitation. During the dry period of the middle Holocene between 8000 and 4000 years ago known as the Altithermal, 

the area supported desert grassland, and the climate had 

changed from cool, with winter precipitation, to the period of maximum Holocene warmth and a shift to dominant summer precipitation, the beginnings of the monsoons. 

About 4000 years ago, the present desert scrub vegetation 

was in place under a climate much like that of today, with 

summer monsoon rains and less frequent frost. Rainfall may 

have been more irregular, with more frequent annual 

droughts (Van Devender et. al. 1984). There was a general 

cooling until about 2500 years ago, when the temperature 

began to warm again. The Medieval Warm Period (1000 AD 

to 1350 AD) saw temperatures warmer than the present, including prolonged summer drought from 1130 to 1180 AD. 

From about 1450 until 1850; the Little Ice Age was a period 

generally cooler and wetter than the present. The climate 

has become relatively stable over the last 600 years (DickPeddie 1993). With the development of the summer monsoon and winter-spring drought, many species changed their 

distributions. Rocky mountain juniper Uuniperus scopulorum) 

retreated to high elevations and riparian areas, while oneseed juniper (Juniperus monosperma) became more widespread, and alligator juniper (Juniperus deppeana) increased 

its range, to become the dominant juniper species in modern pinyon-juniper-oak woodlands in the Sacramentos. 

Ponderosa pine is not present in the Sacramento Mountains midden records. Forests dominated by ponderosa 

pine probably developed in the Sacramento Mountains 

at higher elevations during the early or middle Holocene, 

when ponderosa pine was dispersing widely throughout 

the West, where it had been only a minor component before. The expansion of dominance by ponderosa pine may 

have been due to new fire regimes that came into being 

with the establishment of the monsoonal climate. Ponderosa pine is more tolerant of fire than the other mixed confer species it replaced. Mixed conifer forests at higher elevations were dominated by Douglas-fir and southwestern white pine, which had retreated with the advent of a 

warmer and drier climate. Subalpine forests of Engelmann 

spruce were reduced to small pockets at the highest elevations and in areas of cold air drainage. 

History of Human Occupation 

Prehistoric Habitation 

It is impossible to separate the historic condition of ecosystems from the history of the human populations who 

20 

have lived there. The Sacramento Mountains have a long 

and sometimes bloody history of human occupation. See 

Table 2 for a timeline of historic events in the Sacramento 

Mountains. Evidence of the hunter-gatherer peoples who 

roamed the area before about 900 AD is sketchy (Driver 

1985). The earliest known Paleo-Indian occupation of the 

Tularosa basin was around 9000 BC (Tainter 1981). Ashelter site occupied from around 2000 BC to 100 BC has been 

excavated near the tunnel on US Highway 82 in Fresnal 

Canyon (Tainter 1981). Other sites of Archaic occupation 

were found in the Hueco mountains to the south (Hueco 

period; Kelley!"1984), and a Folsom point was found at 

Burnet Cave (Kelley 1984), indicating that prehistoric biggame hunters used the region. 

The prehistory of southeastern and south-central New 

Mexico is among the least known in the Southwest. The 

change to a warmer, drier climate beginning 9000 years 

ago caused people to migrate seasonally and to move into 

the mountains where water was more readily available. 

The Archaic period began with this change, and lasted 

until 100-250 AD. The nomadic hunter-gatherer peoples 

of the Sacramentos may have practiced some rudimentary agriculture to supplement foraging during the later 

Archaic. The early cultures of the Sacramento Mountains 

are classified as the J ornada branch of the Mogollon. The 

Mesilla phase (250-1100 AD) saw people settling into a 

more sedentary life in pithouses, using pottery, and probably growing crops to supplement hunting and gathering. During the Dona Ana phase (1100-1200 AD) people 

began the transition to living in pueblo-style buildings 

with many contiguous rooms, though pithouses persisted. 

Agriculture became more important during this period, 

and there are indications of an increasing population. It is 

not known whether the people who had been living in 

the area evolved a sedentary way of life, or whether the 

gather-farmers moved in from elsewhere, but by 1100 AD, 

agriculture was practiced at several locations in the Sacramento Mountains, several hundred years after agriculture had become the primary means of support among 

the peoples of the Rio Grande valley (Broster and Harrill 

1983, Tainter and Tainter 1995). Several prehistoric farming villages were excavated in the Sierra Blanca Region in 

the 1950's (Kelley 1984), and others in the Sacramento 

Mountains near Timberon (Spoerl 1981a) and in Snaky 

Canyon (Tainter 1981). After 1200 AD, during the EI Paso 

phase, pithouses were abandoned in favor of pueblos, and 

agriculture flourished until about 1400 AD, when the 

pueblos and fields were abandoned. The Sacramentos may 

have been largely uninhabited by humans from this time 

until the arrival of the Apaches in the early 17th century. 

Prehistoric farming villages tended to be located in areas most conducive to primitive agriculture: on the eastern slope of the Sacramento Mountains within the pinyon-juniper zone, between 1662 and 1908 m (5400 to 6200 

ft) elevation (Kelley 1984), in alluvial valleys with deep 

soils and more or less permanent water, or on the western 

slope at the base of the escarpment near drainages origiUSDA Forest Service Gen. Tech. Rep. RMRS-GTR-19. 1998 
nating in the mountains (Tainter 1981). Within the Sacramento District, two sites were located near the modern 

village of Mayhill along the Rio Penasco, which included 

some pithouses and pottery of early Pueblo III date (Dona 

Ana phase, 1100 AD to 1200 AD; Stuart and Farwell 1983). 

These were damaged by highway construction and have 

subsequently been destroyed. Site 2000, a few miles downstream, also appears to have been occupied during Pueblo 

III times (Kelly 1984). Farther north, along the Rio Ruidoso, 

a larger village has been located on the Bonnell Ranch that 

appears to have been occupied from Pueblo III to Pueblo 

IV (Dona Ana and EI Paso phases; 1200 AD to 1325 AD) 

periods. More villages were scat~ered to the north and east, 

in the Capitan Mountains and near Roswell. 

On the western escarpment, sites like the one in Snaky 

Canyon may have been outposts of the permanent settlements in the Tularosa Valley. The Snaky Canyon site was 

probably cultivated between 1100 and 1200 AD but may 

not have been occupied year-around. It was excavated in 

1978 because it was threatened by erosion and proposed 

erosion control measures. Eighteen sites in the valley 

yielded ceramics and projectile points of the Dona Ana or 

EI Paso phases (Tainter 1981). Evidence of hunting and gathering camps is common throughout the Sacramentos. A typical site was excavated in the pinyon-juniper woodland near 

Timberon in 1980, which had a long history of use from the 

pre-ceramic through the early ceramic periods (200-500 AD). 

This site was disturbed by road repair (Spoerl 1981a). 

The Sacramento Mountains seem to have been abandoned by agricultural peoples between 1300 (Kelley 1984) 

and 1450 AD (Driver 1984). The reason or reasons for the 

relatively sudden abandonment of these sites, which corresponds with the abandonment of other agricultural sites 

farther north, is unknown, though several theories have 

been put forward. There is evidence of a change in the 

climate at this time. Worldwide, the period known as the 

Little Ice Age was beginning, a time of cooler and wetter 

conditions following a long period of conditions generally warmer than the present. In the Sierra Blanca region, 

the significance of the change may have had more to do 

with the timing of precipitation than with temperature. 

Total annual rainfall may not have changed much, but the 

pattern of rainfall may have shifted from precipitation 

dispersed throughout the year to rainfall concentrated into 

more intense summer storms resembling the current pattern. Such torrential storms increase flooding, erosion, and 

arroyo cutting, and lower the water table, all of which 

make farming more difficult. Repeated crop failures would 

have left the people vulnerable to disease and to attacks 

from their neighbors who were also enduring hard times, 

or from Athabaskan invaders, nomadic ancestors of the 

Apaches and Commanches. There is evidence of warfare 

at Bloom Mound, located on the present Mescalero Apache 

Reservation, which coincides with the abandonment of 

the farming villages. 

Hunter-gatherer groups tend to use upland areas of 

topographic diversity, where they can find a variety of 

USDA Forest Service Gen. Tech. Rep. RMRS-GTR-19. 1998 

edible plants and wildlife habitats within a relatively small 

area (Tainter and Tainter 1995). It is likely that the earliest 

human inhabitants of the Sacramento Mountains migrated 

seasonally up and down the mountain range, were widely 

dispersed, and were probably never very numerous. The 

highest parts of the range may not have been inhabited at 

all. The effects of these early peoples on the landscape are 

unknown, though they may have affected wildlife populations and the populations of food plants locally. 

With the advent of agriculture, people were concentrated in the river valleys along permanent streams. Faunal remains from the sites along the Rio Penasco, such as 

muskrat, indicate that this was a permanent water course 

(Driver 1985). Thel farmers had no domestic animals except dogs, but they supplemented their crops by hunting, 

and remains of turkeys, rabbits, deer, and pronghorn were 

found at village sites. The effects of the farmers on their 

landscape no doubt included cutting of trees near villages 

for firewood and possibly to clear fields, and their cultivation may have resulted in some erosion in riparian areas. However, the prehistoric farmers in the Sacramento 

Mountains were widely scattered and never numerous, 

and the effects of their use of the land have been swamped 

by subsequent disturbances. 

The Apaches and the Spanish 

The date of the Apaches' arrival in the Sacramento 

Mountains is not known for sure. Spanish expeditions 

reached the area by the mid -16th century, but the Apaches 

were not mentioned recognizably in the area by Spanish 

records until around 1600. Coronado's expedition (1540-

1542) encountered the Apaches on the plains to the north 

and east, where they lived by following the bison herds. 

The Apaches were not initially hostile to the Spanish, but 

that did not last long. The Spanish did not recognize any 

Indian claims to land and subjected the natives to cruelty 

and slavery. By the early 1600s, there was constant warfare between the Apaches and the Spanish colonists and 

their settled native converts. Sometime between 1541 and 

1600, the Apaches acquired horses from the Spanish and 

learned to ride. With horses, their range expanded by 

hundreds of miles, and their raids became more effective. 

The Mescalero Apaches were the historical native 

people most closely identified with the Sacramento Mountains (Fig. 6). They were an Eastern Apache group who 

occupied the region between the Rio Grande and the Pecos 

rivers, south of the 34th parallel and mostly north of the 

Mexico border. They lived in loosely organized bands and 

probably did not practice agriculture. The Mescaleros were 

first recognized by that name in the early 1700s, when they 

apparently shared the area with several other Apache 

groups. After 1750, only one other group, the Natage, were 

noted in the area (Betancourt 1981). 

Most of the Spanish settlements were located to the 

north and west of the Sacramento Mountains, among the 

21 
settled agricultural tribes of the Rio Grande Valley and 

northern mountains. There is no record of any early Spanish settlement in the Sacramento Mountains, but Spanish 

records do indicate that the Mescalero Apaches were established there by the 1630s, using the Sierra Blanca region as the base for their raids on the Jumanos pueblo to 

the north. This established their pattern for the next 250 

years: lightning raids on settlements for livestock and 

whatever supplies they required, then disappearance into 

the mountains where they could elude or ambush their 

pursuers easily. The first recorded Spanish conflict with 

the Mescalero Apaches was in 1653, in the Sierra Blanca 

territory (Opler 1983). 

The Spanish colony in New Mexico nearly failed in the 

17th century, due in part to their mistreatment of the natives, their disagreements among themselves, and the relentless Apache raids. Famine struck in the 1660's, followed by disease, probably smallpox. In 1672, the Apache 

raids on the pueblo at Jumanos were so devastating that 

Spanish and Indians alike abandoned it. In 1680, the settled 

Indians all over New Mexico rebelled against their Spanish masters, supported and encouraged by the Apaches, 

and the Spanish were driven out of New Mexico for the 

next two decades. 

However, sometime around 1700, new players arrived 

on the scene: the Commanches, who came from the high 

plains east of the Pecos. They put severe pressure on the 

Apaches, who in turn raided the pueblos and Spanish settlers. There are vague reports of a huge battle sometime 

between 1720 and 1723, in which the Commanches decisively defeated the Apaches and their allies the Lipans 

somewhere east of the Pecos river (Sonnichsen 1973). This 

caused a great movement of Apaches south and west, even 

into Mexico. Some of the Mescaleros seem to have stayed 

22 

Figure 6. A Mescalero Apache 

camp in the early 1900s. 

Photo by Alexander, 

Lincoln National Forest 

Heritage Resource 

Program collection in 

Alamogordo, on file at the 

Lincoln National Forest 

Supervisor's office. 

in their home territory of Sierra Blanca despite the 

Commanches; some moved to the Guadalupe mountains 

to the south and to the Organ mountains to the west; and 

some were raiding as far away as 1000 miles into Mexico. 

During all this movement and warfare, the Apaches 

continued to live a hunting and gathering lifestyle, and 

their presence must have had at least local effects, probably concentrated on wildlife populations and near water sources, though they moved frequently and lived in 

small bands. The bands do not appear to have had specific territories or home ranges, though they did repeatedly occupy places where they had access to particular 

resources or to a number of resources within a relatively 

short distance (Sebastian and Larralde 1989). Important 

prey species for Mescalero hunters were deer, pronghorn, 

and bison, as well as rabbits and prairie dogs when necessary. Mule deer were probably their most important 

source of meat after they moved off the plains, though 

they still went to the plains to hunt bison until the herds 

were destroyed in the 1860s, and access routes to bisonhunting grounds were important considerations in the 

locations of their camps. The Mescaleros used wild plants 

for as much as 50 percent of their diet, particularly mescal, datil, pinion nuts, and mesquite beans, as well as cactus fruits, other nuts, grass seeds, tubers, and greens 

(Sebastian and Larralde 1989). 

The most significant effect of the Spanish presence was 

the introduction of domestic livestock, especially sheep, 

goats, cattle, and horses. Though the Spanish themselves 

did not practice grazing in the Sacramentos, they recorded 

that the Apaches stole hundreds of horses or cattle at a 

time. The Apaches do not appear to have kept herds of 

their own, except riding horses; when they had eaten all 

the stock they had taken, they made another raid. HowUSDA Forest Service Gen. Tech. Rep. RMRS-GTR-19. 1998 
ever, the animals they took into the mountains and the 

horses they kept were enough to be considered the beginnings of livestock grazing in the Sacramentos. 

From the time of their arrival in the Sacramento Mountains, the Mescalero Apaches were nomadic, following 

game and crops of wild plant foods as they ripened. They 

used higher elevations in summer and ranged at lower 

elevations in winter, without building any permanent 

structures. They traveled east to the plains to hunt bison 

and to the borders of the desert to harvest the mescal plant, 

their staple food, from which they derive their name. 

While their activity seems to have been concentrated 

around Sierra Blanca where water may have been more 

consistently available than elsewhere in the mountains 

because of greater snowfall, th.e Apaches ranged all over 

the Sacramentos and are known to have used Dog Canyon as a thoroughfare from the Tularosa valley to the top 

of the Sacramento Mountains, sometimes ambushing pursuing enemies in the steep, rocky canyon (Betancourt 1981, 

Wilkinson 1997). 

The environmental effects ot the Apaches' hunting and 

gathering are unknown and probably unknowable. It may 

be significant, however, that they made much of their living through raiding, and their numbers were never very 

large (fewer than 1000 according to Sonnichsen 1973; 2000 

to 3000 according to Opler 1983). Availability of food and 

water in the Sacramento Mountains was unpredictable at 

best, and despite their efficient use of their environment, 

the Apaches were often hungry during the 18th and 19th 

centuries. The Apaches are known to have set fires for 

hunting and warfare purposes (Cooper 1960, Sonnichsen 

1973, Swetnam and Baisan 1996), but the extent to which 

they affected the local fire regime is not well known 

(Wilkinson 1997). As Swetnam and Baisan (1996) point 

out, there was no lack of potential lightning ignitions to 

cause the historic pattern of frequent surface fires, so the 

influence of the Apaches may have been more significant 

to the timing and location of fires rather than to their overall frequency. 

A period of warfare continued through the 18th century, and a concerted Spanish campaign was launched in 

the 1780s during which Spanish expeditions penetrated 

the Sacramento Mountains and other Apache strongholds. 

Toward the end of Spanish rule, as their resources were 

diverted to other conflicts, the Spanish turned to conciliation with the Apaches. Relative peace existed between the 

Spanish and the Apaches into the early 1800s. In 1821, 

Mexico became independent from Spain and continued 

the policy of conciliation, though there were lapses into 

hostilities and the peace was never stable. 

The Americans 

The American army arrived in New Mexico soon after 

the declaration of war against Mexico in 1846 and took 

over most of New Mexico peacefully. The treaty of 

USDA Forest Service Gen. Tech. Rep. RMRS-GTR-19. 1998 

Guadalupe-Hidalgo in 1848 transferred all the territory 

between the Colorado River and Texas, as well as California, to the United States, and the area became the Territory of New Mexico in 1850. The southern parts of New 

Mexico and Arizona were added by the Gadsden Purchase 

in 1853. Arizona became a separate territory in 1863 (Baker 

et al. 1988). The Americans continued the Spanish-Mexican precept that recognized no Indian claim to the land. 

When Texas entered the Union in 1845, the Federal government retained no lands there and so was unable to 

provide any lands for the Indians who lived there, including some of the Mescaleros, who were subsequently driven 

out of Texas. I 

Americans began arriving in New Mexico in large numbers around 1849. Most of them were on their way to the 

gold fields of California and did not stay in southeastern 

New Mexico. The first recorded American military expedition into the Sierra Blanca region occurred in June of 

1850, an exploratory mission out of Dona Ana to see what 

was on the other side of the Organ Mountains. The soldiers were turned back by threats from the Apaches without a shot being fired. A report from Brevet Captain A. W. 

Bowman, army quartermaster, dated April 23, 1850, remarked that so many Apaches were concentrated in the 

mountainous country (because of pressure from Commanches, Americans, and Mexicans) that game had become very scarce. 

In January 1855, a campaign was launched against the 

Apaches in the Sacramento Mountains by soldiers from 

Fort Thorn. The Apaches had apparently stolen cattle from 

the Pecos valley. This was the first American expedition 

to penetrate the Sacrament os, the Apaches' stronghold. 

The troops marched up the Rio Penasco from the east, into 

"country [that] was broken into high hills with deep ravines crossing the line of march," according to Captain 

Ewell (Sonnichsen 1973:84). They were attacked constantly 

but drove the Apaches from their lodges, pursuing them 

to the top of the range above the source of the Rio Penasco. 

A private Bennet, who kept a diary of the trip, said: "No 

one of our number has ever traveled this country before. 

It is nothing but snow and ice." (Sonnichsen 1973:86-87). 

The soldiers lost much of their stock and several men; the 

Apaches, their stronghold invaded, fled into the Guadalupes. As a result of this battle, Fort Stanton was established at the junction of the Rio Bonito and the Rio 

Ruidoso, near present day Lincoln. For several years in 

the 1860s, the Mescaleros were forced onto a reservation 

at Bosque Redondo near Fort Sumner. Conditions there 

were terrible, and most of the Mescaleros escaped back 

into the mountains. In 1873, a reservation was established 

by Executive Order for the Mescalero Apaches, and 

Mescalero chiefs signed a treaty confining the Apaches to 

the reservation south of Fort Stanton, 45 km (27 miles) 

wide and extending (then) from the mountains east to the 

Pecos. However, the US Congress never ratified the treaty, 

and title to the land was not confirmed by Congress until 

1922 (Opler 1983). Disease, mismanagement, dishonesty 

23 
of government officials, lack of food, and mistreatment 

by the Americans reduced Mescalero numbers. They generally tried to keep the peace, but the inconsistent behavior and treatment by the Americans made that difficult, 

and they fought the Americans periodically, occasionally 

getting involved in uprisings that started elsewhere. But 

by the early 1880's, their population ravaged by war and 

disease, they were forcibly disarmed and settled down 

on their reservation, to become wards of the United States 

government (Fig. 7). In 1881,431 Mescalero Apaches were 

left alive. Because the boundaries of the reservation had 

not been surveyed, the Apaches continued to endure conflicts over encroachments hy Anglos for mining, farming, 

and logging, had their horses and other livestock stolen, 

and were blamed for raids ?ctually perpetrated by Anglo 

outlaws. 

It was only after the Apaches were no longer a factor 

that the Sacramento Mountains were settled and exploited 

by Anglo-Americans; the Apaches had effectively kept 

Spanish and Mexican settlers out of the mountains. The 

beginning of the Civil War slowed American settlement 

of New Mexico. The Territory was under martial law for 

the duration of the war, administered by volunteer troops 

from California, and the Americans' concern was focused 

on thwarting Confederate invasion from Texas, not exploration, Indians, or settlements. Fort Stanton was abandoned, and the Apaches regained control of the area for a 

short time (Sebastian and Larralde 1989). In 1862, a group 

of Mexican farmers, driven out of the Rio Grande valley 

by floods, founded a settlement that became the town of 

Tularosa. The name of the place tells something of its ecological character. Tularosa means "full of reedy places" 

(Sonnichsen 1980). A sawmill had existed upriver from 

Tularosa since before 1800, which had supplied timbers 

24 

for churches and other buildings along the Rio Grande, 

indicating at least limited logging activity on the west side 

of the Sacramentos during that time (Sonnichsen 1980). 

After the Civil War, Americans came to New Mexico in 

large numbers, and with them came rapid environmental 

change (Fig. 8). Cattlemen and entrepreneurs flooded in 

from Texas and elsewhere, determined to make their fortunes on the frontier no matter what the cost. They were 

"a microcosm of money-mad, power-hungry nineteenthcentury America, America before the dream had soured, 

America on the brink of becoming a world power, America 

the promised land where a pushcart immigrant could 

overnight become a millionaire, America in the Gilded Age 

when the robber barons of Wall Street were the uncrowned 

kings" (Nolan 1992). The range war in Lincoln County in 

the late 1870's (Nolan 1992) and the murders and lawless 

periods in the 1890's in the area around Alamogordo 

(Sonnichsen 1980) were indicative of the ruthless character of many people who settled in the area of the Sacramento Mountains. That ruthlessness was also expressed 

in their inconsistent and cruel treatment of the Indians, 

the poor farmers both Anglo and Hispanic, and in their 

relentless exploitation of the natural resources. The Sacramento Mountains, with the Apaches now disarmed and 

no longer a factor, became a hiding place for rustlers and 

outlaws and the battleground in the fight for land and 

water. 

The Cattlemen 

The cattlemen and other stock raisers arrived in the 

years following the Civil War and changed the social order of the Sacramento Mountains. Texas had escaped 

much of the destruction suffered by the other ConfederFigure 7. The Mescalero Apache 

vii/age and agency at the 

turn of the 20th century 

Photo by Alexander, 

Lincoln National Forest 

Heritage Resource 

Program collection in 

Alamogordo, on file at the 

Lincoln National Forest 

Supervisor's office. 

USDA Forest Service Gen. Tech. Rep. RMRS-GTR-19. 1998 
............. 

ate states and, after the war, became the new frontier where 

land was cheap, cattle-raising was profitable, and there 

were still opportunities. Simultaneously, the Texas Rangers subdued the Indians and outlaws, opening up the wild 

grasslands of west Texas for settlement. People flowed 

west in great numbers, and as the country began to fill 

up, they continued to drift west into the Pecos valley and 

southeastern New Mexico. They arrived in great numbers 

in the early 1880s, about the same time the Apaches were 

subdued and during a period of unusually high rainfall. 

The native bunchgrasses were reported to be as high 

as a horse's shoulder, and the bounty encouraged settlers 

intent on making their fortunes to run many more cattle 

than the range could support. Tom Fraser, an early resident of Alamogordo, reported that 85,000 animals were 

rounded up between Three Rivers and Dog Canyon in 

1889 (Sonnichsen 1980). The Texans had immediate conflicts with the Mexican farmers and ranchers who were 

already living in the area, with the Indians even on their 

reservation, and with the Yankee settlers, many of whom 

had come with the California Column during the war. All 

of the mountains were open range, and the ranchers often helped themselves to each other's cattle, sometimes 

precipitating violence. All the while people streamed into 

the country, many of them moving up into the mountains. 

The Rio Grande Republican reported that the population of 

the area doubled in four weeks in the spring of 1888 

(Sonnichsen 1980). 

A three-year drought began in 1889, and suddenly the 

rich virgin country was enduring hard times. Many small 

farmers and ranchers went broke and left. Where people 

had been growing corn 12 ft tall and 64-pound cabbages 

in the canyons, now no one could make a living. Rumors 

of a railroad had drawn even more settlers in the late 

Figure 8. The Jim Lewis 

homestead at the head of 

Lewis Canyon, 1896. 

Photo by E. Miller, Lincoln 

National Forest Heritage 

Resource Program 

collection in Alamogordo, 

on file at the Lincoln 

National Forest 

Supervisor's office. 

USDA Forest Service Gen. Tech. Rep. RMRS-GTR-19. 1998 

1880's, but it was to be another decade before the railroad 

became a reality. By 1890, cattle were dying of hunger and 

thirst, fouling the water holes and streams. People began 

fighting over range and water rights, and by the time the 

drought broke in 1893, a major conflict erupted between 

the small ranchers and the big cattle companies, which 

was exacerbated by the nation-wide economic depression 

in that year caused by the demonetizing of silver. The conflict was waged in the courts, the Territorial government, 

and by violence in the mountains. Most of the early ranchers were small operators. Only a few were able to build 

empires, sometimes employing murder, violence, and 

intimidation as w,ell as controlling the local legal system 

to wrest land and water away from small farmers and 

ranchers and consolidate their empires, which were often 

short-lived. 

Huge numbers of cattle, sheep, and goats grazed all 

over the Southwest in the last two decades of the 19th 

century, and the Sacramento Mountains were no exception (Fig. 9). A report proposing the creation of the Sacramento National Forest estimated that 17,000 head of cattle 

and horses, 10,000 sheep and 40,000 goats were grazing 

in the proposed Forest at the turn of the century (Spoerl 

1981b). As the land became more and more overgrazed, 

the animals had to travel farther for food and water and 

became concentrated around water sources, increasing the 

damage. During dry years, such as 1902-1904, more than 

30 percent of the stock in the Sacramentos died. Weakened animals ate much dirt with the roots of the plants 

they pulled up, then had to travel as much as 33 km (20 

miles) to reach water, where they often became stuck in the 

mud and died, polluting the water sources (Spoerl 1981b). 

Two large ranches in the Sacramento Mountains were 

the Three Rivers and the Circle Cross. Three Rivers was 

25 
located west of Tularosa and bordered the Mescalero Indian Reservation. It was organized in 1874 by Pat 

Coughlan, a Tularosa landowner, who bought out or 

forced out others living in the area and at one time did 

business with Billy the Kid, buying his stolen beef. 

Coughlan eventually went bankrupt and was bought out 

in 1906 by Albert Fall, a prominent New Mexico politician, who enlarged the ranch by buying up surrounding 

ranches. The Three Rivers ranch still exists. 

The Circle Cross ranch was organized around 1914, on 

the south end of the Sacramentos from the Mescalero Reservation almost to Ysleta, Texas, and at its peak it included 

400,000 ha (a million acres), with headquarters on the Sacramento River near Timberon. Formed by buying up 

smaller ranches and financed by El Paso businessmen, the 

ranch was managed by the well-known stockman, Oliver 

Lee. Lee had been involved in the conflicts of the 1890s and 

later became a State politician. The Circle Cross was too large 

to manage effectively and eventually broke up in the 1920s. 

In 1908, the Alamo National Forest, in the first effort to 

regulate grazing in the Sacramentos, made a list of grazing permittees on the Forest and how many cattle and 

horses they were allowed, a total of 15,454 cattle and 2,093 

horses. Most of the 228 permittees had fewer than 50 head 

(US Forest Service 1908). Many of these people had been 

grazing stock on the land before the National Forest was 

established, and were now given the opportunity to continue under permit. Grazing allotments were established 

in the early 1930s. The present allotment arrangement was 

established by 1957, when the National Forest acquired 

much of the State-owned land in the Sacramentos, which 

had been leased for timber cutting and grazing with little 

or no control over the exploitation. Efforts to reduce stocking rates and recover the grazing resource have depended 

26 

Figure 9. Cattle grazing along the 

Sacramento River on 

land owned by the 

Sacramento Land and 

Cattle Company, 1928. 

US Forest Service photo 

#233411, Lincoln 

National Forest Heritage 

Resource Program 

collection in Alamogordo, 

on file at the Lincoln 

National Forest 

Supervisor's office. 

not only on reducing the number of stock on the range, 

but on simultaneously rotating available range, so that 

the animals do not continue to concentrate near the same 

water sources and canyon bottoms (US Forest Service 1978). 

Mining 

The Sacramento Mountains were never mined extensively or very successfully, and the effects of mining have 

been very localized. Coal, gold, and silver were mined 

around White Oaks in the Capitan Mountains to the north. 

Around the turn of the century, copper was mined by the 

Hunt Copper Company of High Rolls, and also in Caballero Canyon (Jenkens 1988). Marble was quarried in 

Marble Canyon on the west slope of the Sacramentos until the late 1930s. General Land Office survey notes from 

the 1880s recorded very little evidence of useful minerals 

anywhere in the Sacramento Mountains. 

The Railroad 

The advent of steam railroads made possible the largescale logging and tourism industries in the Sacramento 

Mountains (Glover 1984). The timber and the railroads 

were inextricably linked, because railroad construction 

required huge quantities of timber for crossties, trestles, 

and buildings, and the timber could not be hauled out of 

the mountains without the railroad. The Santa Fe and 

Southern Pacific main lines arrived in El Paso in 1881, and 

plans to build a railroad to the Sacramento Mountains 

began soon after, both for the potential timber and for coal 

and gold being mined near White Oaks to the north. However, despite abortive attempts, it was not until 1896 that 

the El Paso and Northeastern Railroad was incorporated 

USDA Forest Service Gen. Tech. Rep. RMRS-GTR-19. 1998 
Figure 10. The Southwest Lumber 

Company laying railroad 

track in Hubble Canyon, 

1928. US Forest Service 

photo #233280, Lincoln 

National Forest Heritage 

Resource Program 

collection in Alamogordo, 

on file at the Lincoln 

National Forest 

Supervisor's office. 

and construction began. The city of Alamogordo was officially founded in 1898, near the site of a settlement begun in 1871 at the mouth of Alamo Canyon. Oliver Lee 

owned the Alamo Canyon Ranch and water until 1897, 

when it was bought by the Eddy brothers, who built the 

EI Paso-Northeastern Railroad north from EI Paso. The 

railroad reached the site in June of 1898, and the city of 

Alamogordo was born (Charles 1959). 

Within weeks of reaching Alamogordo, the railroad was 

extended into the mountains and north toward Carrizozo 

and the coal mines near Capitan. The Alamogordo Lumber Company was organized to buy land, build a sawmill, and begin logging in the mountains. The first section of the Alamogordo and Sacramento Mountain Railway was opened in November 1898, from Alamogordo 

Junction to Toboggan in Fresnal Canyon, where the 

present highway runs. In just 32 km (19.3 miles), the standard gauge railroad climbed from 1345 m (4372 ft) elevation to 2332 m (7580 ft), with grades exceeding 5 percent, 

sometimes as steep as 6.5 percent, steeper than the famous 

Colorado narrow gauge railroads. The next section of the 

railroad was begun in 1899, encompassing an elevation 

gain of another 615 m (2000 ft) to Cloudcroft and Cox 

Canyon. This section includes the famous s-trestle still 

visible just below Cloudcroft. The final extension of the 

Alamogordo and Sacramento Mountains Railroad was 

from Cox Canyon to the logging camp at Russia, completed by 1903. The maze of further extensions was built 

by the various lumber companies (Fig. 10). The peak years 

of logging and railroad hauling were the late 1920s. 

In addition to logs, the railroad also carried passengers 

along the scenic route. Special open cars were used to bring 

tourists to Cloudcroft, many of them coming from 

Alamogordo and EI Paso to escape the summer heat. The 

USDA Forest Service Gen. Tech. Rep. RMRS-GTR-19. 1998 

Cloudcroft Lodge was a center of tourist activity. The original wooden building burned in 1909 and was rebuilt on a 

grander scale in 1910-1911. The railroad also hauled produce, livestock, and lumber down from the mountains, 

and mail, coal, and supplies back up. Eventually, automobile travel became safer and more reliable, and passenger rail service ceased in February 1938. Railroad logging around Russia stopped in 1941, and the entire line 

was abandoned in 1947. Tracks were taken up and sold 

for scrap, as were the old locomotives that could not be 

brought down (Neal 1966). Logging continued in the Sacramento Mountains after that time, but logs were brought 

down using trucks. 

Logging 

Large-scale logging began in the Sacramentos with the 

arrival of the railroad. The Alamogordo Lumber Company 

bought up more than 23,000 ha (58,000 ac) of land, mostly 

at high elevations in the Sacramentos. By 1906, some 3480 

ha (8,700 ac) had already been clearcut (Holmes 1906). The 

Company land was not one solid block, but was interspersed with other private holdings. The Company's sawmill was located in Alamogordo and had a daily capacity 

of 75,000 board feet. Logs were hauled to the mill on the 

Alamogordo and Sacramento Mountains Railway from 

Cloudcroft and Russia (Fig. 11). Side tracks were laid down 

the main canyons at grades of 5 percent or 6 percent, and 

spurs in side canyons did not exceed 12 percent grades 

(Fig. 12). The logs were skidded to the track with horses. 

The primary timber trees cut were Douglas-fir and white 

fir. Holmes (1906) estimated that Douglas-fir made up 

about 60 percent of the entire forest on Company lands, 

and white fir 25 percent. He also noted that ponderosa 

27 
pine was common below 2769 m (9000 ft) elevation, sometimes in nearly pure stands, and that Engelmann spruce 

and blue spruce were found in some higher canyons. Southwestern white pine was scattered" all over the slopes in small 

quantities, and aspen is found everywhere." 

Fires following logging were common and caused considerable damage. Holmes (1906) observed that when a 

logged area caught fire "it burns so fiercely that it not only 

kills all the live trees and seedlings left, but burns up all 

the vegetable matter in the soil. It is almost impossible to 

stop it till it strikes virgin timber or previously burnt cutover land." More than 800 ha (2,000 ac) of cut-over land 

burned in 1906 alone, all the result of human-caused fires. 

In 1906, the Company wanted to know whether it 

would behoove them to cut the lumber conservatively and 

retain the land for a second cutting, or to clearcut the land 

and then sell it for taxes (and no profit) or turn it over to 

the government. Very little of the land held by the Company was considered fit for agriculture or grazing and so 

was not considered salable. The company opted for the 

latter option, with the agreement to protect the regeneration from fire, leaving the government in possession of 

large areas of young timber. Originally, only trees 12 inches 

in diameter and larger were cut, but it was decided that 

this was not cost effective, and the diameter limit was 

dropped once it was decided not to keep the land for a 

second cutting, and the regeneration became unimportant. 

The prudent method of piling slash away from the cut 

and burning it, which prevented fire in the cut and prevented insect outbreaks, was abandoned as not cost effective. Even in 1906, the Company realized that the railroad 

was not likely to outlast the logging, and they were correct. Intensive logging lasted for about 30 years, and within 

a decade after that, the railroad was gone. 

28 

Figure 11. The Southwest Lumber 

Company loading logs 

with a mechanical loader 

in Water Canyon, 1928. 

US Forest Service photo 

#233068, Lincoln National 

Forest Heritage Resource 

Program collection in 

Alamogordo, on file at the 

Lincoln National Forest 

Supervisor's office. 

Logging has continued in the Sacramentos on a smaller 

scale. Cable logging was first done in the 1980s to minimize the effects of logging on the soils of steep slopes. 

Logging continues to be the second most important commercial activity on the Lincoln National Forest, next to 

recreation. 

Tourism 

The Sacramento Mountains have been popular for recreation since the turn of the 20th century, when the railroad to Cloudcroft made it easier for people to travel there. 

The first Lodge was built in 1899 and was instantly popular with people from Alamogordo and EI Paso as a place 

to escape the summer heat. The golf course, at 2831 m 

(9200 ft) the highest in the country, opened in 1901 (Jenkins 

1988, Fig. 13). The Forest Service began constructing permanent campgrounds in the 1940s, and presently maintains 16 camping areas and many hiking trails and picnic 

areas, including a special trail for the blind. Recreation in 

the Sacramento Mountains is more popular now than ever. 

Hiking, camping, spelunking, and wildlife viewing are 

popular pursuits. Many other nearby historical and natural attractions draw tourists from all over the country, including the White Sands National Monument, Ruidoso 

Downs horse race track, Three Rivers Petroglyphs, and 

the Space Museum in Alamogordo. Hunting, particularly 

of mule deer and turkeys, is a major public use of the forest resource. There are no wilderness areas on the Sacramento District. 

Winter sports such as skiing began to be popular in the 

United States in the 1920s, but it was not until the 1960s 

and 1970s that they became a major recreational activity 

in the Southwest. Improved access after World War II enUSDA Forest Service Gen. Tech. Rep. RMRS-GTR-19. 1998 
>- '-cu 

"0 

C 

:::J 

o 

(0 

en 

Q) 

o 

u.. 

(ij 

c 

o 

~ 

Z 

c 

(5 

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c 

:.:J 

ALAMOGORDO 

Sunspot 

Solar 

Observatory. 

Figure 12. Map of the logging railroads in the Sacramento Mountains and approximate dates when logging occurred in the vicinity of 

the tracks. Generally the logging progressed from north to south. Based on Glover (1984). 

couraged the development of the ski industry. The 

Cloudcroft ski resort began to be developed in the 1940s 

on private land within the Lincoln National Forest (Baker 

et al. 1988). Ski Cloudcroft now operates on the Sacramento Ranger District, three miles east of Cloudcroft, 

under a Special Forest Permit. There are also two designated snowplay areas on the district. 

Agriculture 

When the United States took over New Mexico in 1848, 

most of the land was open and available for settlement 

through homesteading (Fig. 14). Most of the arable land 

and good pasture in the Sacramento Mountains was 

quickly settled between 1880 and 1900, though a surprising number of settlers did not file their claims until much 

later, making them susceptible to being driven from the 

land by larger operators, but minimizing their losses if 

USDA Forest Service Gen. Tech. Rep. RMRS-GTR-19. 1998 

their enterprise failed. After 1900, the remaining lands, 

mostly those not useable for farming or ranching, were 

taken over by the state or federal governments or bought 

up by lumber companies and railroads, which ultimately 

turned much of the land over to the government after it 

was logged. 

Spanish and Mexican land grants did not exist in the 

Sacramento Mountains proper, but a few were located to 

the east in the Pecos Valley. The traditional Hispanic pattern of land use was centered upon the village, where several families gathered for mutual defense and to share 

agricultural tasks, such as constructing irrigation systems. 

This pattern was in direct conflict with the Anglo pattern 

of dispersed, individual farmsteads and ranches. The 

smaller scale of the Anglo farms allowed them to settle 

along streams in the mountains that would have been insufficient to support a Hispanic village. However, ranchers discouraged agricultural settlement of all kinds, be29 
cause their success on the open range depended upon their 

control of water sources. Nonetheless, agriculture continued in the valleys of the Sacramento Mountains, and 

homesteading boomed in the late 19th to early 20th centuries. Potatoes were a favored crop, and orchards flourished 

on the western slope of the Sacramentos. Where water was 

available, the long growing season and fertile valley soils 

made agriculture a successful venture. Farmers raised garden vegetables for local consumption, and hay and grain for 

livestock, especially on the eastern slope (Jenkins 1988). 

30 

Figure 13. Golf at Cloudcroft around 

1920. Photo by 

Alexander, Lincoln 

National Forest Heritage 

Resource Program 

collection in Alamogordo, 

on file at the Lincoln 

National Forest 

Supervisor's office. 

Figure 14. Homestead belonging to 

Mrs. Pendergrass, just 

northwest of Mayhill, 

1905. Photo by E. Miller, 

Lincoln National Forest 

Heritage Resource 

Program collection in 

Alamogordo, on file at 

the Lincoln National 

Forest Supervisor's 

office. 

However, diversion of water for irrigation was a major 

source of trouble. Diversion of water on the upper Rio 

Hondo caused the abandonment of the downstream community of Missouri Plaza, which had existed since the 

1860s. Many homesteaders failed in the first few years 

because they brought preconceived ideas of land use and 

which crops to plant that were based on experience in the 

Midwest. When they sold out, their lands were often 

bought for raising livestock (Sebastian and Larralde 1989). 

USDA Forest Service Gen. Tech. Rep. RMRS-GTR-19. 1998 
The Forest Service 

By the 1890s, the same unregulated, unsustainable use 

of natural resources rampant in the Sacramento Mountains was occurring all over the United States. At the same 

time, a conservation movement was being born, with the 

realization that such use could not go on forever. The Forest Reserve system was created by an Act of Congress in 

1891 (Tucker 1989). These lands were reserved from "entry or settlement." The first Forest Reserve in the Southwest (the Southern District which was to become Region 

3) was the Pecos River Forest Reserve, created by presidential proclamation in 1892. The Lincoln Forest Reserve, 

which included much of the Sacramento Mountains not 

within the Mescalero Apache Reservation, was created 

July 26, 1902 (Tucker 1989). The Sacramento National Forest was created in 1907, including the area from the southern border of the Mescalero Apache Reservation to the 

south end of the Sacramento Mountains. 

The Forest Reserves were o~iginally administered by 

the Washington Office of the General Land Office, under 

the Department of the Interior. In 1905, Congress transferred administration of the Forest Reserves to the Department of Agriculture. The Division of Forestry had 

existed since 1876 as an advisory body; now it took over 

running the Forest Reserves as the Forest Service. An act 

of Congress in 1907 renamed the Forest Reserves National 

Forests. In 1908, the Southern District reorganized into 

District 3, and the Forest Service administration became 

decentralized from its Washington Office to District Offices in the field (Tucker 1989). 

As a part of that reorganization, the Lincoln National 

Forest was created from the Lincoln and Gallinas National 

Forests, incorporating 238,782 ha (596,955 ac) with its 

headquarters at Capitan, New Mexico, and administering the same general area as the northern part of the modern Lincoln National Forest. In the same year, the Alamo 

National Forest was created from the Sacramento and 

Guadalupe National Forests, covering some 465,962 ha 

0,164,906 ac) corresponding roughly to the southern part 

of the modern Lincoln National Forest, with headquarters in Alamogordo. 

The borders of the new Forests were flexible for some 

time after their creation. In 1909, parts of the Mescalero 

Apache Reservation were added to the Alamo National 

Forest (Kent 1905), only to be returned to the reservation 

in 1912. Other additions included several thousand acres 

south and east of Mayhill in 1924 (Anderson 1923); removals included elimination of some lands around 

Alamogordo, some along the southern border of the Forest and on the east side near Elk and Pinon (Spoerl 1981b). 

The primary purpose for creating National Forests in 

the Sacramento, Guadalupe, and White Mountains was 

for watershed protection and erosion control. A resolution passed by the Texas legislature in 1905 encouraged 

the federal government to create forest reserves in New 

Mexico to protect the watersheds of the Canadian and 

USDA Forest Service Gen. Tech. Rep. RMRS-GTR-19. 1998 

Pecos Rivers and the underground water of the high 

plains. The Texans recognized that the "timber and brush 

are fast being destroyed, and no provision made for restoring the same," endangering the water supply (Kent 

and Reynolds 1906). Grazing continued to be the dominant industry on the Alamo National Forest in the years 

just after the turn of the century. Logging only became 

important after the arrival of the railroad, and the real 

value of the timber was realized. 

During 1913 and 1914, there was a strong effort by local people who wanted 360,000 ha (900,000 ac) of the 

Alamo National Forest returned to the public domain, 

effectively eliminating the Alamo National Forest. They 

circulated a petition that was signed by 640 people, 60 of 

whom contributed money to finance the campaign, and 

they selected Thomas B. Longwell, an ex-Forest Service 

employee, to be their spokesman in Washington (Longwell 

1914). The petitioners claimed that most of the land was 

not suitable for timber, that it was not useful for watershed conservation, and most importantly, that the Forest 

Service had impaired their freedom of action by regulating livestock numbers and improvements such as irrigation structures. The petition failed, as did a movement to 

establish a National Park in the Sacramento Mountains, 

to be composed of land from the Mescalero Apache Reservation and the National Forest and including the White 

Sands (Bronson 1908). This proposal was initiated and kept 

alive by Albert B. Fall, New Mexico politician and the 

owner of the Three Rivers Ranch, which just happened to 

border the proposed National Park. His efforts were unsuccessful and the idea died about 1920. 

In June of 1917, administration of the entire Alamo 

National Forest was transferred to the Lincoln National 

Forest, and the two forests were combined into the modern Lincoln National Forest, with headquarters at 

Alamogordo (Tucker 1992). Ranger districts were originally smaller and therefore more numerous than at present 

because the rangers did most of their patrolling on horseback (Fig. 15). Of the original ranger districts on the Alamo 

National Forest, the Carson Seep district was renamed the 

Guadalupe district upon the transfer to the Lincoln in 1917 

and retains that name to this day. The Fairchild district was 

combined with the La Luz district in 1911 and renamed La 

Luz; it eventually became part of the Cloudroft district. The 

Fresnal district was renamed Cloudcroft with the transfer to 

the Lincoln. In 1930, the Mayhill district was combined with 

the Weed district, both from the original Alamo forest, to 

create the Penasco district; it resumed the name Mayhill in 

1952. The name Weed was used for a district again in 1959 

and was changed to the Sacramento district in 1961. The 

Cloudcroft and Mayhill districts were combined in 1995 to 

form the present Sacramento District, which includes most 

of the Sacramento Mountains. There are presently three 

ranger districts on the Lincoln National Forest: the Smokey 

Bear, near Ruidoso; the Guadalupe near Carlsbad; and the 

Sacramento. The Lincoln National Forest presently totals 

441,552 ha 0,103,220 ac; 1980 Forest fact sheet). 

31 
Figure 15. Ranger Jacob A. Work and his horse Prunes, in Water 

Canyon, 1928. Note the nearly pure stand of very 

large aspen. US Forest Service photo #233411, 

Lincoln National Forest Heritage Resource Program 

collection in Alamogordo, on file at the Lincoln 

National Forest Supervisor's office. 

The establishment of the National Forests was greeted 

with a mixed reception; their purpose was conservation, 

fire suppression, and regulation of grazing and logging. 

Cattlemen and others deeply resented having their herds 

regulated and paying to use the range they had previously 

used for free. However, some of the ranchers, particularly 

the larger operators, realized that it was often less expensive to pay the grazing fees for their cattle on Forest Service land than to pay the taxes on the land if they owned 

it. Ranchers sometimes sold land to the government or 

exchanged lands less suitable for grazing for others, such 

as a proposed exchange in 1923 by Oliver Lee, president 

of the Sacramento River Cattle Company, which offered: 

" ... these lands are located within the main timber producing belt of the Sacramento Division of the Lincoln Forest and are areas intermingled with other lands proposed 

for exchange in separate applications. These lands have 

been used by us for stock grazing purposes and it is the 

desire and expectation of the Company that if the ex32 

Figure 16. A lookout tree near the logging camp at Russia, 1927. 

US Forest Service photo #233319, Lincoln National 

Forest Heritage Resource Program collection in 

Alamogordo, on file at the Lincoln National Forest 

Supervisor's office. 

change is consummated, its prior use of the lands will be 

recognized by the Forest Service as establishing a grazing 

preference which will be continued under paid permit 

subject to the grazing regulations of the Secretary of Agriculture. There are some small areas of arable lands within 

the unit which we desire to retain ... "(Lee 1923). 

Early forest rangers lived a rough and sometimes dangerous life, enforcing regulations, rounding up trespass 

cattle, and putting out fires, mostly from horseback. They 

covered huge areas of rough country in all weather, sometimes encountering violent opposition to their mission. A 

few were trained professional foresters; many were not. 

In the Southwest, the fire season of spring and early summer was their busiest time. Rangers watched for smoke 

from lookouts, the earliest of which were set up in the 

tops of tall trees-not particularly safe from the lightning 

for which they were watching (Fig. 16). When smoke was 

sighted, a ranger rode out, often alone with a shovel, to 

put the fire out (Tucker 1991). 

USDA Forest Service Gen. Tech. Rep. RMRS-GTR-19. 1998 
The Civilian Conservation Corps 

The Lincoln National Forest benefited from the work 

of the Civilian Conservation Corps, begun in 1933 to alleviate unemployment during the Depression. Young men 

of the CCC helped build roads such as the West Side Road, 

trails, bridges, and buildings, including the Monjeau Lookout Tower on the Smokey Bear District and an administrative site with offices and residences at Mayhill. They 

also worked to prevent and mitigate erosion on the forest 

and fought many fires. There was a women's Civilian 

Conservation Corps camp, one of very few, near Capitan. 

The program was discontinue~ in 1942 (Brown 1983). 

The Experimental Forest _ 

The Cloudcroft Experimental Forest was officially established in 1935 in the vicinity of Cloudcroft, to study 

Douglas-fir forests. At that time, much of the forest in the 

area had been cut and was checker-boarded with private, 

federal, and state holdings. The Forest Service tried to 

acquire as much of the privately owned land as possible 

to facilitate management of the forests. The Experimental 

Forest was in three separate units, located within four 

miles of one another: Unit A, of 288 ha (720 ac), including 

old-growth Douglas-fir with patches of aspen, was located 

just north of Cloudcroft where Fir Campground is now, 

mostly uncut; Unit B was 304 ha (760 ac) of old-growth 

Douglas-fir, white fir, and ponderosa pine, located southwest of the town, mostly uncut except for 64 ha (160 ac) 

cut by the Forest Service in 1911; and Unit C, of 256 ha 

(640 ac) including Douglas-fir and white fir, was located 

in Cox Canyon west of Chippeway Park, which was 

mostly cut over by the Forest Service except for 40 ha (100 

ac). The land was considered excellent for timber, poor 

for farming and grazing. 

Permanent plots had actually been established in 1925, 

which were cut using seed tree, shelterwood, diameter 

USDA Forest Service Gen. Tech. Rep. RMRS-GTR-19. 1998 

limit, and selection methods to measure effects of partial 

cutting on Douglas-fir regeneration. Another set of permanent plots was established in 1937 on the private 

Cloudcroft Reserve. Most of the research at the Cloudcroft 

Experimental Forest was done by one scientist, Hermann 

Krauch, and addressed questions about managing virgin 

stands for water and recreation, promoting Douglas-fir 

regeneration in heavily cutover stands, and how to convert burned areas from aspen to Douglas-fir forest (Krauch 

1936, 1937, 1938a,b,c, 1939a,b, 1940a,b,c,d, 1942a,b,c,d, 

1943, 1945a,b, 1949a,b, 1956, USDA Forest Service 1935). 

Much of the resea;ch at Cloudcroft became the basis for 

early management and reforestation guidelines and practices in the Southwestern Region. By 1980, no studies were 

active and had not been for 25 years, and it was recommended that the Cloudcroft Experimental Forest be declassified. This was done in 1983, returning the Experimental Forest lands to regular National Forest status and 

use. The Experimental Forest tracts preserved several 

stands of old-growth mixed conifer forest. Some parts of 

the Experimental Forest were judged to have value as research natural areas, including old-growth in Units A and 

B and canyon blue spruce habitat types in Unit C, which 

are rare in the Sacramento Mountains. No research natural areas have been established. 

The Solar Observatory 

The Sacramento Peak Observatory was located in 1947 

and began operation in 1951 under the auspices of the US 

Air Force. It is located on 21,718 ha (54,294 ac) on Sacramento Peak at 2800 m (9200 ft), where the dry air, abundant clear days, and isolation from major sources of pollution make it an excellent site for observing solar phenomena. In 1976, the observatory was transferred from 

the Air Force to the National Science Foundation. Most of 

the scientists and other observatory workers live in the observatory complex, parts of which are open to the public. 

33 

PART IV. FAUNA OF THE SACRAMENTO MOUNTAINS 
Historic Fauna 

From archaeology (Kelley 1984, Driver 1985) and from 

accounts by the Apaches of their hunting habits (Opler 

1983), we know something about the pre-settlement fauna 

of the Sacramento Mountains, though not as much about 

small mammals, birds, or fish as we know about large 

mammals that were hunted. Remains of animals found at 

archaeological sites are likely to be those used as food or 

in ceremonies by the people who lived there, or animals 

that occupied the ruins aftE:,r the humans abandoned them, 

so the remains do not necessarily represent the complete 

spectrum of animals present in the area. However, large 

mammals, particularly predators and game animals, were 

among those most strongly affected by the changes of the 

late 19th century, and evidence of their presence in presettlement times is important. 

Mule deer were the staple of the Apache diet and were 

apparently numerous, tHough their abundance in any 

given year depended on the forage quality and therefore 

on the amount and timing of rainfall. The Apaches also 

hunted white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginiana), pronghorn (Antilocapra americana), elk (Cervus elphus), bison, 

cottontail rabbits (Sylvilagus sp.), and jackrabbits (Lepus 

sp.; Opler 1983). All of these species were found in prehistoric archaeological sites in the Sacramentos, along with 

ground squirrels, pocket gophers, white-footed mice, 

packrats, muskrats (along Rio Penasco), wolves, kit foxes, 

gray foxes, coyotes, grizzly bears, black bears, long-tailed 

weasels, badgers, cougars, bobcats, and prairie dogs 

(Driver 1985). Wild turkeys and eagles were represented 

in archaeological sites, along with eight other species of 

birds. Neither the prehistoric Indians nor the Apaches 

made use of fish for food; the Apaches had certain taboos 

about fish. Very few fish remains survive in archaeological sites in the Sacramentos, though fish bones usually do 

not preserve well. The carapace of a turtle was found at 

one site (Driver 1985). 

Naturalists began exploring New Mexico as early as 

the 1820s (Bailey 1931), but their descriptions were not 

quantitative and few of them worked in the Sacramento 

Mountains. The most comprehensive information we have 

about the distribution and abundances of animals in the 

Sacramentos during the pre-settlement and settlement 

periods comes from the studies done by the Bureau of 

Biological Survey (BBS), then the Division of Economic 

Ornithology and Mammalogy of the Department of Agriculture, beginning in 1889 and continuing intermittently 

until 1924. These studies were supplemented by other 

work that was included in the BBS publication: Charles 

M. Barber made collections in the Sacramento Mountains 

from 1895 to 1900, and James A. G. Rehn and Henry L. 

Viereck spent 11 weeks in 1902 collecting mammals, birds, 

and reptiles (Bailey 1931). Forest Service and state game 

and fish records as well as reports from local residents 

36 

were also included. The final report on the mammals of 

New Mexico (Bailey 1931) was published some years later. 

Predators 

Large predators immediately came into conflict with 

ranching interests in the Sacramento Mountains, and private citizens and government agencies alike practiced 

predator control and elimination by trapping, hunting, 

and poison. People were concerned with the destruction 

of domestic stock and game animals such as deer, pronghorn, and elk by large predators. 

Wolves were considered the worst menace to livestock 

and were persecuted mercilessly, with the intent of eliminating them from the state, a campaign that ultimately 

succeeded. Wolves reportedly killed large numbers of 

cattle, sheep, and goats; they also preyed heavily upon 

deer, but they seemed to prefer cattle to other types of 

prey. Most were killed by trapping, and professional trappers and hunters, often hired by the State and Federal 

governments, were responsible for most of the wolves 

taken during this period, mostly after the turn of the century. Adult wolves were trapped, and dens were located 

and all pups were killed, though Bailey (1931) noted that 

when trapping pressure was relaxed for a few years, wolf 

populations rebounded quickly. Bailey reported two subspecies of wolves in the Sacramentos: the Mexican wolf 

(Canis lycaon baileyi) and the gray wolf (Canis lycaon 

nubilus). In 1907, the Forest Service reported 76 gray 

wolves were killed on the Lincoln National Forest and 22 

on the Sacramento National Forest. By 1915, of the 57 

wolves killed in all of New Mexico, 10 were trapped on 

the Alamo National Forest. For the entire calendar year of 

1916, only one wolf was killed on the Alamo-Lincoln National Forest. 

Coyotes, though more omnivorous than their relatives, 

the wolves, were noted to prey upon goats, sheep, and 

sometimes poultry. They were reported to have taken as 

much as 1 percent to 3 percent of the sheep flocks in the 

state annually. Coyotes were hunted and trapped and were 

successfully eliminated from some areas, though professional hunters targeted coyotes less frequently than wolves 

and with less prejudice. Coyote numbers have increased in 

the Sacramento Mountains during the last century, perhaps 

in part due to the extirpation of wolves. Coyotes once occurred primarily on the plains and at lower elevations, but 

they can now be found at all elevations in the mountains. 

Black bears were considered both destructive predators and game animals. In the Sacramento Mountains, they 

were also called cinnamon bears because some of them 

had brownish coats, but they seem to have been all of the 

same species. Bears are omnivorous but were reported to 

occasionally kill sheep and goats. In 1900, black bears were 

reportedly becoming scarce in the Sacramento Mountains 

where they had formerly been common; in 1914,5 were 

reported killed on the Lincoln National Forest, and in 1916, 

USDA Forest Service Gen. Tech. Rep. RMRS-GTR-19. 1998 
2 were reported killed on the Alamo-Lincoln. In 1917, it 

was estimated that 157 black bears remained in New 

Mexico (Bailey 1931). In 1910, the Forest Service attempted 

to assess how many black bears were on Forest lands and 

whether they should be eliminated as predators or protected as game animals. The Supervisor of the Alamo 

National Forest reported: "At the present time there are 

only a few black bears within the boundaries of the Alamo 

Forest, and consequently the detriment to stock is reduced 

to a minimum. Even when this species of game was more 

plentiful their destructive qualities were never much in 

evidence. In the Mescalero Indian Reservation, where most 

of the big game is found, no reports have ever reached 

me which indicated that the black bear had done any damage. It is my firm belief that the people generally and forest officers certainly, in this section, would prefer this animal to remain as a game animal protected by law, and not 

have it considered as a predatory animal" (Bailey 1931). 

Grizzly bears, on the other hand, were considered dangerous and were killed at every opportunity, and they 

were probably effectively eliminated from southern New 

Mexico by 1927 (Bailey 1931). Grizzlies had a reputation 

for attacking both humans and cattle and were at one time 

"almost as bad as the big wolves in their depredation on 

the range cattle" (Bailey 1931:360). Ranchers sometimes 

banded together to hunt grizzly bears with dogs. Locals 

said in 1900 that grizzlies had been common in the 

Sacramentos but were becoming scarce at that time, 

though the Forest Service reported that grizzlies were 

present in the Sacramento Mountains as late as 1907. They 

were apparently found in the lower elevations in chaparral vegetation on both sides of the range. Bailey reported 

5 species or subspecies of grizzly bears in New Mexico at 

the turn of the century, though he only designated one in 

the Sacramento Mountains specifically, the Texas grizzly 

(Ursus texensis texensis Merriam). 

Cougars were considered" among the most destructive 

of predacious animals, not only to game but to a great 

variety of domestic animals" (Bailey 1931:290). They appear to have been particularly prone to attack horses. 

Cougars were not susceptible to trapping but were successfully hunted with dogs, and their numbers were much 

reduced during the settlement period. Bailey recorded two 

subspecies, Felis hippolestes (Rocky Mountain cougar) and 

F. aztecus (Mexican cougar) in the Sacramento Mountains, 

and stated that they were common in the Sacramento 

Mountains as late as 1903. Six cougars were reported killed 

in the Lincoln National forest in 1908 and another five 

were killed in the Sacramento National Forest (which became the Alamo National Forest) in 1907; by 1915, only 

one cougar was killed on the Lincoln and 4 on the Alamo 

(Bailey 1931). Cougar populations in New Mexico have 

rebounded since the 1950s, when government-sponsored 

control was de-emphasized (Evans 1983). Cougars remain 

uncommon in the Sacramento District. 

Bobcats were historically very common in rough country. Their natural prey was rabbits and small mammals, 

USDA Forest Service Gen. Tech. Rep. RMRS-GTR-19. 1998 

but they were known to prey upon domestic chickens and 

sheep, and because of this, the Forest Service made "special effort to catch and kill as many as possible" (Bailey 

1931:293). In 1908, 95 bobcats were killed on the Sacramento National Forest and 98 on the Lincoln, either by 

trapping or hunting with dogs, and those numbers do not 

include those taken by non-government hunters or 

trapped for their fur. Bounties were paid for bobcat pelts. 

Bobcat populations have rebounded in the Sacramento 

Mountains in the later half of the 20th century. 

Jaguars (Felis onca) were always rare in New Mexico, 

but they were reported in the Sacramento Mountains at 

the turn of the century. The skin of a jaguar killed in Otero 

county was in the 'possession of Governor Otero in 1903. 

Jaguars were generally killed whenever they were encountered but seem to have been very rare and do not now 

occur in the Sacramento Mountains. Gray foxes (Urocyon 

cinereoagrenteus scottii) were reported as being common 

in rockier areas of the Sacramento mountains and were 

not considered serious threats to domestic fowl or wild 

game, nor were their skins particularly valued, so they 

were mostly left alone. 

Game and Other Animals 

Some species recognized as desirable game animals 

were sometimes hunted to extinction or near extinction, 

either because they were perceived to compete with livestock for forage, damaged crops, or were perceived to have 

infinitely renewable populations. 

Bison probably did not actually occur within the Sacramento Mountains, though they may have wandered 

onto the eastern slopes. They were once abundant on the 

plains in the Pecos valley and were important prey for 

the Apaches and other Native Americans. The Sacramentos appear to have been an effective ecological barrier, because bison were never reported from the Rio 

Grande valley to the west of the range. Bison were eliminated from New Mexico by over-hunting relatively early 

in the settlement process, possibly as early as the 1840s 

(Bailey 1931); certainly they were gone by the 1880s, 

though their trails were still visible in some places (Opler 

1983). By the early 1900s, bison had been reintroduced to 

the Pecos Valley as tame herds on a few ranches. 

The Texas or desert bighorn (Ovis canadensis texiana) 

sheep was once present in the desert mountain ranges 

around the Sacramentos, including the San Andres, the 

Organs, and the Guadalupes, but no sheep were reported 

from the Sacramento Mountains at the turn of the century, though habitat existed for them there. They once 

occupied the northern and southern reaches of the 

Sacramentos. The last record for bighorns in the nearby 

Guadalupe Mountains was in the 1950s. Pronghorn were 

once common on the plains east of the Sacramentos and 

may have ranged onto the east slopes. They were also 

important prey for the Apaches. Bailey reported that 

37 
pronghorn populations in New Mexico underwent a dramatic decline between 1899 and 1918. 

Mule deer were abundant in the Sacramento Mountains and were considered common as late as 1900. Sacramento Mountains mule deer were reported to attain very 

large sizes. Forest Service records show that during the 

open season of 1914, 86 mule deer were killed on the 

Alamo National Forest and 34 on the Lincoln; the following year 57 were killed on the Alamo and 28 on the Lincoln; in 1916, 127 deer were killed on the Alamo-Lincoln. 

Mule deer were important prey for the Apaches and were 

heavily hunted by white settlers as well, and their numbers were greatly reduced around the turn of the century. 

However, with the elimination of large predators, mule 

deer populations exploded in the 1930s (Lang 1957) and 

eventually declined to sustainable levels with management. They were particularly abundant in the 1970s and 

1980s but began to decline in the 1990s, possibly due to 

development encroaching on their habitat. 

Plains white-tailed deer were also present in the 

Sacramentos, particularlYoOn the eastern slopes and along 

streams. In 1902 they were reported to be common along 

the east slope of the Sacramentos, especially in the "willow-bordered stream valleys," in the northeastern corner 

of the Mescalero Reservation, and near Ruidoso. Apparently settlement in the stream valleys, in addition to persistent hunting, reduced their numbers considerably. 

Bailey (1931) predicted that they would soon be extinct in 

New Mexico without protection, and that the east slope 

of the Sacramento Mountains was an ideal place for their 

preservation. The largest herd of Texas whitetail deer today is found in the Sacramento Mountains (Lang 1957), 

in the Sixteen Springs Canyon, James Canyon, the upper 

Sacramento River, and the Aqua Chiquita. 

The Merriam's elk was not so fortunate. Native to the 

southern half of New Mexico, Merriam's elk was reported 

as common in the Sacramento, White, and Guadalupe 

Mountains before the 1880s. But even by the 1880s, settlers reported that while there had recently been hundreds 

of elk in the Sacramentos, fewer than 20 were left. Two 

Merriam's elk were reported killed in the Sacramentos in 

the fall of 1898, and a track was seen in 1899. Merriam's 

elk was extinct by the turn of the century, a victim of overhunting. Overgrazing by cattle may have hastened their 

demise by destroying forage. 

How many less conspicuous animals were either much 

reduced in numbers nr driven to extinction during the 

settlement period is unknown. In general, if an animal 

was either useful to the settlers in some way or came into 

conflict with farming and ranching interests, it was hunted 

mercilessly. Some rodents were considered destructive to 

crops and were destroyed wherever possible, including 

prairie dogs, ground squirrels, and pocket gophers. Blackfooted ferrets may have occurred at lower elevations in 

the Sacramentos but were eliminated along with blacktailed prairie dogs by the 1940s. The red spruce squirrel 

(Tamiasciurus hudsonicus lychnuchus) seems to have been 

38 

endemic to the Sacramento, White, and Capitan mountains, living at high elevations in Douglas-fir forests, which 

provided its primary food. The forest in which they were 

found near Cloudcroft and near Weed was described by 

Bailey as being open and sunny, with an understory of 

oaks and with yellow pine at the lower borders of their 

range. 

Beavers (Castor canadensis) were reported from the 

northern part of the Sacramentos, on Ruidoso Creek, in 

1898. These beavers apparently had not built a conventional dam, but were living on cultivated corn as well as 

willows and aspens. As late as 1902, a few beavers were 

reported liv.ing along Ruidoso creek, but in many places 

the dams had been destroyed and the meadows had become "dried-up marsh, overgrown with a tangle of willows, which had crowded out even the aspens from the 

two or three acres of creek bottom that had been occupied 

by the beaver colony" (Bailey 1931:215). Beavers were not 

reported from the southern part of the Sacramento Mountains, perhaps due to the intermittent nature of most of 

the streams there and the possible lack of willows. 

Present Fauna 

Hunting is one of the most popular pursuits on the Lincoln National Forest. Abundant mule deer are the most 

popular prey. Deer numbers fluctuate widely with 

weather conditions from year to year. Rocky Mountain 

elk, black bears, white-tailed deer, and turkeys are also 

hunted on the forest. Of the large predators once common in the Sacramentos, only cougars and black bears 

remain, and cougars are rarely seen. Smaller predators, 

such as bobcats and coyotes, are fairly common. 

Introductions 

The minutes of the Lincoln National Advisory board 

(March 24,1945) record that the Board recommended that 

the Lincoln National Forest should not be stocked with 

Rocky Mountain elk. Most of the opposition was from 

grazing permittees, who were concerned that the elk 

would compete with cattle and deer (valued as game) for 

forage, and the opposition continued until 1966, when 

Rocky Mountain Elk were introduced to the Mescalero 

Apache Reservation to replace the native, extinct 

Merriam's elk. Approximately 78 elk were introduced in 

1966 and another 80 in 1967. Elk eventually wandered onto 

Forest lands, where initially attempts were made to control their numbers, but they have lived and multiplied 

there ever since. As of 1980, there were approximately 200 

elk on the Sacramento district (Lincoln National Forest 

fact sheet 1980), of which 14 were taken by hunters in that 

year. 

USDA Forest Service Gen. Tech. Rep. RMRS-GTR-19. 1998 
Unsuccessful efforts were made in 1955 and 1969 to 

introduce Abert's squirrel (Sciurus abertii; Davis and 

Brown 1988), which was believed to have occurred in the 

Sacramentos. Subsequent research has shown that Abert's 

squirrel was probably never native there. Barbary sheep 

(Ammotragus iervia pallas), native to North Africa, have 

been introduced to southern New Mexico for hunting 

purposes (Findley et al. 1975). 

Threatened and Endangered Species 

Animals 

The endemic Sacramento mountain salamander 

(Aneides hardii) is currently list"ed as endangered by the 

New Mexico Department of Game and Fish. Its range is 

restricted to mixed conifer forest in three high elevation 

areas above 2400 m (7800 ft): one in the Capitan Mountains, one on Sierra Blanca Peak, and along the crest of 

the Sacramentos from Cloudcrbft to the southern end of 

the range (Ramotnik 1997). Salamanders are found in 

mesic forests that include Engelmann spruce, large white 

fir, Douglas-fir, and large downed logs. Future logging 

may disrupt the salamander's habitat, and while they 

seem to be able to survive a single cut, repeated logging 

cycles may destroy their subterranean habitats (Scott and 

Ramotnik 1992). 

The peregrine falcon (Falco peregrinus), until recently 

on the endangered species list, occurs on all three districts 

of the Lincoln National Forest. The Penasco Least Chipmunk (Eutamias minimus atristriatus), determined to be a 

subspecies distinct from the least chipmunk, may be extirpated from its range in the Rio Penasco drainage, though 

USDA Forest Service Gen. Tech. Rep. RMRS-GTR-19. 1998 

Figure 17. The Sacramento Mountain (Mescalero) thistle, a rare 

plant endemic to the Sacramento Mountains. It grows 

on travertine around flowing springs. Photo courtesy 

of thtJ US Forest Service, Lincoln National Forest. 

Figure 18. Todsen's pennyroyal, 

an endangered plant 

endemic to New 

Mexico. It is probably 

pollinated by 

hummingbirds. Photo 

courtesy of the US 

Forest Service, Lincoln 

National Forest. 

39 
populations are present in the Sierra Blanca area. The Arizona prairie dog (Cynomys ludovicianus arizonensis) and 

the black-tailed prairie dog (Cynomys ludovicianus) were 

historically abundant and widespread at lower elevations 

of the Sacramento Mountains. Control programs intended 

to improve range for livestock resulted in their extirpation from the Lincoln National Forest. The last record of a 

prairie dog town on the Lincoln was in the late 1940s. 

Reintroduction of prairie dogs to the Forest has been discussed (Rivers 1992). The recently listed Mexican spotted 

owl (Strix occidentalis Lucida) occurs in the Sacramento 

Mountains, and research is ongoing regarding management of suitable habitat (US Fish and Wildlife Service 

1995). 

Plants 

Lee-Chadde and Huenneke (1996) identified 50 species 

of rare, threatened, and endangered plants in the Sacramento Mountains and determined the vulnerability of 

40 

each species using both a linear ranking system and a 

multivariate approach. Many of the species are endemic 

to the Sacramento Mountains as well as rare or endangered. Among these are the Sacramento prickle-poppy 

(Argemone pleiacantha), the Mescalero thistle (Cirsium 

vinaceum; Fig. 17), Kuenzler's hedgehog cactus (Echinocerus jendleri), Villard's pincushion cactus (Escobaria 

villardii), Todsen's pennyroyal (Hedeoma todsenii; Fig. 18), 

golden bladderpod (Lesquerella aurea), and Alamo Canyon 

beardtongue (Penstemmon alamosensis). Many rare plants 

have always been rare, due to endemism, very narrow 

ranges, and rarity of habitats; but some have become rare 

because their habitats are disturbed or shrinking due to 

human land use, particularly livestock grazing and urban development. Fire suppression, flood control, water 

diversion, and overcollection (especially of cacti) have also 

contributed to the rarity of some plants. Those at high elevations, dependent on seasonal wetlands, or located 

on the western escarpment, have been particularly susceptible to habitat alteration. 

USDA Forest Service Gen. Tech. Rep. RMRS-GTR-19. 1998 
PARTV. HISTORIC . 

VEGETATION INTHE SACRAMENTO MOUNTAINS . 
To facilitate describing the past and present vegetation 

of the Sacramento Mountains, we have divided the southern half of the Lincoln National Forest (Sacramento district) into five areas, as defined by the major watersheds, 

so the divisions are ecological in nature. Each of the divisions represents a range of elevations and environments 

that are reflected by the vegetation habitat types (Fig. 19). 

Parts of each area have been described in historical documents, including General Land Office survey notes, Forest Service records, eyewitness accounts, and railroad and 

logging records. Other descriptions are provided by eco-

• ALA ...... M.,.OGORDO 

I·.··.······.···.~·.·.·.···<·. :U-:1 

i 

Fresnal Canyonl (\') 

co West Escarpment tf? 

~ 

logical histories of fire (Huckaby and Brown 1995, 

Wilkinson 1997), old growth (Regan 1997), and insect outbreaks (T. Swetnam, pers. comm., Univ. Ariz., 1997) addressed in more detail in later sections. 

The General Land Office Survey and other historic vegetation surveys used the common names for plant species that were in use at the time. These names varied from 

region to region and even between survey crews, so determining species composition from historic descriptions 

can be problematic and sometimes must be considered 

within the known ecological context. Douglas-fir 

~ : 

\ .. / 

Figure 19. Map showing the five divisions used to organize information to reconstruct historic vegetation on the Sacramento Ranger 

District. 

42 USDA Forest Service Gen. Tech. Rep. RMRS-GTR-19. 1998 
(Pseudotsuga menziesii) was historically referred to as "fir" 

or "red spruce"; later surveys called it "Douglas fir" or 

"Douglas spruce." "Balsam" referred to white fir (Abies 

concolor) but was also used for Engelmann spruce (Picea 

engelmannii). To add to the confusion, white fir (Abies 

concolor) was sometimes referred to as "spruce." "Pine" 

usually meant ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa), the most 

common pine in the mountain range, but southwestern 

white pine (Pinus strobiformis) was usually lumped into 

that designation, too; only in the later surveys was it mentioned separately, as "white pine." "Yellow pine" or "bull 

pine" meant Pinus ponderosa. Surveyors did not distinguish 

between the species of pinyon pine; all were called "pinyon." Likewise, all of the Juniperus species were called "juniper" or "cedar." 

The General Land Office surveys of the Sacramento 

Mountains were completed over a long period of time 

(between 1884 and 1941) and did not necessarily cover 

the mountain range in any sort of order, though areas that 

were settled or logged earliest were generally surveyed first. 

Most of the range was surveyed in the 1880s and 1890s. 

Fresnal CanyonlWest 

Escarpment 

This area includes Fresnal Canyon, La Luz Canyon, and 

the western escarpment, from the northern boundary of 

the Forest with the Mescalero Apache Reservation south 

to Dog Canyon, and from the western boundary of the 

Lincoln National Forest just east of Alamogordo to the 

summit of the Sacramento Mountains (Fig. 19). The towns 

of High Rolls and Mountain Park are located in Fresnal 

Canyon, where State Highway 82, the main thoroughfare 

from Alamogordo to Cloudcroft, runs. The area also includes the Sunspot Solar Observatory and one section of 

the old Cloudcroft Experimental Forest, at the head of 

Haynes Canyon. Two high-elevation fire history sites (Sunspot and Sunspot Pines in Table 8; Huckaby and Brown 

1995) and three old-growth sites (Sunspot, Cathey Peak, 

San Andres Canyon; Regan 1997) are located in the area, 

near the summit; three packrat midden sites (Van 

Devender et al. 1984) and five low-elevation fire history 

sites (Wilkinson 1997) are located between 2200 and 2800 

m (7150 and 9100 ft). The area ranges in elevation from 

1500 m (4875 ft) at the base of the escarpment to 2983 m 

(9695 ft) at the summit of an unnamed peak; the summit 

of Sacramento Peak is 2915 m (9475 ft). 

Historic Conditions 

General Land Office surveys in 1885 recorded that the 

lower elevations supported mostly open grassland, with 

USDA Forest Service Gen. Tech. Rep. RMRS-GTR-19. 1998 

scattered pinyon and juniper interspersed with occasional 

ponderosa pines (Table 3). Openings were filled with 

dense growth of oak shrubs or grasses: "This country is 

covered with excellent gramma grass" (General Land Office Survey notes). At higher elevations, surveys indicated 

that ponderosa pine was mixed with pinyon and juniper, 

with a dense oak understory and dense oak shrubs in 

openings. The ponderosa pine was often referred to as 

"heavy timber," which implied large trees, though not 

necessarily dense forest. Above about 2154 m (7000 ft), 

the pinyon and juniper were no longer noted, leaving 

"heavy pine timber" - stands dominated by large ponderosa pines, with scattered "spruce" (white fir or Douglasfir) and aspen, with' a dense oak understory. The survey made 

reference to several localized stands of pure aspen. 

Mixed conifer forests dominated the crest of the Sacramento Mountains in the past as they do now. These forests were probably somewhat more open than those of 

the present due to more frequent surface fires. General 

Land Office survey notes recorded that ponderosa pines 

made up a larger proportion of the canopy than they do 

at present, and dense thickets of white fir and Douglas-fir 

saplings were infrequent, though white pine, "spruce" 

(white fir), "fir" (Douglas-fir), and aspen were common 

in the heavy timber. 

Aspect can be an important factor in determining fire 

frequency and species composition of the forest because 

it affects the water balance at a site. The Sunspot mixed 

conifer old-growth site, located on mostly flat ground near 

the summit at 2923 m (9500 ft) elevation, is presently dominated by a mixture of Douglas-fir, white fir, and southwestern white pine, with only occasional ponderosa pine 

in the canopy and no recent ponderosa pine establishment. 

This stand includes white fir/maple and white fir/Erigeron exemius habitat types. Historic mean fire interval 

(MFI; see section on Fire below) in this stand, based on 

tree-ring dating of fire scars, was 11.3 years. The southfacing slope just above the Sunspot stand was also 

sampled for fire history. There, the forest is composed 

primarily of large, old, open-grown ponderosa pines, and 

was classified as a Douglas-fir / gambel oak habitat type. 

The Douglas-fir and white pine presently in this stand are 

all young saplings. Tree-ring dating revealed a historic 

mean fire interval on the slope of 4.8 years, comparable to 

those found at much lower elevations. 

Even as late as the survey in 1914, the western escarpment was sparsely settled, except for Fresnal Canyon. 

Agriculture was limited to gardens in a few canyons, due 

to lack of available water. Settlers in the area after the turn 

of the century raised hogs. The Rio Fresnal, though not a 

perennial stream, was the most abundant and reliable 

source of water. This stream flooded severely in 1899 

(Wuersching 1988), wiping out many farms in the valley 

and destroying a length of the railroad track. It was speculated at the time that extensive clearcut logging at higher 

elevations had contributed to the excessive runoff from 

an intense summer storm that caused the flood. 

43 
The gramma grass on the western slope was described 

as being very good, even under dense oak scrub. In general at lower elevations, open forests and woodlands were 

very grassy despite the steep slopes and rockiness. General Land Office surveyors commented that their work 

was complicated by the steep, rocky terrain and extremely 

dense brush. This is the only part of the Sacramento Mountains where any valuable minerals were found. Small deposits of copper, lead, and silver were mined early in the 

20th century in the vicinity of Fresnal Canyon. 

Surveys done in the years following settlement indicate how rapidly profound changes in vegetation occurred. A range survey dOl).e on the Alamo National Forest in 1909 (Kerr 1909) found the range in poor condition 

in the Dry Canyon area, after 30 years or so of grazing. 

Assessments done in 1946 for the Range Management Plan 

(US Forest Service 1946) covered much of the west escarpment and found the range in fair to poor condition, with 

generally increasing erosion problems and declining range 

quality. The Dry Canyon allotment, between 1508 m and 

2308 m (4900 and 7500 ft), was subject to destructive erosion and drying winds in 1946, with parts of the range 

rated as fair and some parts poor. The grass cover was 

thinning and the existing grasses showed poor vigor; some 

were dying from root exposure. Palatable browse plants 

were over-used. Even beargrass, not usually considered 

palatable, was eaten to a stubble. 

Table 3. Historic and present conditions for Fresnal Canyon/Western Escarpment division. ABCO = white fir (Abies concolor), JUDE = 

alligator juniper (Juniperus deppeana), PIED = pinyon pine (pinus edulis), PIEN = Engelmann spruce (picea engelmannii), PI PO = 

ponderosa pine (pinus ponderosa), PIST = southwestern white pine (pinus strobiformis), POTR = aspen (populus tremuloides), 

PSME = Douglas-fir (pseudo.tsuga menziesii), QUGA = gambel oak (Quercus gambelii), and MFI = mean fire interval. 

Fresnal Canyon 

Vegetation 

Pre-settlement 

At lower elevations, open grassland was interspersed 

with scattered PIED-JUDE and occasional PIPO. Openings were filled with dense oak scrub, with continuous 

grass cover underneath. Mid-elevations were covered 

by scattered PIPO mixed with PIED and JUDE with 

dense oak understory and grass; above 7000', no PIED, 

occasional PSME was mixed with PIPO and scattered 

POTR stands. Above 8000', mixed conifer forest had 

PIPO, PSME, PIST, ABCO, POTR in canopy and in 

thickets. Zones were compressed due to steep 

elevational gradient. The canyon effect was common; 

cottonwood, walnut, blue spruce were found in moist 

canyons. 

Ecosystem processes Soil: Intact under dense grass and shrub cover. 

Landscape structure 

Human land use 

44 

Water. No perennial streams. Seasonal water in canyons sank before reaching the desert. Few springs. 

Fire: Frequent, low-intensity surface fire; more frequent 

but localized at lower elevations, less frequent with 

occasional localized crown fire in mixed conifer. PIEDJUDE MFI=28 y; PIPO MFI=3-6 y; PSME/QUGA MFI=4-

10 y; ABCO/QUGA MFI=11-14 Y (Wilkinson sites). 

Insects: None noted in GLO notes-probably endemic 

levels of pine bark beetles. 

Topography was steep and rocky. Open, patchy, multiple-aged forest of mixed PIPO and PIED-JUDE was 

common at low elevations, with oak scrub understory, 

and large openings filled with oak shrubs, and some 

large (probably old) PIPO. PIPO also dominated mixed 

conifer forests, along with PSME, and patchy POTR 

groves indicated sites of localized crown fires. 

Mescalero Apaches used Dog Cany'on as a thoroughfare into the mountains from the west. They hunted 

and gathered, migrated seasonally, and may have set 

some fires. Archaic occupation of lower elevations. 

Post-settlement (20th century) 

Dense, young PIED-JUDE covers lower elevations, with dense oak scrub 

understory. Very little grass remains even under shrubs. Large areas without 

trees are filled with very dense oak scrub. PIPO zone has shrunk in elevational 

range, and most large PIPO are gone. At higher elevations, in mixed conifer 

there has been a shift to dominance by PSME and ABCO, and little pure 

aspen exists. PSME and ABCO saplings are dense in the understory. There 

is little grass under the forest canopies. The canyon effect still allows for 

cottonwoods and walnuts in canyons, but they are reduced by water diversion, 

and blue spruce is rare due to logging. 

Badly eroded with elimination of grasses, much gullying. 

No perennial streams. Seasonal flooding in canyons causes erosion. A few 

constructed tanks exist. Diversion for agriculture in Fresnal Canyon. 

Natural fire regime ended about 1900. Complete fire suppression after 1907, 

allowing only occasional wildfire under extreme conditions. Large fires created oak-filled openings 1880-1910. 

Huge outbreaks of Ips killed PIED in the 1920s. 

PIED-JUDE is much more dense, homogeneous, and young than historically. 

PIPO zone compressed. Very few large, old trees are found in PIPO or mixed 

conifer forest, except for isolated patches at the crest. Trees in all zones are 

dense, young, and continuous. Following logging, there has been a shift in 

dominance of mixed conifer to PSME and ABCO, with very dense PSME 

and ABCO saplings in the understory, and POTR has been reduced. Large 

openings are filled with dense oak shrubs at lower elevations. 

Sparsely settled until after 1915. Farming in Fresnal Canyon but little 

elsewhere due to lack of water. Intense grazing after 1880 even though the 

land was considered unsuitable due to lack of water. Some mining occurred 

at low elevations. There was extensive c1earcut logging in upper canyons 

and along the crest 1903-1947, mostly before 1910. Development includes 

the towns of High Rolls and Mountain Park in Fresnal Canyon, the Sunspot 

Solar Observatory at the crest, main road in the canyon, and west side road 

(built in 1930s). 

USDA Forest Service Gen. Tech. Rep. RMRS-GTR-19. 1998 
In the Alamo Canyon area, between 1477 and 2400 m 

(4800 and 7800 ft), the vegetation was semi-desert grassland grading into pinyon-juniper woodland, with a mix 

of shrubs. The range was rated as fair, though the vigor of 

perennial grasses was low due to heavy grazing and erosion was accelerating over the area. Range in the Laborcita 

allotment north of La Luz, in the foothills between 1846 

and 2462 m (6000 and 8000 ft), was rated as fair to poor. 

The area was covered with oak brush and with ponderosa pine, fir, and spruce on higher, north-facing slopes. 

"Old fires caused extensive damage to this country. Gullies are large and occur frequently .. .Intense local storms 

move tremendous amounts of s~il, rock, and debris" (US 

Forest Service 1946). An area that had been fenced as a 

stock exclosure for 10 years showed little improvement. 

Weeds were more prominent than grasses, and vegetation and litter were spotty, with much exposed soil. 

The La Luz allotment at slightly lower elevations 

showed similar conditions, worse in some places, including a part of the watershed that was being managed for 

irrigation water jointly by the Fctrest Service and the Town 

of Alamogordo. Range in the lower elevations of Mule 

Canyon area was also rated as fair to poor, with considerable erosion. The steeper country at the head of Nelson 

canyon was covered by chaparral extending into mixed 

conifer forest. It was not considered appropriate for cattle 

but had nonetheless been grazed and was subject to gully 

erosion even under forest cover. Grasses had been almost 

entirely replaced by brush, and no vegetation grew in the 

gullies. Haynes Canyon was noted as being particularly 

over-used. Erosion was extreme in the low-elevation San 

Andres canyon allotment, where steep slopes were only 

thinly vegetated. Native perennial grasses had been replaced by cacti and shrubs, and most remaining plants 

were left on pedestals of soil. In general, the west escarpment that had supported excellent, continuous native 

grass cover in the 1880s was by 1946 severely over-grazed 

and badly eroding. 

Present Conditions 

Lower elevations on the western escarpment are covered by pinyon-juniper woodland on ridges and canyon 

walls, grading into desert scrub at the base of the mountains (Kennedy 1983). Mixtures of pinyon pine (Pinus 

edulis) and one-seed juniper Uuniperus monosperma) occur 

on xeric, lower elevation sites; pinyon and alligator juniper Uuniperus deppeana) occur at higher elevations up to 

about 2154 m (7000 ft)~ and on more mesic sites or those 

with deeper soils. Most pinyon-juniper associations have 

grassy understories, which have been much depleted by 

overgrazing. Similar communities occur at lower elevations on the east side of the Sacramentos. Pinyon-juniper 

woodland has become much more dense than the historic 

conditions described by the General Land Office Survey 

notes, and most of the pinyon trees are relatively young 

USDA Forest Service Gen. Tech. Rep. RMRS-GTR-19. 1998 

(Kennedy 1983). Many of them are probably regeneration 

following the severe Ips engraver beetle outbreak early in 

20th century. 

Large openings dominated by oak scrub are believed 

to have been created by fires that burned around the turn 

of the century, though according to the General Land Office Survey, large oak thickets were common before the 

settlement period. Abundant oak brush now covers as 

much as 70 percent to 90 percent of the understory of pinyon-juniper stands and fills openings in the woodlands. 

Kennedy (1983) surmised that the oak brush is much more 

abundant now, in t.he absence of fire and the aftermath of 

overgrazing, than it had been in pre-settlement times. 

However, the General Land Office survey notes from the 

1880s indicated both considerable oak brush and luxuriant grass cover under a more open pinyon-juniper woodland. 

Ponderosa pine-dominated forests are more common 

on the east slope of the Sacramentos but may be found on 

the west side in narrow elevational ranges that grade immediately into pinyon-juniper woodlands below and 

mixed conifer forests above. In some places the ponderosa pine band is absent and pinyon-juniper borders 

mixed conifer forest. Ponderosa pine forests have understories dominated either by gambel oak or wavy-leaf oak 

at lower elevations, and they represent the warmest and 

driest forest conditions found in the Sacramentos. Douglas-fir and southwestern white pine are less common 

components of these forests. 

In general, the geographic extents of ecosystems on the 

western escarpment are compressed due to the steepness 

of the grade. The canyon phenomenon, common in arid 

mountain ranges, is apparent in this area. Cooler, wetter 

conditions at the bottoms of the canyons create environments suitable for vegetation normally found at higher 

elevations. Thus, on the west escarpment, one may see 

pinyon-juniper woodland on the slopes above a canyon 

and ponderosa pine forest or elements of mixed conifer 

forest in the canyon bottom. At lower elevations, cottonwoods and walnuts are found along both permanent and 

intermittent watercourses. Blue spruce is found in a few 

mid-elevation canyons on the west side, as well as above 

2462 m (8000 ft) in a few locations on the east side. Most 

blue spruce stands are young and heavily impacted by 

human activity. 

At higher elevations, mixed conifer forest covers most 

of this division. The coolest, wettest sites at high elevations along the crest support white fir habitat types 

(Alexander et al. 1984). Pines are infrequent in these forests. Douglas-fir may share dominance in younger stands 

and is a frequent canopy component in older stands, but 

white fir regeneration is always abundant. Understories 

are often shrubby, dominated by maple (Acer) species on 

drier sites and oceanspray (Holodiscus sp.) on wetter sites, 

often mixed with gambel oak. Grasses are uncommon. 

Drier high-elevation sites are covered with white firgambel oak forests, the most common habitat type in the 

45 
mountain range (Alexander et al. 1984). Grassy phases are 

not as common as the shrubby phase, which is dominated 

by gambel oak. Wetter sites may have up to 25 percent 

oceanspray in the shrub layer. Drier sites may include 

pines and pinyon and juniper, and this type may grade 

directly into pinyon-juniper woodland at low elevations. 

White fir and Douglas-fir are the principal species, but 

ponderosa pine and southwestern white pine are common sera 1 trees and are abundant on drier sites. Species 

dominance and proportions vary with environmental conditions, but most of the regeneration is white fir 

(Alexander et al1984). 

Douglas-fir-dominate~ habitat types are common on 

canyon sideslopes and ridge tops between 2215 and 2615 

m (7200 and 8500 ft) elevation. The most common Douglas-fir forest has an understory dominated by gambel 

oak, and may include oceanspray on more mesic sites such 

as north-facing slopes. White fir is not common in these 

forests, which are found along the west side at the top of 

the escarpment. Southwestern white pine is abundant, and 

ponderosa pine historically has been a canopy dominant 

in the presence of frequent fire (Alexander 1984). Old firescarred ponderosa pines are common in the over stories 

of these forests, but ponderosa pines are not regenerating 

in the absence of fire. 

James Canyon 

The James Canyon area is the most heavily developed 

part of the Sacramento Mountains. It includes the town 

of Cloudroft, the Ski Cloudcroft ski area, several developed campgrounds, and many homes and ranches in the 

James Canyon along State Highway 82, the primary road 

to Roswell in the east. Our division extends from the northern boundary of the Forest with the Mescalero Apache 

Reservation, south to the edge of the watershed above 

Chippeway Park, east along the canyon to the confluence 

with the Rio Penasco near the town of Mayhill (Fig. 19). 

One fire history site is located in the ponderosa pine zone 

at about 2554 m (8300 ft; James Ridge in Table 8; Huckaby 

and Brown 1995) and another near the campgrounds in 

one of the sections of the old Cloudcroft Experimental 

Forest, where an old-growth mixed conifer site is also located at about 2738 m (8900 ft; Fir Campground; Regan 

1997). Some of the oldest trees known from the Sacramento 

Mountains are located in this area (Regan 1997). 

Historic Conditions 

The General Land Office Survey passed through the 

present location of Cloudcroft in 1884, before the town 

existed. The survey crew described the vegetation as scattered pine timber with a dense oak understory, intermixed 

46 

with pinyon and juniper. The occasional "spruce" (white 

fir or Douglas-fir) was noted, as was an area of" dead and 

fallen timber" (Table 4). The area immediately to the south 

was surveyed in 1891. It was described as supporting 

mixed ponderosa pine and Douglas-fir timber (implying 

trees large enough to be commercially logged) with a 

dense oak understory, and occasional oaks in the canopy. 

The survey crew occasionally noted groups of pure aspen, mostly as dense saplings in the understory. This forest seems to have been fairly continuous over a large area 

and would probably have been classified as a Douglasfir / gambel oak habitat type. At higher elevations, the 

forest was less open, and Douglas-fir was more prominent in the canopy. Large areas along the crest were described as heavy pine and fir timber with a dense oak scrub 

understory. 

The survey described a site where all the trees were 

dead and presumably still standing-perhaps victims of 

an insect outbreak? Forest Service records mention an 

outbreak of a defoliating moth in the Douglas-fir that had 

occurred sometime before 1918 (US Forest Service 1918-

1952). The 1891 survey passed through patches of cultivated land and a couple of marshes. The General Land 

Office Survey of the Cloudcroft area was finished in 1937; 

by then, surveyors passed through the golf course and 

much more cultivated land and noted more aspen and 

"spruce" (Douglas-fir or white fir) in the forest overstory, 

though the dominant trees were still ponderosa pine and 

Douglas-fir with a dense oak understory. 

The area east of Cloudcroft was first surveyed in 1884, 

and the survey was finished in 1892. This area was forested primarily by ponderosa pine, sometimes in nearly 

pure stands. Trees varied considerably in diameter and 

density and were scattered amid open patches. The pine 

was occasionally mixed with "spruce" (probably Douglasfir), pinyon, and aspen, and it occasionally had a shrubby 

oak understory, though the understory here seems to have 

been much more open than elsewhere. This area seems to 

have supported stands of more pure ponderosa pine than 

any other on the forest, probably as close to a ponderosa 

pine savanna as existed on the Lincoln National Forest. 

As the survey headed east, they encountered vegetation 

that they described as scattered ponderosa pine timber 

mixed with juniper, with a dense oak understory. Pinyon 

pine and juniper were mixed with the ponderosa pine 

and Douglas-fir, and dense young aspen in scattered 

patches in the understory. The timber varied considerably 

in density, from scattered to occasionally dense. Even in 

1884, there were many cultivated fields in this division, 

and the surveyors noted a cienega (unforested seasonal 

marsh). 

Farther south and east, the survey was completed in 

1936. Changes in the vegetation had begun. Pinyon and 

juniper were the dominants in a fairly continuous and 

closed stand, with the occasional ponderosa pine and 

dense oak and "cedar" (Juniperus sp.) brush. Douglas-fir 

was also present in the mix. Pinyon and juniper had filled 

USDA Forest Service Gen. Tech. Rep. RMRS-GTR-19. 1998 
Table 4. Historic and present conditions for James Canyon division. See Table 3 for species acronyms. 

James Canyon Pre-settlement 

Vegetation At higher elevations, fairly continuous mixed conifer 

forest was dominated by PIPO and PSME, with ABCO 

and PIST components and a shrubby oak understory, 

and occasional dense thickets of young aspen. Nearly 

pure PIPO forest covered mid to low slopes to the east, 

mixed with occasional PSME and PIED. Oak shrubs 

were less dense than on the west side. POTR was 

scattered in the canopy, large oaks were common in 

canyons. Farther east and lower, very open forest of 

PIPO was mixed with PIED-JUDE, with a shrubby oak 

understory. Trees were highly variable in size; grasses 

grew even under the oak and forest canopy. Timber 

was described a.s "quite heavy" in places. 

Ecosystem processes Soil: Deep, fertile soil in shallow canyons; soil intact 

under forest; satldy to rocky, not fertile on slopes. 

Post-settlement (20th century) 

Mixed conifer is dense and young, dominated by ABCO and PSME at high 

elevations. A few isolated pockets of old growth remain with very large trees 

dating to the 16th century. Mixed conifer is found on north-facing slopes 

even below 6000'. At mid-elevations, slopes and ridges are dominated by 

PIPO with large, old trees in the canopy and dense PSME and ABCO saplings, with some large old PIED and JUDE mixed in and a spotty oak brush 

understory. Patchy grass occurs only in openings. Very little aspen remains, 

and there has been a shift to dominance by PSME at mid-elevations and to 

ABCO at high elevations. 

Considerable erosion, especially in canyons, gullying on steep slopes, especially where logging occurred. 

Water. No perennial streams. Occasional seeps and Seasonal flooding; water diverted for agriculture, marshes drained. 

Landscape structure 

Human land use 

springs. 

Fire: Frequent, low-intensity surface fires interspersed 

with patchy crown fires. High elevation mixed conifer 

(ABCO types) MFI=9-11 y (Fir Campground); mid-elevations (PSME types) MFI=4-6 y (James Ridge); low 

elevations (PIPO/PSME types) MFI=3-5 y (Denny Hill). 

Insects: An outbreak before 1890 created an area of 

dead and fallen timber in the upper part, as well as 

another area of dead standing timber; an outbreak of 

a defoliating moth was recorded before 1918; spruce 

budworm outbreaks in mixed conifer occurred in approximately 20 year cycles at high elevations back to 

1800. 

Disease: Rot fungi, mistletoe noted at high elevations. 

Mesic to dry mixed conifer forest was continuous at 

high elevations, with patches of old growth, a shrubby 

understory, and some very large, old trees. At mid to 

low elevations, PIPO forest very open, mixed with 

PSME and PIED, with understory patchy shrubs, and 

trees variable in size. POTR was a patchy component. 

PIPO witness trees varied considerably in size and the 

forest was described as scattered, with openings. Oldgrowth in high elevation mixed conifer comprised more 

than 35%, and was extensive. In lower elevation dry 

mixed conifer and PIPO forest, old-growth was more 

than 15% and patchy. 

Occasional use by Mescalero Apaches for hunting and 

gathering, mostly in summer. 

in the open pine forest, and oak shrubs had moved into 

the open understory. Surveyors noted dense Douglas-fir 

and white fir saplings that were not mentioned in the earlier survey. 

The General Land Office Survey made assessments of 

soils that were less than specific. Surveyors described soils 

USDA Forest Service Gen. Tech. Rep. RMRS-GTR-19. 1998 

Surface fire regime disrupted by complete fire suppression after 1907. Considerable area burned by wildfire after logging in the early 20th century. 

Rare, destructive crown fire now occurs at all elevations under extreme conditions. 

Five known outbreaks of western spruce budworm at Fir Campground in the 

20th century, at least 2 severe; outbreaks synchronous with northern New 

Mexico. 

Exotic white pine blister rust at high elevations since 1990. 

The mixed conifer forest is now dense, young, and continuous, with only a 

few isolated patches of old-growth and ABCO becoming dominant. The PIPO 

zone is compressed from its historic extent, with a shift in dominance to 

PSME and ABCO. The large, old PIPO are dying. Very little aspen remains. 

Little grass exists under the forest canopy, and oak shrubs are more continuous than historically. Very little old-growth is found in any zone. PIEDJUDE at lower elevations is also young and more dense than historically. 

Irrigated farming has occurred in valleys and on some gentle slopes since 

1890s. Grazing by cattle on summer range at high elevations began in the 

1880s, but this area was not so badly over-grazed as areas to the south. 

Railroad logging began in mixed conifer and PIPO forests in 1903, and mostly 

ended by 1910. Flood control structures were built on all streams in the 

1930s. Considerable erosion occurred after logging, especially on private 

land. Considerable development began early with the town and resort of 

Cloudcroft in 1899, the ski area, summer and year-round homes, ranches 

and camps along Highway 82, and developed campgrounds in mixed conifer forest. 

in the upper part of James Canyon as sandy to rocky and 

not fertile (2nd to 3rd rate), but the grass was "very fair" 

and the timber was" of good quality, and is quite heavy 

in places"(General Land Office Survey). Despite the relatively poor soils, farming was not always confined to the 

canyon bottoms, but was done on the mountainsides as 

47 
well, where potatoes were the primary crop. By 1936, 

"nearly all of the land is [sic] the bottom of James, Cox, 

and Eight-mile Canyons is cultivated, and a small amount 

in the bottoms of other canyons as well." 

John Kerr's range inspection in 1909 included the goat 

ranges north of Mayhill and the cattle ranges in James 

Canyon, and he found them in relatively good condition. 

By the time of the Range Management Plan of 1946, the 

area near Cloudcroft at the top of James Canyon was still 

being used for summer cattle range. Flood control structures had been constructed on every canyon during the 

Civilian Conservation Corps program, and no flooding 

had occurred since 1934. When active cattle range in the 

area was compared with a part of the Cloudcroft Experimental Forest, which had been fenced to exclude livestock 

for nearly 10 years, surveyors found similar plant composition at both sites, but grasses that grew well under 

the forest canopy in the Experimental Forest were sparse 

and did not grow under the trees in the grazed area. Old 

browse lines on shrubs were evident in the exclosure but 

were beginning to grow but by 1946. Lower in the canyon, much of the range was privately owned. The private 

lands were in poorer condition than those administered 

by the Forest. Logged or cultivated areas showed considerable erosion, particularly on south slopes. Mixed conifer forests had grassy understories that were not reproducing. The range was considered overused, though in 

fair condition. 

In the Wofford allotment, including Silver Springs and 

Zinker Canyons around 2769 m (9000 ft) elevation, most 

of the land was acquired by the Forest Service after 1940. 

The vegetation was mostly mixed conifer forest, with little 

grass under the closed canopy, though grasses were more 

frequent in openings. The range was considered overused, 

and its condition was rated fair. Gullying was infrequent 

except on private land, and vegetation density was not 

good but was improving by 1946. Just north of Cloudcroft, 

an area had recently been set aside for recreation use, and 

livestock were excluded. This became Fir Campground 

and associated campgrounds. 

Present Conditions 

The top of the canyon around the town of Cloudcroft, 

the developed campgrounds, the ski area, and many summer and year-round homes are surrounded by dense, 

young, mixed conifer forest, most of it white fir habitat 

types (Alexander et al 1984). Much of the upper and 

middle parts of the division were logged between 1900 

and 1940. A few areas of old growth are found around the 

campgrounds north of town, which were originally encompassed by the Cloudcroft Experimental Forest. These 

forests include some very large, old white fir and Douglas-fir trees (Regan 1997). As James Canyon slopes gently down to the east, white fir habitat types give way to 

Douglas-fir and ponderosa pine habitat types, at first on 

48 

dry south- and west-facing slopes and ridges, then widespread on all aspects. Many of these forests have a few 

large, old, fire-scarred ponderosa pines in the overs tory, 

surrounded by dense young growth of Douglas-fir and 

patchy gambel oak scrub. Such forests were dominated 

by ponderosa pine before logging and the cessation of 

surface fires; most of the Douglas-firs are saplings. Pinyon and juniper are also found scattered among the ponderosa pines at middle elevations. Even below 1846 m 

(6000 ft), where slopes and ridges are covered with grassy 

pinyon-juniper woodland, mixed conifer forests of the 

Douglas-fir types are found on north-facing slopes. 

Rio Penasco 

This area includes the upper watershed of the Rio 

Penasco, which was heavily logged around the turn of 

the century. The logging camps of Russia and Marcia were 

abandoned with the end of railroad logging, and this area 

remains relatively undeveloped. Our division extends 

from Cox Canyon in the north to the watershed of Wills 

Canyon in the south, and from the summit of the Sacramento Mountains and the headwaters of the Rio Penasco, 

east along the river to Mayhill (Fig. 19). Five fire history 

sites (Peake Canyon, Delworth Spring, Denny Hill, Water 

Canyon, and Cosmic Ray Observatory in Table 8; Huckaby 

and Brown 1995) and three old-growth sites (Peake Canyon, Water Canyon, Telephone Canyon; Regan 1997) are 

located within this area, at a range of elevations. A section of the Cloudcroft Experimental Forest was located in 

the northern part of this area (Peake Canyon). 

Historic Conditions 

The highest part of this division slopes gradually eastward from near the summit. The General Land Office 

Survey of 1889 described upper elevations covered by 

mixed conifer forest, probably not unlike that of today, 

composed of heavy pine and "fir" timber, which seems to 

have been more or less continuous over a large area. Aspen was sometimes found in dense, pure stands; oak 

scrub, sometimes very dense, comprised much of the understory (Table 5). "Fir" (Douglas-fir) and pine (ponderosa pine) seem to have been fairly evenly mixed in the 

canopy. Understory vegetation, though variable in composition at higher elevations, was consistently described 

as "dense." 

The survey continued in 1891 and 1896 and was completed in 1905. Just east of the crest around Hubbell and 

Wills Canyons, the surveyors recorded some very large 

trees including "firs" (Douglas-fir) of 152.4, 132.8, 121.9 

cm (60, 52, and 48 inches) in diameter. Trees in the rest of 

the area varied from 25.4 to 76.2 cm (10 to 30 inches) in 

USDA Forest Service Gen. Tech. Rep. RMRS-GTR-19. 1998 
Table 5. Historic and present conditions for the Rio Penasco division. See Table 3 for species acronyms. 

Rio Penasco Pre-settlement 

Vegetation Above 7000', mixed conifer was relatively dense and 

continuous over a large area. General Land Office 

notes described much of this division as "heavy pine 

and fir timber," indicating dominance by PIPO and 

PSME, with ABCO in the canopy and PIST also 

present. Some very large trees were recorded in 

places, up to 60" dbh. Scattered POTR was present in 

the canopy, with a few large oaks. The understory was 

of mixed shrubs. Few large openings existed except 

for shallow canyon bottoms, which were grassy. Farther east, PIPO dominance was stronger, mixed with 

scattered PSME and ABCO, and tree size declined. 

The shrubby understory became pure oak. PIED-JUDE 

was interspersed· with PI PO and PIST at lower elevations. There was less grass under the forest canopy 

than in more open areas. Below 6000', the forest broke 

up into scattered PIPO, PIED, and JUDE, and shrubs 

were less dense than above. 

Ecosystem processes Soil: Deep and fertile in canyons; thin and rocky on 

slopes, poor at lower elevations. 

Landscape structure 

Human land use 

Water: Rio Penasco was the only perennial stream in 

the range that did not sink; runs into the Pecos. The 

canyon was 1/4 to 1/2 mile wide. Springs were present 

at higher elevations, marshes at lower elevations. 

Fire: Frequent, low-intensity surface fire, patchy crown 

fire which created openings in canopy and aspen 

groves. No data for fire in PIPO or PIED-JUDE; lower 

elevation mixed conifer (PSME types) MFI=6.4 y 

(Denny Hill); Higher elevation mixed conifer (ABCO 

types) MFI=11-13 y (Peake Canyon, Water Canyon, 

Delworth, Sunspot). 

Insects: Areas of "dead fir timber" noted in 1896, possibly victims of a defoliator attack some years before. 

Disease: none noted 

Windthrow. several small areas noted 

The forest was very heterogeneous, with vast areas of 

high large tree density, indicating extensive old-growth 

mixed conifer covering more than 35% of the area. 

Scattered POTR stands were found amid fairly continuous mixed conifer, where tree sizes (and probably ages) 

varied considerably. PIPO and ABCO shared dominance 

of mixed conifer; PSME was prominent in mid- to low 

elevation mixed conifer. Some very large PSME were 

noted. PIEN stands were local at highest elevations. At 

lower elevations, scattered PIPO was mixed with PIEDJUDE in an open forest with an oak understory. 

Apaches used upper elevations in summer; their use 

of the east slope is unknown, though they probably 

passed through to hunt bison on the plains and used 

the reliable water in the river. Pre-1400 agriculture at 

several sites. 

diameter. The size and density of large trees in this area 

makes it apparent why it was the target of intense logging some 20 years later. Survey notes compared the quality of the Douglas-fir timber to the" celebrated fir timber 

USDA Forest Service Gen. Tech. Rep. RMRS-GTR-19. 1998 

Post-settlement (20th century) 

Higher elevations are covered with continuous mixed conifer forest of the 

ABCO habitat types, composed of young, dense trees, with very little PIPO. 

Cold sites have forb-dominated understories; warmer sites have mixed 

shrubs, mostly oak. Farther east, mixed conifer stands are of the PSME 

types, also young and dense with a very small PI PO component and a 

shrubby oak understory. PI PO-dominated stands below 7000' grade quickly 

into PIED-JUDE woodland with a sparse shrub oak understory and a depleted grass layer. Most of the forests of this division are second growth 

following logging. The Rio Penasco valley is mostly under cultivation. 

Considerable erosion on logged-burned slopes and overgrazed canyon bottoms, especially where agricultural fields have been abandoned. 

Water diverted for irrigation. Flood control structures on Rio Penasco and 

other streams constructed starting in 1930s. 

Severe fires in logged areas burned to mineral soil in the 1920s-most were 

human-caused. Complete fire suppression since 1907 disrupted natural 

surface fire regime, allowing only rare, extensive crown fires that escape 

control under extreme conditions. 

Severe outbreaks of bark beetles in and around logged areas in 1920s and 

1930s eliminated much PIPO regeneration; PIEN killed by moths and beetles 

in 1920s. 

Exotic white pine blister rust detected in 1990 at high elevations. 

POTR is much reduced. Mixed conifer forest is all young and even-aged 

following logging. The PIPO component is much reduced due to logging, 

lack of fire, and insects, and dominance by ABCO is stronger, with dense 

ABCO and PSME regeneration in the understory. Shrubs and shrub diversity in the understory is reduced. The extent of grassy canyon bottoms is 

reduced by erosion and tree encroachment. Old growth stands are rare and 

isolated; PIEN stands are reduced in area. PIED-JUDE woodland contains 

less PIPO, is more dense than before. The grass component under shrubs 

is reduced. 

Extensive irrigated agriculture occurs all along the Rio Penasco valley. Extensive clearcut logging occurred in mixed conifer forest from 1903 through 

the 1930s; some logging continues. Summer grazing at higher elevations, 

mostly cattle, is now much reduced from earlier in the century. Goats grazed 

at lower elevations until the 1940s. There is little development except along 

the river. Logging camps at Russia and Marcia are abandoned. Cutting of 

PIED-JUDE at lower elevations for fence posts and firewood was destructive until 1917. 

on Puget Sound" (General Land Office Survey). "Spruce" 

(probably white fir) was mixed in the overstory, as was 

the occasional oak. Pine was uncommon, while white fir 

and aspen were more frequent near the crest, indicating 

49 
mesic conditions. In general, the composition of the forest was very mixed, including "pine, fir, aspen, spruce, 

oak timber." "Balsam" (probably Engelmann spruce, 

though it may have been white fir) was also noted in this 

area in small amounts, the only place it was recorded by 

the surveys in the Sacramentos. 

The surveyors noted several large areas of windfall, 

perhaps trees killed by an earlier insect outbreak. Otherwise there were few openings, compared to the west side 

and to lower elevations to the east; timber was only occasionally described as "scattered" and was more often 

called "heavy" or "dense." A few areas of "open ground" 

were recorded. Surveyors .encountered areas of "dead fir 

timber" in 1896, which were probably patches of standing dead Douglas-fir, perhaps victims of spruce budworm 

or another insect outbreak sometime before the survey. 

These trees may have been dead for some years, as an 

aspen thicket and dense shrubs were described amid the 

dead fir in one area. 

Some cultivated fields; were interspersed with forest 

even at high elevations. Willow (probably forest willow, 

Salix scouleriana; not necessarily a riparian indicator) was 

rarely present in the understory along with small oaks 

and small aspen. The shrubby understory included 

oceanspray, locust, gooseberry, maple, and dogwood. The 

mixture of shrubs in the understory, as opposed to the 

nearly pure oak on the west side and at lower elevations 

farther east, was indicative of the more abundant moisture near the summit. 

The logging village of Marcia, located on the Rio 

Penasco nine miles south of Cloudcroft, was occupied 

from 1919 until 1942. It functioned as headquarters and 

locomotive maintenance center for the lumber company 

and as a source of water from the nearby river and springs. 

The average population of Marcia was about 75 people, 

comprising from 25 to 30 families, and the buildings included a schoolhouse/ church, a commissary, a company 

barn, and a repair shop. The village was abandoned when 

railroad logging ceased, and the buildings were burned 

by the Crossheart ranch a few years later, to alleviate the 

potential hazard to livestock (Spoerl 1981c). 

The General Land Office Survey notes of the 1890s described the bottoms of the canyons as having small areas 

of slightly to heavily rolling land that could be cultivated. 

The rest of the land was considered too steep and rocky 

even to be good pasture. The bottoms of Hay, Wills, and 

Rio Penasco canyons were cultivated, but those farms had 

been mostly abandoned by the 1930s. Water was scarce in 

this area; permanent springs were noted in some canyons, 

but the only perennial stream was the Rio Penasco. The 

surveyors noted the abundance of fossil seashells near the 

crest. 

Sections farther east were surveyed in 1889, 1902, and 

1938. At lower elevations, Douglas-fir became less frequent 

and dominance by ponderosa pine was stronger. The timber was sometimes described as scattered, and pinyon and 

juniper were occasionally mixed with pine and Douglas50 

fir, especially on ridges, while white fir became rare. Scattered aspen was still present. Occasional pockets of pinyon pine were observed amid the "heavy pine and fir 

(Douglas-fir) timber." In general, the size of the trees declined as the surveyors worked eastward. The forest became less continuous, interspersed with aspen or oak 

thickets. Shrubs such as oceanspray, dogwood, willow, 

and gooseberry were not noted as the survey moved east 

and down in elevation. Cultivated fields became more 

common, and several small marshes were noted. 

In notes from the 1902 survey, ash was occasionally 

recorded in the overs tory, and white pine was also recorded as a species separate from ponderosa pine (usually called just "pine" in the survey notes). Surveyors described dense shrub growth along the Rio Penasco, though 

the species were not enumerated. Dense shrubs were also 

recorded along the open edge of an area of heavy timber, 

perhaps the edge of a crown fire or windthrow. Sections 

farthest east were surveyed in 1938 and were described 

as a mixture of pine, fir, pinyon, and juniper timber (implying large trees), with scattered oak scrub; the trees were 

noted to occur only on south slopes (north facing?) in some 

places. The surveyor noted that" a great deal of oak brush 

grows over all these mountains." He also said that stock 

raising was the primary industry in the area, and that grain 

and vegetables were raised on nearly all of the tillable land. 

The soil was described as generally very good. Cox Canyon was described as especially suitable for agriculture. 

"Fair grass in the canyons," but grass was poor everywhere else. 

The area around Mayhill was first surveyed in 1884. 

The forest had broken up into scattered ponderosa pine 

and juniper, with much open space between groups of 

trees and a less dense understory of oak and juniper species. The timber was occasionally described as dense, but 

mostly as scattered, with little pinyon pine relative to the 

ponderosa pines. A couple of marshes and a pasture were 

noted, but little cultivated land was recorded. The soil and 

grass were described as second rate, the timber scattered, 

scrubby and of poor quality, though there were patches 

of high quality timber here and there. Settlement and cultivation were confined to the good soils of the river valleys, the Rio Penasco and the Aqua Chiquita. 

The survey was finished in 1941, filling in areas that 

had been missed in earlier surveys. The trees were described as being much more dense than in 1884 and having a much broader mix of species. Middle elevations supported a mix of ponderosa pine, pinyon pine, Douglasfir, white fir, cedar, juniper, and oak timber, with second 

growth ponderosa pine, Douglas-fir, white fir, juniper, and 

oak. Timber was described as "heavy" and "dense," with 

"second growth"- presumably saplings established after clearcut logging of previous decades. There was much 

more cultivated land than in 1884. The understory was 

described as dense, primarily oak shrubs. Most of the 

witness trees were under 10 inches in diameter, and were 

ponderosa pine, pinyon pine, or juniper. The forest was 

USDA Forest Service Gen. Tech. Rep. RMRS-GTR-19. 1998 
much more continuous than in 1884, though several areas of "grassy land" were noted. The canyon of the Rio 

Penasco was described as a quarter to half a mile wide 

and was the location of considerable irrigated farming. 

The lower Aqua Chiquita was described as a small perennial stream with a canyon too narrow for agriculture. 

John Kerr's 1909 assessment found range conditions 

along the Rio Penasco in varying condition. Goat range 

south of Dark Canyon was in "fairly good condition," 

while cattle range along the river was in "bad condition." 

Both of these ranges were in the lower part of the canyon. 

By 1946 (US Forest Service 1946), the upper canyon between 2462 and 2923 m (8000 an.d 9500 ft) elevation had 

been heavily logged and burned severely in the 1920s, 

"burning even the north slopes down to mineral soil." The 

old burns were occupied by aspen, and the unburned areas were covered by mixed conifer forest with shrubby, 

not grassy, understories; grasslands were found along the 

canyon bottoms. The condition of the range was fair, 

though concentration of animals in canyon bottoms and 

on flat areas had reduced peren11ial grass vigor. Erosion 

was still occurring on the old burns and in canyon bottoms that had been cultivated and abandoned, though 

some eroded areas were beginning to recover. 

The Russia Canyon area south of Cloudcroft, between 

2462 and 2954 m (8000 and 9600 ft) elevation, was acquired 

by the Forest in 1940, and by 1946, much of the canyon 

bottom land was still privately owned, some of it cultivated and much of it fenced. Clearcut logging followed 

by intense fires in the 1920s had destroyed much of the 

forest vegetation at higher elevations, and unregulated 

grazing before 1940 had depleted the grasses and forbs. 

Despite the severity of the disturbances, the vegetation 

was recovering by 1946 and secondary gullies were healing, though primary gullies were still bare and eroding. 

Grasses were spreading on deeper soils on flats and canyon bottoms. Better soils and more abundant water encouraged regeneration of the vegetation at these higher 

elevations. 

Present Conditions 

The upper parts of the Rio Penasco canyon near the 

crest are now covered by dense, young, mixed conifer forests of the white fir habitat types. On cold sites where snow 

stays late, understories are dominated by forbs (Alexander 

et al. 1984). On drier sites and at lower elevations, understories are dominated by shrubs, especially gambel oak. 

Stands dominated by Engelmann spruce are scattered at 

the highest elevations on the wettest, coldest sites. Farther east, at middle elevations, dry white fir / gambel oakdominated forests grade into Douglas-fir / oak-dominated 

types. Most of these stands have been logged and are less 

than 100 years old, with a small ponderosa pine component. Stands dominated by ponderosa pine occur in narrow bands below 2154 m (7000 ft) and intergrade with 

USDA Forest Service Gen. Tech. Rep. RMRS-GTR-19. 1998 

pinyon-juniper woodland. The woodland has a sparse, 

shrubby understory; the grass component has been much 

depleted. Much of the valley of the Rio Penasco is presently under cultivation. 

Aqua Chiquita 

This relatively la~ge area extends from the summit of 

the range (where it curves to the east) to the confluence of 

the Aqua Chiquita with the Rio Penasco and the eastern 

boundary of the Lincoln National Forest and includes the 

Bluewater Canyon drainage (Fig. 19). It encompasses the 

small towns of Sacramento and Weed, but is otherwise 

ranch country that is relatively undeveloped. None of the 

old-growth or fire history sites occur on this division, 

though the Monument Canyon sites near the western 

boundary probably reflect conditions in the upper elevation mixed conifer forest. The Denny Hill site, near the 

northeastern boundary, reflects conditions typical of the 

lower elevations, where ponderosa pine-mixed conifer 

forest intergrades with pinyon-juniper" woodland, and 

where fire frequency was historically high .. An intense 

crown fire burned 6000 ha (15,000 ac) in this section in 

April 1974. It was the most severe fire recorded on the 

Lincoln National Forest in the 20th century. 

Historic Conditions 

General Land Office surveys of 1889 and 1891 recorded 

higher elevations as covered with "heavy pine and fir timber," often with a dense oak or aspen understory, much 

locust, and occasional patches of juniper. Such vegetation 

was continuous for many kilometers. This area was subsequently heavily logged in the early 20th century. Farther east and at lower elevations, General La~d Office 

survey notes recorded "numerous little valleys of rich 

black loam where abundant crops of all kinds of cereal 

and vegetables are produced to perfection without the aid 

of irrigation." There were many small springs in this part 

of the range. The slopes above the valleys were covered 

with "abundant growth of mountain grasses," except 

where oak and aspen were dense ("impenetrable"), especially on north-facing slopes. Timber in the form of pine 

(ponderosa pine), fir (Douglas-fir), oak, and aspen was 

also abundant in the area, though the topographic position was not recorded. The relative openness of the forest 

and density of shrubs, the presence of considerable aspen, and the grassy understories were indicative of fairly 

frequent surface fires (Table 6). 

Farther east, at mid to lower elevations, vegetation in 

1889 was dominated by ponderosa pine mixed with pinyon and juniper with a dense oak understory. Douglas-fir 

occurred on wetter microsites. Low elevations surveyed 

51 
Table 6. Historic and present conditions for the Aqua Chiquita division. See Table 3 for species acronyms. 

Aqua Chiquita 

Vegetation 

Pre-settlement 

The westernmost part of the division is near the summit, and supported ABCO and PIEN forests. Most of 

the upper end of this division is at mid-elevations and 

was covered with mixed conifer forest with "heavy pine 

and fir timber"-Iarge trees, PIPO and PSME dominant, a little ABCO in the canopy and dense oak shrub 

understory; locust and juniper were also present in the 

understory on some sites. Patches of POTR were found 

at higher elevations, much of it young. Continuous 

PI PO-dominated mixed conifer forest extended for 

miles. Grassy valleys and canyon bottoms were treeless, except for areas of oak or aspen. At lower elevations, the forest became more open, with grass under 

the canopy and dense oak shrubs. Farther east (R 14), 

PIPO was mixed with PIED-JUDE and dense oaks, 

with PSME in wetter sites; "scattered timber and dense 

to scattered undergrowth" described a typical patchy 

PIPO forest with patchy oak scrub understory. Lower 

elevations were rocky. 

Ecosystem processes Soil: Deep and fertile in canyons and valleys. 

Landscape structure 

Human land use 

Water:I.Many small springs; Aqua Chiquita and 

Bluewater were semi-permanent streams, tributaries 

of the Rio Penasco. 

Fire: Frequent, low-intensity surface fire. Higher elevations (mixed conifer) MFI=6-11 y; PSME types and 

PIPO at lower elevations MFI=3-5 y (based on Denny 

Hill and Monument Canyon). 

Insects: no notes 

Lower elevations were covered by open forest, patchy 

trees that were highly variable in size, dominated by 

PIPO. Continuous mixed conifer forest (mostly PSME 

habitat types) dominated mid-elevations, with patches 

of POTR and shrubby oak understories. There were 

isolated patches of high densities of large trees, indicating as much as 30% of mixed conifer was old-growth. 

Mixed conifer forest was patchy and very heterogeneous. The highest parts of this division were covered 

with ABCO habitat types, with embedded stands of 

PI EN in areas of cold air drainage. 

Uncertain. Mescalero Apaches may have occupied the 

area at times, but lack of water probably limited their 

activity. 

in 1884 supported "scattered timber and dense to scattered vegetation [undergrowth],,; species were not recorded, but this was likely open ponderosa pine forest 

grading into pinyon-juniper woodland and oak scrub. 

Pinyon was occasionally referred to as "timber," indicating fairly large trees, but more often "timber" meant ponderosa pine at lower elevations. The surveyors repeatedly 

noted the extreme density of the oak scrub and sometimes 

of the juniper. Forest cover was referred to as "dense to 

scattered," indicating a patchy landscape, with clusters 

of trees typical of open ponderosa pine forest (Covington 

52 

Post-settlement (20th century) 

Higher and mid-elevations are covered with continuous mixed conifer forest 

that is young, dense, and dominated by PSME and ABCO. Dense oak understory occurs at all elevations. Grass cover under scrub and forest is much 

reduced at lower elevations. PSME and ABCO saplings are common under 

a canopy of old PIPO. At lower elevations, PIED-JUDE is very dense and is 

mostly young regeneration following cutting for firewood and fence posts. 

Erosion in valleys due to overgrazing. 

Many water storage tanks created for livestock. 

Complete fire suppression after 1907, allowing only rare, intense crown fires 

under extreme conditions. The Spring fire, 1974, human-caused, burned 

over 15,000 ac in lower mixed conifer. 

Outbreaks of defoliators and bark beetles during the 1950s that were treated 

with aerial spraying. 

At higher and mid-elevations, mixed conifer forest dominated by PSME and 

ABCO forms continuous forest, dense and mostly less than 100 years old, 

with dense ABCO regeneration. Lower elevations are covered by continuous young PIED-JUDE, with reduced dominance by PIPO. Oak is more continuous now. Small patches of PIEN persist at highest elevations, embedded in ABCO types. 

There is relatively little development in this division except for the small towns of 

Sacramento and Weed. There was extensive clearcut logging in mixed conifer 

forests, 1920-1942, and extensive cutting of PIED and JUDE for fenceposts, 

1880-1920. Considerable and locally intense grazing by cattle and goats at 

lower elevations occurred 1880-1940s. Lighter cattle grazing continues. 

and Moore 1994). The lower elevations were described as 

rocky, except for small patches of "very desirable land" 

in Bluewater Canyon, where a stream of "considerable 

size" ran but sank in the eastern portion of the division. 

Settlement was concentrated along this stream where grass 

was described as "generally very good." 

The 1909 range assessment (Kerr 1909) found that the 

cattle range in the Aqua Chiquita and Bluewater drainages was overgrazed and in poor condition. In many cases 

the stock tanks were too small, and not enough water was 

available for the animals on the land year around. The 

USDA Forest Service Gen. Tech. Rep. RMRS-GTR-19. 1998 
range around Pifton was in better condition, but water 

was too scarce. The goat ranges in the area were also 

"closely grazed." None of the allotments described in the 

1946 Range Management Plan fell into this division; much 

of it may have still been private land at that time. 

Present Conditions 

The Spring fire in April 1974 burned 6142 ha (15,354 

ac) in 3 days, despite suppression efforts. A child playing 

with matches started the fire on private land, and it destroyed the villages of Sacramento and Weed, causing 

millions of dollars worth of damage. The intense crown 

fire was driven by extreme w~nds during a very dry period and burned through ponderosa pine and mixed conifer forests. Forest regeneration has been slow and spotty 

following the Spring fire; much of the area is still covered 

by oak brush. The higher elevations of this division are 

somewhat east of the summit and are covered with mixed 

conifer forests of the white fir·habitat type series, primarily the white fir / gambel oak type. Douglas-fir/oak forests are found on drier sites. There is more area of true 

ponderosa pinel oak forest in this division than elsewhere 

on the forest. The pine types grade into large areas of pinyon-juniper / oak woodland as the range slopes gradually 

to the east. 

Sacramento River 

This division includes the southern half of the west 

escarpment, extending south from Dog Canyon to the 

southern boundary of the Lincoln National Forest with 

the McGregor Military Range, and southeast from the 

summit of the Sacramentos to the eastern Forest boundary (Fig. 19). It includes the settlement of Timberon and 

the headquarters of the Circle Cross Ranch but is otherwise sparsely developed and includes a large inholding 

of private land. Two high-elevation fire history sites 

(Monument Canyon and Monument Canyon Upper in 

Table 8; Huckaby and Brown 1995), three low-elevation 

fire history sites (Wilkinson 1997), three old-growth sites 

(Monument Canyon, Pine Spring, and Scott Able Canyon; 

Regan 1997), and one packrat midden site (Wild Boy Canyon, Van Devendever et al. 1984) are located in this area. 

Historic Conditions 

General Land Office survey notes from 1885 described 

the upper elevations of this division as covered with heavy 

ponderosa pine timber. The very highest elevations also 

had heavy "spruce" timber (probably white fir, but there 

is also Engelmann spruce in the upper reaches of Scott 

USDA Forest Service Gen. Tech. Rep. RMRS-GTR-19. 1998 

Able Canyon). In some areas, the pine was mixed with 

juniper (species not specified), and dense oak scrub in the 

understory was common. Some of the oaks and junipers 

were large enough to be described as "timber." Patches of 

aspen were noted among the pines. "Spruce" seems to 

have been scattered even in areas that were primarily 

dominated by pines, probably indicating forests of the 

white fir/oak habitat type series (Alexander et al. 1984). 

Grassy openings of some size, described as "parks," occurred occasionally. As elevation dropped off quickly to 

the west, the "sp~uce" (white fir) dropped out, and "fir 

timber" (Douglas-fir) became common among the pines 

and aspen stands. The trees became more scattered and 

patches of oak br~sh more dense (Table 7). 

The rest of the survey occurred in 1905 and 1908 and 

by this time passed through cultivated fields nestled in 

valleys between slopes covered by scattered ponderosa 

pine and Douglas-fir, with dense under stories of scrub 

oak. Farther west, larger oaks and aspen thickets were 

interspersed with ponderosa pine and Douglas-fir timber 

and occasional junipers. As elevation dropped off quickly 

to the west, pinyon and juniper were mixed with pine and 

Douglas-fir. Surveyors noted maple and box-elder in intermittent riparian areas and canyons. Aspen was a common component of the coniferous overstory and formed 

thickets or groves of larger trees. Locust was patchy, and 

dense oak scrub occupied openings. 

Lower elevations in the southern half of the division 

were described in 1885 as covered with scattered pinyon 

and juniper timber, with a dense oak shrub layer. At higher 

elevations, the surveyors abruptly entered heavy ponderosa pine, which was interspersed with "spruce" (Douglas-fir or white fir). Dense oak scrub understory was continuous into higher elevations. Along the southern boundary of the Forest, in 1908, surveyors found scattered ponderosa pine, pinyon, juniper, and "cedar," without much 

oak scrub. 

In general, forest cover of mixed ponderosa pine and 

Douglas-fir became more open and patchy with decreasing elevation. Openings supported dense oak scrub, and 

aspen was a frequent forest component, indicating a very 

patchy, frequently disturbed landscape. The understory 

appears to have been highly variable in composition, perhaps reflecting the differences in moisture regimes between canyon bottom, wall, and intervening ridges. 

Agriculture was concentrated at middle elevations. 

Many of the settlers had occupied and improved land in 

the canyons but had not yet filed claims on them. Gentle 

hillsides and canyon bottoms were described as having 

rich loam soil that could be farmed without irrigation. As 

of 1908, a few settlers farmed in the southern Sacramentos, 

using irrigation from the Sacramento River, which sank 

before it left the mountains. Scattered farming settlements 

were concentrated in the Pifton creek watershed. The principal crops were corn, beans, and cane which was raised 

for hay. The lower elevations, with their dense shrub cover, 

were considered good pasture for goats, which were 

53 
grazed there in large numbers until the 1940s (Hawthorne 

1980). Most people did not rely on farming for their sole 

income, however; in 1915, Ranger Anderson estimated that 

favorable seasons for farming occurred in only about one 

of five years (Anderson 1915). 

Despite the density of the shrubby understory, General Land Office Survey notes stated that the" entire township is covered with a luxuriant growth of grass. Almost 

the entire township is covered with heavy timber of pine 

and fir of very good quality." This would seem to indicate grassy understories in forests, even under oak scrub. 

In 1905, the surveyor noted that a "large body of land, 

composing the best of the timber, has been secured by an 

Alamogordo Lumber Company." 

Table 7. Historic and present conditions for the Sacramento River division. See Table 3 for species acronyms. 

Sacramento River 

Vegetation 

Pre-settlement 

High elevqtion forests were composed of heavy PIPO 

timber, with areas of mostly pure PSME, though PSME 

and PIPO shared dominance along the crest, probably in PSME/QUGA communities, with occasional 

grassy openings. To the west, descending steeply from 

the crest, PSME dropped out, ABCO occurred with 

PIPO. Trees became more scattered at lower elevations and oak brush more dense. POTR thickets were 

common at higher elevations, and POTR was a common canopy component at lower elevations. PIEDJUDE wa~ mixed with PIPO and PSME at lower elevations, with dense oak understory and oak in openings. 

Grass grew under the shrub layer at all elevations. The 

south end of the range was covered by scattered PI EDJUDE with a dense oak shrub layer, which became 

less dense farther south. 

Post-settlement (20th century) 

Vegetation zones are compressed on the steep west escarpment; canyon 

effect allows walnut and cottonwood in canyons, which are depleted with 

water diversion. This division is drier than the north part of the west escarpment, so desert scrub ascends to higher elevations. Lower elevations are 

covered by dry PIED-JUDE woodland with a dense oak understory, and oak 

scrub fills openings. The grass component is gone. PIPO intergrades with 

PIED-JUDE below and mixed conifer immediately above. Most of the mixed 

conifer forests are of the drier PSME/QUGA types on the west side of the 

summit; ABCO types and scattered PIEN are found near the summit. Mixed 

conifer at higher elevations is mostly dense, young forest less than 100 Y old, 

second growth after logging. POTR is reduced by conifer encroachment. 

Ecosystem processes Soil: Rich loam in shallow canyon bottoms and on less Extreme erosion, especially along the western Forest boundary; agriculture 

Landscape structure 

Human land use 

54 

steep slopes. in canyons. 

Water. Few springs in the Sacramento River drainage; 

the river sank before reaching the desert. 

Fire: Frequent, low-intensity surface fire with patchy 

crown fire. Monument Canyon mixed conifer site 

showed a variable frequency - more frequent (6.2 y 

MFI) before 1810, more typical of mesic mixed conifer 

(11.4 y MFI) after that date. Pine Spring mixed conifer 

MFI=10 y; Pine Spring PIPO=7 y MFI; Pine Spring 

PIED-JUDE=28y MFI. 

Insects: no notes 

Disease: no notes 

Windthrow. periodic windthrow along the crest and 

canyon walls. 

Very heterogeneous forest with patchy distribution, 

especially on the west side. Old-growth mixed conifer 

was probably extensive in most canyons and near the 

crest. Patches of dense trees were interspersed with 

oak-filled openings. Many openings in the canopy were 

created by localized crown fires, and filled in with aspen at mid-elevations and oak scrub at lower elevations. Species were very mixed at most elevations, with 

local variation in dominance. Mid-elevation dominance 

was shared by PIPO and PSME. Old PI EN was local 

near the summit. PIED-JUDE was open and scattered 

at low elevations. Grass layer continuous under oak 

scrub at mid- and low elevations. 

Apaches used the canyon seasonally, with its semipermanent water supply; evidence of peeled trees exists in canyons. Pre-1400 farming occurred in a few 

canyons, and there is evidence of temporary hunting 

and gathering camps spanning many centuries. 

Sacramento River diverted early in the century for the railroad and for irrigation; sinks before it reaches the foothills. 

By 1915, a ranger estimated that 90% of the Sacramento River drainage 

had burned in human-caused wildfires following logging. Overgrazing and 

complete fire suppression since 1907 disrupted the surface fire regime; a 

few intense, extensive crown fires that escaped control have burned in the 

second half of the century. 

Defoliating moth in PSME and ABCO in 1924. 

Exotic white pine blister rust in high-elevation mixed conifer after 1990. 

Big windthrow event in 1923, possibly exacerbated by logging edge effects. 

There are a few scattered old trees present in inaccessible areas along the 

summit; very little old growth. Mixed conifer at high elevations is uniformly 

dense, young second growth following logging, with rare isolated patches of 

old growth and increased dominance by ABCO and PSME. Regeneration of 

ABCO and PSME is dense in the understory of mixed conifer at all elevations. PIED-JUDE is filling in, and is now dense and continuous; PIPO-dominated forest rare. Large openings caused by intense fires are covered by 

dense oak scrub. The grass component at all elevations has been eliminated by grazing and erosion. POTR is much reduced. 

Very heavy grazing by cattle and goats in the first half of the 20th century; 

less intense grazing continues. Large ranches exist but there is otherwise 

little development. Agriculture in the canyons at mid-elevations early in the 

century, irrigated with water diverted from the river. Extensive clearcut logging at higher elevations before 1950. 

USDA Forest Service Gen. Tech. Rep. RMRS-GTR-19. 1998 
John Kerr devoted the better part of a week of his 1909 

range survey to this area. Much of the land east of the 

Sacramento River was either part of Oliver Lee's ranch or 

was used by him. In general, the land was overgrazed 

and overstocked, though developments had been made 

along the Sacramento River to provide adequate water 

for the stock. Range at the head of the river on Fairchild's 

ranch was also in poor condition. Kerr did not describe 

any forest vegetation from this area. Some places were 

spared overgrazing by the lack of available water for stock. 

Ranger Anderson noted in 1915 that in the Sacramento 

River drainage, where springs were scarce, there was good 

grass except right along the rive.r, and even the overgrazed 

area had improved considerably in the seven years since 

its administration by the Fores~ Service (Anderson 1915). 

Forest Service records noted an infestation of spruce and 

fir trees (white fir and Douglas-fir) by a defoliating moth 

during the fall of 1924 in the Sacramento River watershed. 

South- and west-facing slopes were affected; north-facing slopes were not (US Forest' Service 1918-1952). 

By 1946, there were many grazing allotments on Forest 

Service land in the area. At low elevations along the western Forest boundary, in some of the driest and roughest 

parts of the forest, erosion was extreme (US Forest Service 1946). The primary vegetation was a great variety of 

grasses and shrubs, but the range condition was rated fair 

to poor. Perennial grasses died from root exposure, and 

palatable shrubs were severely hedged. Many deer were 

concentrated in the area, which exacerbated damage to 

the shrubs. At the head of the Sacramento River, near 

McAfee Canyon and for some distance both east and west 

of the river, the land had been acquired by the Forest Service in 1940 and had been severely disturbed by overgrazing, clearcut logging, repeated fires, insect outbreaks, and 

a massive blow-down in 1923. 

Between 2554 and 2985 m (8300 and 9700 ft) elevation, 

the natural vegetation in 1946 was mixed conifer forest 

interspersed with aspen, with ponderosa pine on southfacing slopes. Grasses were dominant on flats and in canyon bottoms, and bunchgrasses were in good condition 

on ridges. Despite past abuses, erosion was minimal except on steep slopes, and vegetation was recovering well. 

Livestock were concentrated in the grassy canyon bottoms, 

where they caused some damage, and large numbers of 

deer damaged browse shrubs. Once again, greater abundance of water at higher elevations speeded recovery of 

vegetation. 

In the vicinity of Scott Able Canyon, Bridge Canyon, 

and Appletree Canyon, between 2308 and 2769 m (7500 

and 9000 ft) elevation, ponderosa pine dominated forest 

cover, with mixed conifer forest on north-facing slopes. 

Tree reproduction was recorded as dense over large areas. Stringers of bluegrass were found on open flats along 

the Sacramento River and in the canyon bottoms, though 

grasses were not common under forest. Brush was scatUSDA Forest Service Gen. Tech. Rep. RMRS-GTR-19. 1998 

tered and infrequent. The grasses and more palatable 

shrubs were not vigorous, and erosion was accelerating. 

Willows were noted as absent from the permanent stream 

banks except where they had been planted in exclosures. 

The range was rated fair and overused. 

The summit, the present location of the Sunspot solar 

observatory, was covered with mixed conifer forest, with 

aspen occupying old burns and ponderosa pine on southfacing slopes. Douglas-fir and aspen reproduction were 

plentiful, despite browsing. A large open area on the western slope was covered with dense brush. Much of the area 

had been logged, partly under Forest Service administration, but considerable damage had been done by poor log- I 

ging practices. The area was part of the massive blow down 

in 1923. Canyon bottoms supported grasses and forbs, and 

brush was scattered. Erosion damage was considerable 

and continued at a more moderate rate than in the past. 

The range was rated as fair and was considered overused 

(US Forest Service 1946). 

Present Conditions 

As with the northern part of the west escarpment, the 

vegetation zones in this division are compressed by the 

steepness of the relief. This part of the west escarpment is 

somewhat drier than the northern part, since most of the 

canyons face southwest into the strongest drying winds. 

Desert scrub ascends to higher elevations here than farther north. The lower portions of the division are covered 

by dry pinyon-juniper woodland that has experienced 

severe overgrazing and much erosion. The grass component of the understory is very sparse. The canyon effect is 

in evidence here, with ponderosa pine and elements of 

mixed conifer forest occurring in cooler, moister canyon 

bottoms below their usual elevationallimits. Walnut and 

cottonwood are present in the lower reaches of betterwatered canyons. The Sacramento River is diverted for 

irrigation at higher elevations and sinks underground long 

before it reaches the foothills. Much of the lower canyon 

is still privately owned. 

The ponderosa pine-dominated zone is much compressed, intergrading with pinyon-juniper below and 

mixed conifer above. On the west side of the summit, most 

of the mixed conifer forests are of the drier Douglas-fir 

habitat type series (Alexander et al. 1984). A few old stands 

are found on inaccessible sites near the summit. Near the 

summit and immediately to the east, forests of white fir 

habitat types form a nearly continuous, dense cover of 

young trees less than 100 years 'old. At the highest elevations, white fir / maple and white fir / forb types are found, 

but the common habitat type is white fir / gambel oak, with 

a strong Douglas-fir component. Small, scattered stands 

of Engelmann spruce occur on cool, wet sites (Alexander 

et al. 1984). 

55 
Riparian Areas 

Historic Conditions 

Most of the canyons in the Sacramento Mountains are 

intermittent watercourses that carry above-ground flows 

of water only during the rainy season in mid-late summer, or that flow for a short distance from a spring, then 

sink back underground again. This aspect of the Sacramento Mountains does not seem to have changed since 

the time of the General Land Office surveys in the 1880s 

and 1890s. One of the earJy reasons for establishing the 

Alamo National Forest (and later the Lincoln NF) was for 

watershed protection (Kent and Reynolds 1906, Reynolds 

1909). It was recognized even at the turn of the century 

that water captured as snow and rain in the Sacramento 

Mountains flowed underground to supply the aquifer 

beneath the Pecos valley to the east. During the period in 

which the National Forest boundaries were being defined, 

eliminations of land were proposed based on the premise 

that because there were few perennial streams, the land 

had no watershed value. However, by 1915, Forest Service officials and others had realized that underground 

flows, fed by the sinking of intermittent streams, were in 

fact part of the Pecos River drainage. This was an argument for the retention of lands by the Forest Service for 

their watershed value, which was a source of debate 

(Anderson 1915). 

Riparian vegetation was not often specifically mentioned in the General Land Office surveys, though the 

survey lines crossed most of the major canyons and many 

minor ones. At low elevations in the canyons on the west 

side of the escarpment, the surveys mentioned cottonwood and walnut trees in some of the cool canyon bottoms. These deciduous trees were not recorded in the shallower canyons on the east side, nor was any particularly 

different vegetation recorded in the shallow canyons at 

higher elevations. Most of the comments about the canyons involved observations of their relative flatness and 

the deep, fertile soils found there, which made the canyons the only areas suitable for agriculture in the mountains. Most of the canyons were probably covered then, 

as now, with grass, which also made them attractive for 

summer grazing. Shrub cover was usually mentioned 

when it occurred, but none was recorded for high-elevation riparian areas except for a few notes of willows in the 

vicinity of the Rio Penasco. 

It is not known what combination of conditions maintained these seasonal watercourses as grassy openings. 

Frequent fires and periodic floods may have contributed 

to the lack of tree or shrub cover, but the inability of most 

trees to compete with grasses on deep soils may also have 

been a factor. The lack of trees and shrubs meant that the 

canyons did not need to be cleared for cultivation, another 

56 

reason why they were exploited for this purpose fairly 

early in the settlement of the mountain range. However, 

lack of perennial water for irrigation limited agriculture 

and prompted settlers to build "tanks" to trap water for 

use in the dry season. 

It is likely that most of these canyons flooded periodically, especially in high precipitation years, but nothing is 

known about historic flood regimes in the Sacramentos. 

Flash floods following heavy monsoon rains are common 

today and may cause considerable erosion damage. 

Though there ,have been climatically induced periods of 

arroyo cutting in the Southwest since prehistoric times 

(Dahms and Geils 1997), severe gullying in intermittent 

watercourses lin the Sacramentos has become apparent 

following intensive human land use. This sort of erosion 

began with the onset of heavy grazing pressure at the end 

of the 19th century, which eliminated stabilizing grass 

cover in the seasonal watercourses. However, natural environmental changes may have contributed to the phenomenon. Livestock concentrated around water sources 

have caused much damage by trampling. Clearcut logging has also altered interception of precipitation, allowing more water to run off downhill. Elimination of cover 

on hillsides has contributed to considerable erosion following logging and heavy grazing (Reynolds 1909). Roads 

in canyon bottoms have also contributed considerably to 

erosion. 

Historically, the Sacramento River flowed only during 

and immediately following wet seasons, and the water 

spread out and sank in Township 21 South, Range 14 East. 

Most of this flow was diverted into reservoirs feeding 

pipelines that diverted water out of the watershed, the 

largest of which belonged to the El Paso and Southwestern Railroad Company (Anderson 1915). Pinon Creek sank 

before it reached confluence with the Sacramento River. 

Small reservoirs for stock watering were built all over the 

Sacramentos; some were fed by springs, while many were 

filled by seasonal rainfall. Large cattle operators controlled 

much of the water on the southwest part of the mountain 

range (Smith 1907a). 

Springs and seasonal lakes and marshes such as Sacramento Lake in the Sacramento River canyon are among 

the few places where true "riparian" vegetation is found. 

Such vegetation is mostly herbaceous in character and is 

capable of persisting through periods of drying out. These 

wet places may have persisted longer into the growing 

season before water was drawn off for irrigation. 

The scarcity of perennial streams in the Sacramentos 

limits available habitat for fishes in the mountain range. 

The Rio Grande cutthroat trout (Oncorhynchus clarki 

virginalis) is native to high-elevation streams in the drainage of the Pecos River (Sublette et al. 1990), most of which 

are in the White Mountains (specifically, Indian Creek and 

Bonito Lake). The Rio Grande cutthroat readily hybridizes with exotic salmonids, which have been introduced 

for recreational fishing. Most streams in which it occurs 

have been affected by overgrazing and by altered stream 

USDA Forest Service Gen. Tech. Rep. RMRS-GTR-19. 1998 
nutrient, sediment load, and flow regimes. Rio Grande 

cutthroat broodstock is being developed at the Mescalero 

National Fish Hatchery. 

Rio Penasco 

The Rio Penasco is the only perennial stream in the 

Sacramentos that does not sink before leaving the mountains. It is a major tributary of the Pecos River to the east 

(Smith 1907b). Much of the land immediately adjacent to 

the river and within the canyon is privately owned, while 

most of the watershed is administered by the Forest Service. Flooding, gullying, and erosion have been a problem along the river during the.20th century. Floodwater 

damage occurs almost annually, but destructive floods 

were recorded in 1941, 1951, 1954, and 1955 (Otero Soil 

Conservation District 1957). Most damaging floods occur 

in the lower reaches of the watershed, usually as the result 

of intense thunderstorms from Ji.lly through September. 

Riparian areas in the Sacramentos, as elsewhere in New 

Mexico, have received intensive human use over the last 

century. Losses of riparian land and reductions in productivity may exceed 50 percent since European-American settlement (Wood and LaFayette 1993). Removal of 

beaver, overgrazing by livestock, logging, construction of 

roads and agriculture in riparian areas, diversion of water for irrigation, and modification of channels have altered riparian areas, sometimes irreparably (Dahms and 

Geils 1997). 

Present Conditions 

Intermittent watercourses and canyons have been 

among the most heavily grazed areas in the Sacramento 

Mountains, especially at higher elevations. Livestock 

eliminated palatable species quickly and introduced exotic species, especially around springs. Exotic thistles 

(Carduus nutans and Dipsacus sylvestris) now occupy the 

same habitat as the endemic Mescalero thistle (Cirsium 

vinaceum) around springs and seeps, threatening to take 

over its habitat (Lee-Chad de and Huenneke 1997). Grazing has eliminated grasses that provided fuel for surface 

fires and stabilized soils during periods of water flow. 

Trampling around water sources has increased erosion. 

Many springs are now fenced to keep livestock away from 

the water source. 

Diversion of water for irrigation and storage and construction of flood control structures have changed the 

hydrologic cycles on perennial and intermittent streams. 

Shortly after the period of intensive logging, surface runoff increased dramatically; now, with dense regeneration 

and more trees than existed in the pre-settlement forest, it 

is likely that evapotranspiration of water by the trees has 

reduced the availability of surface water and may have 

lowered the water table (Dahms and Geils 1997). 

USDA Forest Service Gen. Tech. Rep. RMRS-GTR-19. 1998 

Streamflow has generally been reduced, and patterns of 

erosion and deposition have changed. Where flood control structures have been built, floods are less frequent 

but more intense when they occur, causing more severe 

erosion and less deposition of sediment. Sediment deposited by natural floods created seedbeds for willows and 

cottonwoods, which are now reduced in their regeneration. When floods cut deep channels through alluvial soils 

in wet meadows, the water flows through more quickly, 

lowering the water table and draining hydric soils. 

Canyons and watercourses are the locations of most of 

the development in the Sacramento Mountains. The canyon of the Rio Pen'ilsco has been cultivated since the 1100s 

and continues to be farmed, as is the Rio Fresnal canyon. 

Because the canyons are sites of intensive occupation and 

travel corridors, they are the areas most susceptible to invasion by exotic species. 

Historic Disturbance Regimes 

The most common historic disturbances for which we 

have evidence in the Sacramento Mountains are fire, insect outbreaks, wind throw (often following insect kills), 

floods, and droughts. Changes in disturbance regimes due 

to human land use have precipitated some of the most 

apparent changes in Sacramento Mountains forests. Before Anglo-American settlement, forests were more patchy 

in age and size structure than they are at present and more 

strongly dominated by ponderosa pine. Within this heterogeneous landscape, disturbances were variable in intensity but generally their intensity was moderated, and 

they were usually local in extent, perpetuating the patchy 

nature of the forests. Disturbance regimes (timing, intensity, and extent of disturbance) often have interactive effects; for example, bark beetle attacks often follow 

drought, and mistletoe-infested trees are more susceptible 

to fire. 

Some historic disturbances are easier to document than 

others. Disturbances that are discrete events usually leave 

more traces. Because fire leaves its mark on individual 

trees in the form of basal scars and on the landscape 

through forest age structure, reconstructing fire history is 

easier than reconstructing past incidence of dwarf mistletoe infestation and other diseases that leave less clear evidence. For disturbances such as insect outbreaks and 

floods, we must rely more heavily on human-kept records, 

most of which post-date settlement. It is also easier to 

document individual events than to reconstruct historic 

patterns of disturbance. We include some 20th century 

data on fire and insect outbreaks for comparison with the 

historic data. These data are not complete, but serve to 

illustrate changes that have occurred under post-settlement land use. 

57 
Climate 

Past climates have been reconstructed for the Southwest using tree-ring analysis (D' Arrigo and Jacoby 1991, 

Swetnam and Baisan 1996). In past centuries, as in the 20th 

century, climate was variable from year to year and on 

decadal scales. Periods of drought, from a few years to a 

decade long, were common, often followed by periods of 

wetter than average weather. The most severe drought 

recorded by tree rings in New Mexico was in the late 1500s 

from about 1577 to 1598, followed by a wet period in the 

early 1600s (D' Arrigo and Jacoby 1991). Other periods of 

drought in the pre-settlement era include 1217-1226 and 

1778-1787. Some of the wettest years during the pre-settlement period, in order of magnitude, include 1835-1849, 

1429-1440, 1609-1623, and 1487-1498. 

Most of the trees dated in the Sacramento Mountains, 

both living and dead, established after the late 1500s 

drought. Very few trees in the Sacramento Mountains germinated before 1600, and }nost of the oldest trees date to 

the early 1600s (Huckaby and Brown 1995, Regan 1997). 

The oldest trees sampled in the"Sacramentos date to the 

late 1500s (Regan 1997). There is a marked increase in trees 

having innermost ring dates from the early 1600s throughout the Southwest, especially among Douglas-fir and pinyon pine (Swetnam and Brown 1992). Studies of old trees 

throughout the Southwest indicate that fewer trees established in or survived from the late 1500s than from subsequent periods. Trees more than 400 years old are rare in 

the Southwest, and this is true of the Sacramento Mountains. (Huckaby and Brown 1995, Regan 1997). This is due 

in part to the maximum lifespans of the species and to the 

frequency of disturbance in the Southwest. 

The most important restricting factor for vegetation 

distribution in the Sacramento Mountains is moisture. One 

of the major influences on climate and especially precipitation in the Southwest is the EI Nino-Southern Oscillation (ENSO), which are global-scale climatic events that 

occur at intervals of 2 to 10 years at variable intensities. EI 

Nino conditions occur when weak tradewinds and high 

sea-surface temperatures off the west coast of the Americas in mid-winter (hence the name, EI Nino, for the Christ 

Child), cause wetter than average spring and fall seasons 

in the Southwest by displacing the jet stream to the south. 

The Southern Oscillation is measured as normalized differences in monthly mean pressure anomalies between 

Tahiti and Darwin, Australia. Both are linked to a complex of ocean currents, ocean temperatures, and atmospheric pressure and temperature gradients (D' Arrigo and 

Jacoby 1991, Swetnam 1990, Swetnam and Betancourt 

1990). Strong ENSO years are usually wet years of low fire 

activity, though weak ENSO events may merely increase 

thunderstorm activity and therefore lightning ignitions. 

Two of the most severe droughts in the last 1000 years 

of climate as reconstructed from tree rings in the Southwest have occurred in the last 100 years. The most abrupt 

shift from drought to high precipitation occurred follow58 

ing the 1890s drought (D' Arrigo and Jacoby 1991). Sudden and severe drought in the early 1890s caused the nearcollapse of the cattle industry in the Sacramentos. Drought 

continued intermittently through the early 1900s, until the 

mid-teens; 1904 was a notable year. Drought also occurred 

in the mid-1920s, precipitating severe insect outbreaks. 

Several years of drought occurred in the early to mid1930s. The most severe drought recorded since the 1580s 

occurred in the 1950s. Drought rarely kills trees outright; 

drought casualties usually result from drought-stressed 

trees succumbing to insect attacks or fire, but the droughts 

of the 1580s and the 1950s killed trees through water stress. 

Dry periody followed by torrential monsoon rains cause 

localized flash flooding most years. Some events are particularly noteworthy, such as the Fresnal Canyon flood of 

1899 following an intense thunderstorm at the top of the 

canyon. 

Native American Influences 

The only extant record of the exact location of the 

Apaches at any specific time are trees scarred by the 

Apaches when they peeled away the bark to get to the 

cambium, which they used as food when little else was 

available or to obtain pitch or sap for various purposes. 

Peeled trees indicate periods of Apache activity near Dog 

Canyon around 1799-1800, 1823-1824, and 1877-1878. 

Peelings were nearly annual from 1833 to 1865. No peel 

scars have been found in the Dog Canyon area that date 

to any time after 1878, when the Apaches were relocated 

to the reservation. At times, the Apaches appear to have 

increased fire frequency above the natural period in the 

vicinity of peeled trees (Wilkinson 1997). Contemporary 

reports give evidence that the Apaches deliberately set 

fires for hunting and warfare; how often this occurred and 

how it influenced the fire regime in the Sacramento Mountains is unknown, but given the fuel conditions and frequency of lightning ignitions, it is not likely that the 

Apaches increased the overall fire frequency in the 

Sacramentos. However, if they repeatedly burned favorite hunting grounds or travel corridors, they may have 

kept vegetation in those locations in an early successional 

state, and they may have started fires in the fall and winter when lightning ignitions are unlikely to occur 

(Wilkinson 1997). 

After 1600, the Apaches kept horses and cattle in the 

mountains, but we do not know how many or where at 

any given time. The Apaches moved often enough that 

their stock may not have had much effect on the ecosystems of the Sacramento Mountains. The Apaches hunted 

wild game and gathered wild plants for food; these activities no doubt had local effects, and the fact that they 

often needed to supplement their income by raiding indicates that game may not always have been plentiful. Game 

abundance was in part dependent on the quality of the 

vegetation and the amount and timing of moisture, but 

USDA Forest Service Gen. Tech. Rep. RMRS-GTR-19. 1998 
overhunting by the Apaches may have been a factor for 

some species. Their staple food animals were mule deer 

and pronghorn and small game such as rabbits. They apparently did not use fish as food. In general, however, the 

Apaches were never very numerous and moved often. 

Consequently, their effects on the disturbance regimes of 

the Sacramento Mountains were probably not great, and 

these effects have been obscured by subsequent disturbances. 

Fire 

Probably the most frequent-and defining natural disturbance in the Sacramento Mountains has been fire. The 

frequency of fire in the pre-settlement Sacramento Mountains varied with elevation, vegetation type, and climate, 

but in general, the fire regime was one of frequent, lowintensity surface fires, interspersed periodically in space 

and time with stand-replacing crown fires. The grassy 

forest understories reported by early sources probably 

served as fast-burning fuel for "the surface fires, which retarded tree regeneration without killing overs tory trees. 

In general, fires were more frequent at lower elevations 

and in drier vegetation types. 

Fire records kept by the Lincoln National Forest from 

1969 to 1994 (Fig. 20 a, b) show that about 60 percent of 

fires started on the Sacramento District (594 out of 999 for 

the combined Cloudcroft and Mayhill Districts) during 

that period were lightning ignitions. Of all the lightning 

ignitions over those 25 years, 60 percent occurred in the 

dry period from April to June; 28 percent occurred during the monsoon from July to September. Some 40 percent of all fires from 1969 to 1994 were human-caused, 

and most of these ignitions occurred in the fall and winter. Most fires were successfully suppressed before they 

burned more than one acre; only 4 percent of fires during 

the period exceeded 4 ha (10 ac) in size. 

When trees survive a surface fire, they may be scarred 

when the cambium is scorched without girdling the tree. 

Once a tree has been scarred by fire, it is more susceptible 

to bei~g scarred again because of flammable resin and 

dead wood around the wound. Because trees add a ring 

of growth every year and these rings can be assigned calendar dates through the dendrochronological technique 

of crossdating ring width patterns, fire scars can be dated 

by locating the annual ring in which the scar occurs (Stokes 

and Smiley 1968, Swetnam 1990). It is sometimes possible 

to determine when during the year a tree was scarred by 

the position of the scar within the annual growth ring. 

Not every tree records every fire that occurs in an area; 

one tree may record most of the fires that burn during its 

lifetime, while an adjacent tree may be completely 

unscarred. Some species are better recorders than others. 

In the Sacramentos, ponderosa pine is the best recorder 

of fires, because its thick bark allows it to survive most 

surface fires. Southwestern white pine also records fires, 

though it is not as resistant to fire as ponderosa pine. 

USDA Forest Service Gen. Tech. Rep. RMRS-GTR-19. 1998 

Douglas-fir also scars, but not as easily. White fir and aspen 

are usually killed by surface fire and are not good recorders. 

Fire-scarred trees are scattered across the landscape like 

archaeological ruins. Often stumps, snags, and downed 

logs can be used to extend the fire scar record back in time, 

and in the young forests of the Sacramentos, fire-scarred 

stumps of trees cut early in the 20th century are the best 

source of historic fire information. However, remnant 

wood rots or burns within decades in the Sacramentos, 

and this resource is quickly disappearing. The presence 

of fire scars on pines was noted in a 1927 report (Strickland 

1927), which stated that as many as 90 percent of southwestern white pin1es and most of the ponderosa pines on 

the east side were fire-scarred. For a fire history study, 

multiple fire-scarred samples are collected at each site, and 

when the fire scars have been dated, the average period 

of time between all recorded fires is computed as the mean 

fire interval (MFI). This statistic allows comparison of the 

relative frequency of fire over time and between sites. 

Huckaby and Brown (1995) and Wilkinson (1997; 

Brown et al. 1998) reconstructed fire frequency using 

dendrochronological methods at 19 sites in the Sacramento 

Mountains. The sites were distributed along elevational 

and ecological gradients to include west-side pinyon-juniper, ponderosa pine, and mixed conifer;' mesic mixed 

conifer along the crest; and drier mixed conifer forest grading into ponderosa pine on the east side (Fig. 21; see Fig. 

5b for gradients). Wilkinson's (1997) study sites were located in the ponderosa pine and lower mixed conifer zones 

at 8 sites along the western escarpment, from Alamo Canyon south to Pine Spring Canyon (CHR, USA, SAC, MCR, 

LPS, UPS in Fig. 21). Nearly 70 percent of fire scars 

sampled occurred during the dormant or early growing 

season, the dry period from April to June, before the monsoons begin. About 25 percent of fires occurred in the midgrowing season. Mixed conifer forests were more likely 

to burn during the dormant season, but this may reflect 

the later onset of growth at higher elevations. The timing 

of fires in the spring may be the origin of the old Apache 

belief that smoke and fire bring rain (Cooper 1960). Fire 

scar records in ponderosa pine go back to 1754 and were 

divided into two periods: a period of small, patchy fires 

from the early 1700s to about 1780, and a period of larger, 

less frequent, synchronous fires from about 1800 until 

1886, after which time fires at lower elevations all but 

ceased (Fig. 22). 

Mean fire intervals among ponderosa pine-dominated 

forests were around 4 years (Table 8). From 1686 until 

about 1800, fires in lower mixed conifer forests were small 

and patchy in distribution, scarring a few scattered trees. 

After 1800, fires became more synchronous, scarring many 

trees over a large area, until fires ceased around 1900. The 

last recorded fire was in 1899. The mean fire interval in 

lower mixed conifer forests on the west side was around 

5 years, an interval similar to that found in lower elevation mixed conifer on the east side of the range (Brown et 

al. 1998, Huckaby and Brown 1995). 

59 
CJ) 

a> 

lo.-

'+= 

-0 

lo.-

a> 

..0 

E 

~ 

z 

100 

90 

80 

70 

CJ) 

~ 60 

'+= 

-o 

l0.-

a> 

..n 

E 

~ 

z 

a. 

50 

40 

30 

20 

10 

600 

500 

400 

300 

200 

100 

D 

Lightning-caused 

~ 

Human-caused 

1969 1971 1973 1975 1977 1979 1981 1983 1985 1987 1989 1991 1993 

1 970 1972 1 974 1 976 1 978 1 980 1982 1984 1986 1988 1990 1992 1994 

Year 

D 

Human-caused 

., 

Lightning-caused 

b. 0""*-----

Spring Summer Fall Winter 

Figure 20. a. The number of fires caused by lightning and those caused by human activity, 1969 through 1994. Data from Lincoln 

National Forest database. b. Seasonality of lightning-caused and human-caused fires between 1969 and 1994. Spring 

includes April, May, June; summer includes July, August and September; Fall includes October, November, December; 

Winter includes January, February and March. Data from Lincoln National Forest database. 

60 USDA Forest Service Gen. Tech. Rep. RMRS-GTR-19. 1998 
• FCF • JAM 

x 

New 

• Fire 

History 

Stands 

10 km 

Figure 21. Locations of fire history sites sampled by Huckaby and Brown (1995) and Wilkinson (1997). From Brown et. al. (1998). 

Abbreviations indicate sampling locations defined in Table 8. 

.. .. _ ...... .. " ........ , ..... " .. I .. " .... ...... 

- .. ..... ,_ .. -.. ~~ ... .. ... 

.. .. ". .... _- - !'Y " ....... " ". 1~1r iF .. .. ' hr .. ". .. - ".-" .. .. .. I"...,. , .. ., .. ". ". I, 

~ I". ". 

.. ".- -". I ... "... I~ ". I, , 

.. t...". Ir'_ 

.. .. " .. _ .......... ~ 

~ ~ 

...... .. - ...... .. .. ". .. .. "'~ ... ... .... .... ". "" "-",, "". . ... " ." 19''-'" - h • 1 .... 11' I .. 

.. .. .. - .. . 

". , 

I 

1500 

I 

1550 1600 1650 

" - ". --" ..,. 

N 

~ 

1700 

_. In '''II ''- " r." M' 

co "''''0 en - ""N 10 I'IO"'CO 0 

~~:;~ ~~~~ ~ 

1750 

Year 

I 

1800 

.. ...1. 

.. 

'" OJ .., 10 

""eD Il'lN I'o>CO 10",,,, COlO ao,..... co -~~,.... -~ -~-

1850 1900 

.. 

... 

.. ". 

.. .. .. 

1950 

CHR :E 

SAC ""- LPS -u 

MCR -U 

USA ~ UPS ~ 

o 

SSP 

PSS 

eRO rrl 

WAC ""- DEL ~ PEA 0 

FCF 

MNU 

MON rrl 

JAM ""-

DEH ~ 

2000 

Figure 22. Fire years recorded by scarred trees in the Sacramento Mountains. WIPP designates ponderosa pine sites on the west 

side of the range; WIMC designates westside mixed conifer sites; EIMC designates eastside mixed conifer sites; and EIPP 

designates eastside ponderosa pine sites. From Brown et al. (1998). 

USDA Forest Service Gen. Tech. Rep. RMRS-GTR-19. 1998 61 
Table 8. Fire history sampling sites in the Sacramento Mountains, with vegetation type, analysis period, number of fire scar intervals, 

and mean fire interval (MFI, with standard deviation). Me = mixed conifer, PI PO = ponderosa pine, PJ = pinyon-juniper. From Brown 

etal. (1998). 

Site Acronym Vegetation type 

Cherry Canyon CHR PIPO 

Cosmic Ray Observatory CRO MC 

Delworth Spring DEL MC 

Denny Hill DEH MC 

Fir Campground FCF MC 

James Ridge JAM MC/PIPO 

Lower Escondido Canyon MCR PIPO 

Lower Pine Spring Canyon LPS1 PIPO/PJ 

Lower Pine Spring Canyon LPS2 PIPO/PJ 

Lower San Andres Canyon SAC PIPO 

Monument Canyon MON MC 

Monument Canyon Upper MNU1 MC 

Monument Canyon Upper MNU2 MC 

Peake Canyon PEA MC 

Sunspot SSP MC 

Sunspot Pines PSS MC/PIPO 

Upper San Andres Canyon USA MC/PIPO 

Upper Pine Spring UPS MC/PIPO 

Water Canyon WAC MC 

Fire scars on pinyon pines at low elevations (JOP, PRG 

in Fig. 21) yielded a mean fire interval of 28 years, over 14 

intervals. The fire scars on pinyon pines indicate that not 

all fires in pinyon-juniper woodland are stand-replacing 

crown fires, as has been thought. In general, Wilkinson 

(1997) found that fires were more frequent at low elevations. Fire dates from higher elevations usually coincided 

with fire dates at lower elevations, though it is not possible to determine whether the scars were from the same 

ignition, and not all low-elevation fires also occurred at 

higher elevations. Fires at lower elevations, especially 

those starting in pinyon-juniper woodlands, seem to have 

been localized. 

Huckaby and Brown (1995) reconstructed fire history 

for sites in the mixed conifer forest at high elevations along 

the crest and east slope of the Sacramento Mountains, 

using dendrochronological techniques for dating fire scars 

on living and remnant wood samples (FCF, JAM, PEA, 

DEL, WAC, CRO, PSS, SSP, DEH, MNU, MON in Fig. 21). 

Some of these sites were the same as Regan's (1997) oldgrowth studies (FCF, PEA, WAC, SSp, MON in Fig. 21). Their 

data showed a general decrease in fire frequency with elevation, but even the coolest, wettest sites near the summit 

experienced frequent surface fires (Table 8). 

Drier mixed conifer sites of the Douglas-fir habitat types 

were historically dominated by ponderosa pine and 

showed the highest historic fire frequency for mixed conifer forests (4-8 years; JAM, DEH, MNU, MON, PSS in 

Fig. 21), regardless of topographic position. The Denny 

Hill site, the lowest site on the east side at 2326 m (7560 ft) 

elevation, is located on a north-facing slope that supports 

mixed conifer forest surrounded by ponderosa pine, pinyon-juniper, and oak scrub on other aspects. The James 

Ridge site, at 2554 m (8300 ft) elevation in the middle James 

Canyon, and the Sunspot Pines site, on a south-facing 

62 

Analysis period Number of intervals MFI ± Std. Dev. 

1652-1886 26 9.0 ± 8.3 

1627-1879 21 12.0±12.1 

1601-1879 22 12.6 ± 8.7 

1692-1901 45 4.6 ± 3.1 

1579-1890 34 9.1 ± 4.9 

1736-1876 22 6.4 ± 3.7 

1730-1859 35 3.7 ± 2.8 

1699-1800 39 2.6± 1.8 

1800-1886 13 6.6 ± 2.5 

1742-1886 37 3.9 ± 2.7 

1822-1879 5 11.4 ± 4.6 

1730-1810 13 6.2 ± 3.5 

1810-1879 5 13.8 ± 5.5 

1601-1904 27 11.2 ± 6.5 

1721-1879 14 11.3 ± 7.5 

1780-1896 24 4.8 ± 2.5 

1580-1913 52 6.4 ± 4.9 

1648-1899 61 4.1 ± 2.6 

1702-1879 14 12.6 ± 9.4 

slope at 2831 m (9200 ft) elevation, had similar stand structures and historic fire frequencies. Large, old ponderosa 

pines dominate the canopies, with occasional large Douglas-fir and many Douglas-fir saplings that have established in former openings since fire suppression began. 

At Monument Canyon, two distinctly different fire patterns emerged in a Douglas-fir/oak forest. Samples were 

collected both inside the canyon at 2462 m (8000 ft) and 

along the rim at about 2615 m (8500 ft). Between 1730 and 

1810, fire frequency on the top was similar to the other 

Douglas-fir habitat types, with a mean fire interval of 6.2 

years. After 1810, the fire pattern shifted abruptly to one 

more like those found in white-fir habitat types, with a 

mean fire interval of 13.8 years. Of the samples collected 

in the canyon, none date to before the early 1800s, and the 

mean fire interval there was 11.4 years. A severe crown 

fire or some other disturbance may have changed the 

structure of fuels, or changing Apache activity could have 

affected fire frequency. 

Huckaby and Brown (1995) also sampled forests of 

white fir habitat types at a variety of elevations (FCF, PEA, 

DEL, WAC, SSP, CRO in Fig. 21). The oldest trees and longest fire records occurred in the vicinity of Fir Campground 

north of Cloudcroft, in typical white-fir/oak and white 

fir/maple habitat types. Between 1579 and 1890, trees recorded 34 fires, at a mean interval of 9.1 years. Peake Canyon (2646-2769 m; 8600-9000 ft), Water Canyon (2708 m; 

8800 ft), Delworth Spring (2578-2646 m; 8380-8600 ft), and 

Sunspot (2831 m; 9200 ft), all forests of the white fir types, 

had long fire scar records with similar mean fire frequencies of between 11 and 13 years. Most of these sites recorded a regional, climatically induced gap in fire frequency in the early 1800s. The most recent fire within the 

historic fire regime recorded by any of the sampled trees 

occurred at Peake Canyon in 1904. After that, surface fires 

USDA Forest Service Gen. Tech. Rep. RMRS-GTR-19. 1998 
ceased in the mixed conifer forests of the Sacramentos; at 

most sites, fires ceased in the 1890s. A few trees recorded 

fires at Denny Hill and Monument Canyon in the 20th 

century. 

Differences in fire frequency between ponderosa pinel 

Douglas-fir-dominated habitat types and white fir habitat types may be due to differences in elevation and precipitation but also to site productivity, differing times of 

needle retention among species, fuel build-up rates, and 

fuel moisture (Swetnam and Baisan 1996). Slope, aspect, 

and continuity of habitat over the landscape were also 

important in determining fire regimes, as were past land 

use practices. In less productive ponderosa pine forests, 

the amount of fuel was important to fire spread. In more 

productive mixed conifer forests, amount of fuel was probably rarely limiting to fire occurrence, but its condition 

(dryness) was. Twentieth century land use practices such as 

grazing and fire suppression have altered fuel conditions 

throughout the Southwest (Swetnam and Baisan 1996). 

In general, historic fire fre4uency in the Sacramento 

Mountains was highest on the west escarpment and at 

middle elevations. Surface fire was less frequent in dry, 

less productive pinyon-juniper woodlands and in the 

mesic high-elevation mixed conifer forests than in the 

ponderosa pine-dominated mixed conifer at middle elevations. The two fire history studies did not specifically 

address historic crown fires, but given the historic existence of pure aspen stands and openings filled with oak 

scrub, it would seem that crown fires were localized in 

area and infrequent in occurrence in any given spot. Frequent surface fires controlled the spread of insects, diseases, and mistletoe, and maintained an open stand structure by retarding the establishment of seedlings except 

during unusually long periods without fire. 

Trees in the Sacramento Mountains recorded fires in 

years that are known to have been regional fire years 

(Swetnam and Baisan 1996), such as 1724, 1748, 1752, 1763, 

1773, 1801, 1842, 1847, 1851, and 1879. Such years were 

climatically conducive to fires. They were usually dry 

years following a series of wet years or following a period of low fire frequency, conditions that encouraged fuel 

build-up. Not all drought years were regional fire years, 

nor were all wet years low fire years. Cyclic climate oscillations such as the EI Nino-Southern Oscillation phenomenon probably drove regional fire events by synchronizing fuel production and condition over large areas. Regional synchronous fire years in the Southwest and the 

sizes of areas burned have been linked to periods of high 

Southern Oscillation, which cause low spring precipitation and reduced tree growth (Swetnam and Betancourt 

1990). During regional fire years, fires burned simultaneously over large areas throughout the Southwest. Fire 

frequency dropped off precipitously throughout the 

Southwest after 1900 due to widespread land-use patterns 

(Swetnam and Baisan 1996, Touchan et al. 1995). 

Some early observers were aware that fire had long 

been a part of the forests. Holmes (1906) noted that "fires 

USDA Forest Service Gen. Tech. Rep. RMRS-GTR-19. 1998 

have been of fairly frequent occurrence but of no very great 

extent on these mountains for the last 175 years, and probably since the forests began. Probably started by lightning 

in a very dry season, they have destroyed timber in 

patches. These have gradually grown up to aspen and 

deciduous shrubs and then to conifers." Holmes noted 

many old burns in the mountains, though none of "very 

great extent," and estimated them to make up 10-15 percent of the uncut forest. The most recent of them was estimated to be about 30 years old. Aspen regeneration was 

very dense in burns, and it took about 30-40 years for 

conifers to come up under the aspen. 

Fires following ,logging were very common in the Sacramento Mountains in the early years of the 20th century 

and were very damaging. Most were human-caused; 

many were started by the coal-fired locomotives. Eventually locomotives were converted to use oil as fuel, both to 

save money and to prevent fires. In areas that were not 

grazed due to lack of water, considerable grassy and 

shrubby fuels could develop_ in logged areas, resulting in 

intense, destructive fires that retarded regeneration and 

converted former forest to oak scrub. Holmes (1906) observed that fires in cut-over areas destroyed not only remaining live trees and regeneration, but burned so hot 

that they destroyed organic matter in the soil and retarded 

regeneration for a very long time. Forest Ranger William 

Anderson estimated in 1915 that 90 percent of the steep 

west and south slopes in the Sacramento River drainage 

had experienced stand-replacing fires (Anderson 1915). 

He blamed these fires on lightning and Indians, though it 

seems unlikely that the Apaches, who by that time were 

confined to their Reservation, had much to do with those 

late fires. Anderson noted that in the pockets of ponderosa pine in the Sacramento River drainage, which apparently had once been sparse and open, very dense pine 

regeneration was coming in. The effects of fire suppression had begun. 

In the latter half of the 20th century, extensive surface 

fires have ceased in the Sacramento Mountains. Fires that 

escape suppression occur under extreme conditions and 

burn large areas as intense crown fires. Between 1950 and 

1997, the following large fires have occurred on the Sacramento district: the Allen Canyon fire in May of 1951 

burned 6405 ha (15,820 ac; Fig. 23); the Circle Cross fire in 

April of 1953 burned 10,475 ha (25,874 ac); the Pendleton 

fire in April of 1956 burned 2358 ha (5,825 ac); the Danley 

fire in April of 1967 burned 972 ha (2,400 ac); and the 

Spring fire in April of 1974 burned 6217 ha (15,354 ac). 

The 1980s were an unusually wet period with little fire 

activity. The Burgett fire burned 1732 ha (4277 ac) in 1993, 

and the Bridge fire burned 2010 ha (4964 ac) in 1994. 

Insects 

Tree-rings have been used to reconstruct historic outbreaks of western spruce budworm and other defoliating 

63 
insects. The Sacramento Mountains are the southern limit 

of spruce budworm's geographic range. Douglas-fir and 

white fir are the primary host trees of these defoliators in 

the Sacramentos. Spruce budworms are attracted to shadetolerant conifers in uneven-aged, multi-storied stands that 

are exposed to sunlight, creating a warm environment. 

Multiple crown layers and crown closure increase the 

chances that larvae will land on suitable food sources 

(Lynch and Swetnam 1992). Many of the post-logging forests in the Sacramentos meet these criteria despite the fact 

that the trees are relatively young, and this stand structure may predispose the forest to large-scale budworm 

attacks. Historic stand structures, which were more open 

and more strongly dominated by ponderosa pine, may 

have been less susceptible to large-scale infestations. 

Using evidence from tree-ring patterns, T. Swetnam 

(pers. comm., Univ. Ariz., 1997) has preliminary data 

documenting historic defoliation events from 1800 to the 

present, including at least seven major regional outbreaks. 

Ring-width patterns from host trees are compared with 

those from non-host trees at multiple sites to filter out effects of climate. Tree-rings record five major outbreaks in 

the Sacramento Mountains in the 20th century: 1890s-1900, 

1910s-1920s, 1940s, 1960s, and 1980s; the last two outbreaks 

are confirmed by USDA Forest Service survey records. 

Recent outbreaks, which have occurred since extensive 

logging and fire suppression, have been more synchronous among stands than those recorded in the previous 

century. 

Tree-rings also recorded major defoliator outbreaks in 

the 1810s-1820s and the 1840s-1860s. The 1920s event was 

probably caused by the New Mexico fir looper (Galenara 

consimilis) rather than by spruce budworms. The event in 

the 1940s is not confirmed by Forest Service records, but 

was observed consistently in 5 of 6 sites and may have 

64 

Figure 23. The aftermath of the 

Allen Canyon fire, Curtis 

Canyon, 1951. Photo 

from the Lincoln National 

Forest Heritage Resource 

Program collection in 

Alamogordo, on file at the 

Lincoln National Forest 

Supervisor's office. 

been unnoticed because of low levels of defoliation. However, it does coincide with an outbreak in northern New 

Mexico, as do the 1960s and severe 1980s outbreaks. The 

recorded event of 1952-1954 may in fact have been the 

tail end of the 1940s outbreak (T. Swetnam, pers. comm., 

Univ. Ariz., 1997). 

Regionally, the three defoliation events from 1800 to 

the 1940s are 5-10 years out of phase, with trees in northern New Mexico recording them a few years earlier. The 

pre-1900 events are generally less synchronous than those 

of the 20th century. The long gap between early 20th century events (1890s to 1940s; 1910s-1920s being fir looper) 

may be due to the amount of human-caused disturbance 

occurring in the stands at that time. Triggering agents for 

spruce budworm outbreaks seem to operate on a regional 

scale and are probably related to climate. Ecosystem 

changes caused by human land use practices, such as altered species composition and stand structure (homogenization, increased density, increased proportion of host 

species, more closed canopies), have changed spruce budworm dynamics, causing more intense and synchronous 

outbreaks (Dahms and Geils 1997). In some cases, trees 

defoliated by spruce budworms and other defoliating insects may be predisposed to subsequent attacks by bark 

beetles. 

Written records of insect outbreaks are relatively recent. 

General Land Office Survey notes from the 1880s and 

1890s recorded occasional patches of dead trees, some 

standing and some fallen, which may have been the result of locally intense insect outbreaks, some possibly from 

the 1860s spruce budworm outbreak. Most of these patches 

were noted on the west side of the summit or near the 

top. Some of the dead trees were noted to be Douglas-fir 

and some ponderosa pine. Holmes (1906), while inspecting trees on the Alamogordo Lumber Company's land 

USDA Forest Service Gen. Tech. Rep. RMRS-GTR-19. 1998 
near the summit, observed that "there is very little noticeable injury from insects." The Forest Service began 

keeping records of insect activity in National Forests early 

in the 20th century. As early as 1918, Forest Service entomologists observed that harvest practices had a profound 

effect on insect outbreaks in the Southwest. Wherever 

ponderosa pine was cut, heavy infestations of bark beetles 

followed in surrounding forests, remaining seed trees, and 

a few years later in regenerating trees. Beetles multiplied 

in scattered slash, in stacked logs, and in stripped bark. 

The problem was worse when trees were milled near 

where they were cut. Most of the logs cut in the 

Sacramentos were hauled to Alamogordo for milling, so 

the problem was not as bad as it might have been on the 

Lincoln National Forest, but .an increase in pine bark 

beetles was observed in cutover areas (USDA Forest Service 1918-1952). 

During the early 1920s, several serious insect infestations began in the Sacramentos, coinciding with a period 

of drought. In 1924, Douglas-fir and white fir on south 

and west-facing slopes in the Sacramento River watershed 

were attacked by a defoliating moth. The following year, 

insect outbreaks were in progress at all elevations. Pinyon pines at lower elevations were under attack by Ips 

beetles. Ponderosa pines, especially in the northern part 

of the forest and on the Mescalero Reservation, experienced epidemics of pine bark beetles (Dendroctonus 

brevicomis, D. adjunctus, and Ips species). In many places, 

the beetles attacked 30-year-old regeneration in cutover 

areas. At higher elevations, Douglas-fir on 800 ha (2000 

ac) at the heads of Wills, Hubbell, Scott Abel, and Logan 

canyons were defoliated by a geometrid moth, and the 

infestation was spreading. The situation on the Lincoln 

was described as "distinctly alarming." 

By 1926, most of the outbreaks were subsiding, after 

causing considerable damage. Engelmann spruce defoliated by the moths were then attacked by spruce beetles 

(Dendroctonus engelmanni). The defoliators in the Douglasfir had also subsided. Ips bark beetles had killed much of 

the pinyon pine along the west slope of the range near 

High Rolls but had subsided. Much of the ponderosa pine 

reproduction in the clearcuts on the east side had been 

killed by bark beetles, especially on south-facing slopes. 

The bark beetle outbreak near Cloudcroft and on the 

Mescalero Reservation was still in progress. By 1927, all 

of the insect populations had subsided to endemic levels 

again, though spruce beetles continued to be a problem 

in an isolated stand of Engelmann spruce in Hay Canyon 

in 1928. 

By the early 1930s, these outbreaks were over, and the 

next few years were free of insect problems until drought 

struck again in 1934. Ips species became active on Cox 

Canyon and the Rio Penasco wherever cutting had taken 

place, mostly in regenerating trees. This phenomenon was 

considered unusual; beetles were generally thought to 

attack old, weakened trees exclusively. For the next couple 

of years, bark beetles attacked ponderosa pines on the east 

USDA Forest Service Gen. Tech. Rep. RMRS-GTR-19. 1998 

slope, concentrated primarily in pole-sized trees regenerating in the clearcuts. By 1937, conditions had improved 

again. Control efforts had been made, with some success, 

but inholdings of untreated private land complicated treatment (USDA Forest Service 1918-1952). 

Generally, insect levels subsided to endemic levels during the 1940s. A low-level infestation by bark beetles continued east of Cloudcroft. A severe infestation of 

Dendroctonus species occurred in the White Mountains to 

the north in 1948. By 1950, drought had struck again, 

quickly followed J?y outbreaks of bark beetles in ponderosa pine. Douglas-fir beetles, Douglas-fir looper, and 

western spruce budworm were widespread, and defoliation was particula~ly intense on 2875 ha (7100 ac) of mixed 

conifer forest in the upper Aqua Chiquita canyon. This 

outbreak was aerially sprayed with DDT in oil in 1952. 

Another outbreak of western spruce budworm occurred 

between 1964 and 1967, when 36, 400 ha (90,000) ac were 

defoliated each year. The defoliation was not considered 

severe enough to merit chemical control. 

Historic records of insect outbreaks focus on situations 

in which economically valuable or highly visible resources 

were threatened, and so may exclude some outbreaks. 

Detailed reports and maps of known insect outbreaks have 

been maintained by the Forest Service since the 1950s. A 

major outbreak of roundheaded pine beetles (Dendroctonus 

adjunctus) coincided with a drought in the early 1970s, 

and another widespread infestation began in 1988 that is 

ongoing (Geils et al. 1995, Negron 1996). This infestation 

is actually a complex of roundheaded pine beetle, western pine beetle (D. brevicomis), and Mexican pine beetle 

(D. approximatus). The roundheaded pine beetle prefers 

to attack small, slow-growing trees in dense stands. The 

young, dense forests of the Sacramento Mountains that 

have resulted from logging and fire suppression in the 

20th century are highly susceptible to roundheaded pine 

beetle infestation (Negron 1996). 

Wetter conditions in the early 1980s may have contributed to an outbreak of western spruce budworm that defoliated 1640 ha (4100 ac) of mixed conifer forest in 1982. 

This outbreak was suppressed with insecticides. Western 

spruce budworm was active again in 1988, along with New 

Mexico fir looper. These insects defoliated nearly 6,000 

ha (15,000 ac) of mixed conifer forest that had been stressed 

by winter drying. Table 9 summarizes insect outbreaks 

and other disease conditions for the period 1976 through 

1996 for the Lincoln National Forest (data from Forest Pest 

Management Reports, Annual Southwestern Region Pest 

Conditions Reports 1976-1996). 

Diseases and Parasites 

Dwarf Mistletoe 

The greatest incidence of dwarf mistletoe infestation 

in the Southwest occurs in the Sacramentos (B. Geils, pers. 

65 
Table 9. Summary of insects and diseases on the Lincoln National Forest, 1976-1996. See Table 3 for species acronyms. 

Year 

1976 

1977 

1978 

1979 

1980 

1981 

1982 

1983 

1984 

1985 

1986 

1987 

1988 

66 

Bark beetles 

Region-wide, less PIPO mortality than in 1975; 

attacking pole-sized trees. 

Round-headed pine beetle caused scattered 

losses on Lincoln National Forest, heavy 

losses on Reservation in PIPO 

Round-headed pine beetle killed pole-sized 

PIPO near Cloudcroft. Scattered mortality from 

western pine beetle in large trees already 

weakened. Spruce beetle caused isolated 

mortality on Lincoln National Forest. 

Round-headed pine beetle decreased regionwide; caused minor PIPO death in Sacramentos; western pine beetle caused PIPO 

mortality on Lincoln National Forest. 

Western pine beetle killed small groups of 

trees; scattered pockets of roundheaded pine 

beetle activity; fir engraver.beetle killed isolated 

pockets of 2-10 trees. 

Scattered mortality from western pine beetle; 

fir engraver beetles killed scattered groups of 

2-10 trees; Douglas-fir beetle killed scattered 

groups of trees; fir engraver killed scattered 

groups of trees. 

Lower tree mortality from beetles region-wide. 

Endemic populations of beetles region-wide; 

true fir mortality noted, due to a complex of 

root disease and fir engraver beetle. 

Pine beetles at low levels region-wide. 

Pine beetles at endemic levels region-wide. 

Bark beetle populations increased region-wide. 

Ips engraver beetles caused group and individual mortality on Lincoln National Forest in 

post-fire or post-logging stands. 

Ips caused minor PIPO mortality on Lincoln 

National Forest. 

IpS caused 58% of the PIPO mortality on Lincoln National Forest: 450 ac on Cloudcroft RD; 

175 ac on Mayhill RD; 2300 ac on Smokey Bear 

RD; 300 ac on Reservation. Western pine 

beetle caused mortality on PI PO: 900 ac on 

Cloudcroft RD; 175 ac on Mayhill RD; 225 ac on 

Reservation; an 8X increase in PIPO mortality. 

Defoliators 

Low level Douglas-fir tussock moth outbreak on 

Mayhill RD; NM Fir Looper defoliated 6000 ac 

of PSME, ABCO. 

Western spruce budworm defoliated 500 ac of 

PSME, ABCO on Smokey Bear RD. 

Spruce budworm decreased region-wide in 

1978; fir looper populations collapsed in 1978 

but 90% of defoliated trees died. 

Other 

Pinyon needle scale scattered; black stain rot 

found in beetle-killed PIPO. 

Black stain root rot found in PSME, a new host 

record for R-3. 

Western spruce budworm increased region- Spruce gall aphid noted. 

wide; small areas of defoliation on Smokey Bear 

RD. 

New infestations of western spruce budworm 

on Lincoln National Forest and Reservation; of 

4100 ac on Lincoln National Forest, defoliation 

levels were: 3710 light, 80 moderate, 310 heavy. 

Increase in spruce budworm region-wide, extensive defoliation on Lincoln National Forest. 

Aspen defoliation increased on Lincoln National 

Forest, Cloudcroft RD by western tent caterpillar, 

and large aspen tortrix and marssonina blight. 

Western spruce budworm defoliation increased 

region-wide; populations successfully suppressed 

on Lincoln National Forest with insecticide. 

Small, isolated pockets of western spruce budworm defoliation found on Lincoln National Forest, mostly Smokey Bear RD, small due to suppression efforts. Aspen defoliation decreased to 

undetectable levels on Lincoln National Forest. 

Defoliation continues to decrease on Lincoln 

National Forest. Aspen defoliation increased 

region-wide. 

Western spruce budworm decreased regionwide; defoliated 1680 ac on Lincoln National 

Forest. 

Western spruce budworm defoliated 11,830 ac 

on Lincoln National Forest; NM fir looper defoliated 2600 ac in mixed conifer stressed by winter drying. 

Root rot losses exceed mistletoe losses regionwide; shoestring rot in PIPO, annosus rot in PSME, 

ABCO, PIEN; aspen defoliation continues. 

Lophodermella cerina needlecast disease affected PI PO; 560 ac on Cloudcroft RD. 

Lophodermella needle cast disease increased 

slightly in PIPO: 1300 ac affected, much more 

on the Reservation. 

continued on next page 

USDA Forest Service Gen. Tech. Rep. RMRS-GTR-19. 1998 
Table 9. (Continued) Summary of insects and diseases on the Lincoln National Forest, 1976-1996. See Table 3 for species acronyms. 

Year Bark beetles Defoliators Other 

1989 70% increase in beetles region-wide, mostly 

in AZ; Ips caused single tree and small group 

mortality on Lincoln National Forest; western 

pine beetle killed 130 ac on Lincoln National 

Forest. 

Spruce budworm decreased region-wide; defoliated 600 ac on the Reservation. 

Precipitation below average 1989-1990. Lophodermella continues to infect PIPO; Rhabdocline 

pseudotsugae needle cast disease affected 

PSME near Cloudcroft. 

1990 3X increase in bark beetles region-wide; small 

group mortality from Ips on Lincoln National 

Forest 

Increase in spruce budworm region-wide. Below average precipitation 1989-1990; white 

pine blister rust first detected on 80 square miles 

in the Sacramentos; Lophodermella infection 

continues on PIPO. 

1991 Ips caused small group mortality on Lincoln 

National Forest; western pine beetle increased; 

in combination with roundheaded pine beetles, 

killed drought-stressed trees on 71,785 ac on 

the Reservation, 10,135 ac on Lincoln National 

Forest. 

Western spruce budworm decreased regionwide; defoliated 300 ac on Lincoln National For-I 

est; Douglas-fir beetle caused single tree and 

group mortality; increase in aspen defoliator 

complex (aspen tortrix, western tent caterpillar, 

and marssonea blight) in pockets on Lincoln 

National Forest. 

300,000 ac infected with white pine blister rust, 

causing branch mortality, top-kill, dead saplings. 

True fir mortality in small groups from complex 

of fir beetle and Armillaria rot; Atropellis canker, 

similar to blister rust, found on pole-sized white 

pine. 

1992 Pine beetle complex (roundheaded pine 

beetle, western pine beetle, aod larger Mexican pine beetle) caused mortality on 9,313 ac 

on Lincoln National Forest, 11,385 ac on the 

Reservation. Douglas-fir beetle caused small 

group mortality on 15 ac\ spruce beetle killed 

scattered groups of 2-5 trees. 

Western spruce budworm defoliated 40 acon 

the Smokey Bear RD. 

Precipitation above normal. Pinyon needlecast 

disease severe but not positively identified. 

1994 Pine beetle complex killed trees on 15,370 ac in 

the Sacramentos, 16,750 ac on the Reservation. 

Ips caused small group mortality in PIPO. Spruce 

beetle killed scattered groups of 2-5 trees. 

Western spruce budworm defoliated 240 ac on 

Lincoln National Forest. Aspen defoliator complex 

active in pockets on Lincoln National Forest. 

True fir mortality continued from fir beetle and 

Armillaria; Lophodermella needlecast continues 

on 40 ac of PIPO. 

1996 Ips active near Cloudcroft. Roundheaded pine 

beetle infested 4,305 ac on Lincoln National 

Forest; both populations in decline. Spruce 

beetle infested 35 ac, fir engraver 165 ac. 

Western spruce budworm defoliated 40 ac on 

Lincoln National Forest. Aspen defoliator complex 

affected 960 ac on Lincoln National Forest. 

Drought 1995-1996, with increased wildfire and 

beetle outbreaks. 

comm. USDA Forest Service, 1997). Dwarf mistletoes 

(Arceuthobium sp.) have been parasites of conifers in the 

Southwest since at least the Pleistocene. They are coevolved, species-specific parasites. In the Sacramento 

Mountains, A. vaginatum speryptopodum infects ponderosa 

pine and A. douglasii infects Douglas-fir (Wilson and Tkacz 

1993). Unlike other pathogens such as root rots, dwarf 

mistletoes do not usually kill their hosts outright, but they 

do reduce diameter, height, and volume growth of trees 

and accelerate mortality when infestations are severe. 

They predispose ponderosa pines to attacks by bark 

beetles (Hawksworth et al. 1989). By 1986, 36 percent of 

the commercial ponderosa pine in the Southwest region 

was infected by dwarf mistletoe (Hessburg and Beatty 

1986). Dwarf mistletoes are considered the most significant disease-causing organisms in the Southwestern region (Forest Pest Management Reports, above). 

Past distribution of dwarf mistletoe may have been 

largely controlled by fire. Infected trees are less likely to 

survive fires because of the flammable "brooms" low in 

the crowns, and because infected trees are less vigorous, 

they are less likely to recover from even moderate amounts 

of crown scorch. Prescribed fires may be effective in conUSDA Forest Service Gen. Tech. Rep. RMRS-GTR-19. 1998 

trolling dwarf mistletoe, provided that infected trees are 

scorched or killed to prevent mistletoe spread (Harrington 

and Hawksworth 1990). Past attempts to control dwarf 

mistletoe have had undesired effects. Following a treatment in 1953 in which infected branches and young trees 

were cut and the slash was scattered, bark beetles, particularly Ips, multiplied in the slash and attacked the remaining trees. 

Fire suppression and harvest practices have increased 

the incidence of mistletoe infection in the Sacramento 

Mountains. Hessburg and Beatty (1986) surveyed 500 ha 

(1,240 ac) of commercial ponderosa pine forest in the Lincoln National Forest, along 124 km (77 miles) of road. The 

survey found that 70 percent of the stands were infected 

by dwarf mistletoe, and in 42 percent of those stands, more 

than two thirds of the trees were infected. The incidence 

of dwarf mistletoe was greatest on the Sacramento Ranger 

District, with 77 percent of surveyed ponderosa pine 

stands infected on the old Cloudcroft Ranger District, and 

71 percent of surveyed stands infected on the old Mayhill 

Ranger District. When the survey results were compared 

with data from a region-wide study done between 1954 

and 1957 (Andrews and Daniels 1960), it appeared that 

67 
the incidence of dwarf mistletoe had increased by 6 percent in 25 to 30 years, and the incidence of dwarf mistletoe in the Sacramentos was twice the regional average. 

Incidence had increased the most in pole-sized stands. 

Hessburg and Beatty (1986) attributed this change to selective harvest practices that took the largest, healthiest 

trees and left infected trees, and to a lack of priority given 

to treatment of infected stands in the past. 

Fungal Diseases and Other Pathogens 

Holmes (1906) observed that "there is considerable 

defect from 'punk' on some slopes; as much as 10 percent 

of the timber is damaged; sometimes it affects chiefly balsam [white fir], while in other canyons it is nearly all red 

fir [Douglas-fir] that is affected." He was probably referring to some of the various stem rots that are prevalent in 

the Sacramento Mountains. Armillaria root disease is 

caused by a fungus that spreads outward by fungal transfer from tree to tree at up to 1 m (3 ft) per year, from disease centers that may survive for centuries, infecting subsequent regenerating trees. Armillaria can cause mortality 

in ponderosa pine but generally does less damage to pines 

than to w hi te fir and Douglas-fir (Harrington and 

Hawksworth 1989). Shifts in dominance to susceptible 

species and increases in tree density have increased the 

incidence of Armillaria root disease in the Sacramento 

Mountains. Trees infected with Armillaria may eventually die of root disease but more often are killed by 

windthrow or breakage (Geils et al. 1995). Annosus root 

disease also affects ponderosa pines, particularly seedlings 

established around infected stumps. Large white fir may 

also be infected. Spores are spread by the wind and establish especially well on freshly cut stumps. Needle cast 

fungi, which cause reddening and premature cast of foliage, damaged nearly 8,000 ha (20,000 ac) of ponderosa 

pine on the Mescalero Apache Reservation and the Lincoln National Forest in 1987 (Harrington and Hawksworth 

1989). 

White Pine Blister Rust 

White pine blister rust (Cronartium ribicola) is an exotic 

fungus that kills white pines throughout the west, particularly whitebark pine (Pinus albicaulis). It was first introduced into the Northwest around 1910 (Dahms and 

Geils 1997) and was discovered on the Lincoln National 

Forest on southwestern white pine near Cloudcroft in 

March 1990 (Hawksworth 1990, Hawksworth and Conklin 

1990, Wilson and Tkacz 1993). In the Sacramento Mountains, five species of Ribes, particularly the common orange gooseberry (Ribes pinetorum), serve as obligate intermediate hosts for white pine blister rust. 

The first infestations may have occurred as early as 1970 

and have continued in waves. By 1994, in Pendelton Canyon, Water Canyon, and Silver Springs Canyons, up to 90 

percent of the southwestern white pines were infected. 

68 

Young trees are the most susceptible to damage. Because 

of 20th century changes in forest structure, much of the 

southwestern white pine in the Sacramentos, one of the 

largest populations in the world, is young regeneration. 

The outbreak of white pine blister rust is expected to remain chronic and severe in the Sacramento Mountains and 

is likely to result in a population crash of the species, 

though less likely to cause its extinction. The damage and 

the epidemic are predicted to get worse (Kinloch 1994). 

The Sacramento Mountains may serve as an inoculum 

source that threatens other white pine populations in the 

Southwest and Mexico (Dahms and Geils 1997). 

Comparison and Summary of 

Historic and Existing Forest 

Conditions 

Unlike much of New Mexico, the Sacramento Mountains were not occupied intensively or continuously by 

humans until the late 1800s. The White Mountains and 

the area around Sierra Blanca to the north had more reliable water sources and were therefore more intensively 

occupied by both the Apaches and the European-Americans than were the Sacramentos, until the 1880s. Therefore, it seems safe to assume that the conditions observed 

by the early surveyors and settlers in the 1880s were very 

close to the pre-settlement, or "natural," state of ecosystem structure and processes as they had existed for centuries. Rapid settlement and exploitation in the form of 

logging, grazing, and development quickly altered these 

conditions, disrupting regimes of frequent, patchy, lowintensity disturbance that had maintained an open, heterogeneous forest over most of the mountain range. 

Pre-settlement ecosystems are still in place, albeit structurally and compositionally altered. At the lowest elevations that supported trees, open pinyon-juniper woodland 

covered the slopes. According to the General Land Office 

Survey, these woodlands often had an understory of dense 

oak scrub that also filled large openings between trees, 

and a carpet of bunchgrasses that was continuous under 

trees and shrubs alike. Ponderosa pine was scattered 

through much of the woodland even at low elevations. 

Historically, most of the mountain range was covered with 

mixed conifer forest. Large areas dominated by ponderosa pine are now experiencing dense ingrowth of Douglas-fir and white fir in the absence of frequent surface 

fires. Based on recorded observations and ecological reconstructions, it seems unlikely that the Sacramento 

Mountains ever supported an extensive, pure ponderosa 

pinel grass savanna such as was common in parts of Arizona, except possibly some areas on the eastern slope. 

None of these stands remain. Even the forests that may 

have been classified as ponderosa pine habitat types had 

USDA Forest Service Gen. Tech. Rep. RMRS-GTR-19. 1998 
shrubby oak understories. The presence of Douglas-fir as 

a historic canopy component is attested to by the age distribution of old-growth stands (Fig. 24). 

However, frequent surface fires maintained a forest that 

was more open than that of today, and one that was more 

strongly dominated by ponderosa pine. Douglas-fir was 

interspersed with ponderosa pine even on the warmest, 

driest slopes, forming forests of the Douglas-fir / oak habitat types. Aspen was also a common, though patchy, component of the canopy, occasionally forming pure groves 

or thickets (See Fig. 15 for an example of a pure aspen 

stand with very large trees as late as 1928). Dense oak 

shrubs underlain by bunchgrasBes formed a continuous 

understory throughout the mountain range. Above about 

2462 m (8000 ft) and on cooler, wetter sites such as northfacing slopes, aspen, white fir, and southwestern white 

pine were components of the canopy along with scattered 

Douglas-fir and ponderosa pine, forming forests of the 

white fir habitat type series. Juniper persisted on drier 

sites. The mix of Douglas-fir arid ponderosa pine varied 

according to site conditions. At'higher elevations and on 

cool, wet sites, Douglas-fir was more common than ponderosa pine, forming nearly pure stands in some places 

but usually still mixed with pines, white fir, and other 

species. Douglas-fir has an affinity for limestone-derived 

tn 

(1) 

! 

I-

..... 

o 

I.. 

(1) 

.c 

E 

~ 

z 

40 

30 

20 

10 

0 

40 

30 

20 

10 

0 

Douglas-Fir 

1700 1800 1900 2000 

SW White Pine 

1700 1800 1900 2000 

soils, which are the primary soils in the Sacramentos. 

Holmes (1906) noted that Douglas-fir was the most common tree in the Sacramentos and that it generally grew 

the largest; it was "nearly always present in greater or 

less quantities, but it is occasionally outnumbered by the 

Engelmann spruce on high northern slopes, and by the 

yellow pine [ponderosa pine] on low southern slopes" 

(Fig. 25 a, b). 

Near the summit, dominance of the understory by oak 

shrubs weakened, and the oaks were mixed with other 

shrubs in a continuous shrubby understory: oceanspray, 

New Mexican locust, gooseberries, wild cherry, maple, 

dogwood, and fo~est willow were noted understory 

shrubs. Only the coldest and wettest sites, where snow 

stayed late, lacked a shrubby understory and were dominated by forbs. At higher elevations, the grass cover under the shrubs was infrequent, confined to openings and 

riparian areas. A few pockets of Engelmann spruce occurred in areas of cold-air drainage at the highest elevations along the crest. For the most part, the present highelevation ecosystems have been less radically changed 

from historic ones in terms of species composition, but 

their age and size structures have shifted from more open 

forests with large trees of uneven ages to even-aged young 

stands. 

40 White Fir 

30 

20 

10 

0 

1700 1800 1900 2000 

40 Ponderosa Pine 

30 

20 

10 

0 

1700 1800 1900 2000 

Year 

Figure 24. Number of trees recruited in 10-year intervals for Douglas-fir, white fir, southwestern white pine, and ponderosa pine in 

old-growth forests in the Sacramento Mountains. These data are a composite of old-growth mixed conifer stands that 

encompass the full elevational and moisture gradients on which mixed conifer forests are found. While the white fir component 

has few trees older than 150 years, Douglas-fir shows steady establishment for nearly 400 years, with a spike of recruitment 

in the 20th century. From Regan et al. (1997). 

USDA Forest Service Gen. Tech. Rep. RMRS-GTR-19. 1998 69 
Q) 

~ 

() 

CO 

-

LL 

CO 

~ 

c 

CO 

Q) 

~ 

2.5 

2 

1.5 

0.5 

0 

• Historic 

Current 

70 

60 +-I 

C 50 (l.) 

() 

I.... 

(l.) 40 

a.. 

c 30 

CO 

(l.) 

~ 20 

10 

0 

-

-

-

-

-

-

Ipp OF -

ES 

• Historic 

Current 

• 

WF Wp 

Figure 25 a. Percentage species composition of the historic Douglas-fir (mixed conifer) forest type compared with that of the existing 

mixed conifer forest. PP=ponderosa pine; DF=Douglas-fir; ES=Engelmann spruce; WF=white fir; WP=southwestern white 

pine. The percentages of ponderosa pine and Douglas-fir have declined, while white fir and southwestern white pine have 

increased. Engelmann spruce, always a small component of mixed conifer stands, has declined also. b. Percentage 

species composition of the historic ponderosa pine forest type compared with that of existing pine forest. Abbreviations 

are the same as 25a. Ponderosa pine has declined by about 25%, while Douglas-fir has increased by about 20%. White fir 

and southwestem white pine volumes have not changed much. Historic data are from the Lincoln National Forest historic 

timber atlas, modern data from the RMRIS database. These sites were inventoried before they were logged, and represent 

the inventory for merchantable timber volume, so the focus is on the larger, dominant or co-dominant trees. 

The most outstanding feature of the historic forest of 

the Sacramento Mountains was its heterogeneity, and the 

most profound effect of European-American presence has 

been the homogenization of the forest, in terms of structure across the landscape and disturbance regimes. 

Woolsey (1911) noted "the open and grouplike character 

of even the heaviest existing stands of western yellow pine 

(ponderosa pine) in the Southwest" (Fig. 26). Like many 

of his contemporaries, Woolsey made some fairly astute 

observations about the ecosystems he observed but interpreted them through the cultural filters of his time: "Most 

of the stands on the National Forests in the Southwest are 

virgin, and consequently the mature timber that goes to 

waste each year is a great loss ... full use is not made of the 

forest unless the mature timber is cut and the thrifty growing immature stands left for future needs .. .it is the desire 

of the Forest Service not only to maintain a sustained annual yield, but to improve the quality of the timber ... the 

Forest Service is bound to dispose of all over-mature timber, and if this is done the annual cut must be more than the 

estimated annual growth of the normal forest" (Woolsey 

1911:48). The patchy structure and areas of old-growth in 

the natural forest were noted but were not considered a desirable condition. The paradigm of the time was that humans could improve upon the natural condition of the forest to use it more efficiently, and that was what was done. 

Overgrazing coupled with drought and erosion quickly 

eliminated continuous grasses under the tree and shrub 

canopy, effectively retarding the spread of surface fires 

some 20 to 30 years before active fire suppression began 

(Fule et al. 1997, Touchan et al. 1995). By the time grazing 

pressure was alleviated, a policy of aggressive fire suppression was in place. Elimination of the patchy surface 

70 

fire regime has eliminated the primary mechanism for 

creating patches of different size and age structures (Fig. 

27 a, b). Clearcut logging has created large areas of young 

forest of nearly uniform age and size. Stands that were not 

cut were either inaccessible or were not structurally desirable-young stands or trees on poor sites. In the absence of 

fire, species composition has shifted to dominance by Douglas-fir and white fir at lower elevations, and increasing stand 

density at higher elevations has reduced the ponderosa pine 

component. This effect was compounded by severe outbreaks of pine bark beetles in the regenerating ponderosa 

pine during the 1920s and 1930s, which killed many of the 

pine saplings and left Douglas-fir and white fir saplings to 

dominate the young forest. Subsequent canopy closure precluded further ponderosa pine regeneration. 

The proportion of the forest that might have been classified as "old growth" was historically larger than what 

exists today. Stands with old trees, a high percentage of 

large trees, and a complex structure were probably always 

scattered across the landscape but were more common 

among the cooler, wetter forests at higher elevations, 

where stand-replacing fires were less frequent (Fig. 28; 

Regan 1997). Old-growth stands at lower elevations probably existed under slightly different conditions, with fewer 

large trees on drier sites and a less complex structure due 

to more frequent surface fires, but including old trees 

nonetheless. Regan (1997) recommended a revised definition of old-growth forest that can accommodate such 

stands. Based on reconstructions by Regan (1997) using 

her revised definition of old-growth, as much as 74 percent of Engelmann spruce stands, 10-26 percent of mixed 

conifer stands, and 3 to 6 percent of ponderosa pine-dominated stands would have been considered old growth in 

USDA Forest Service Gen. Tech. Rep. RMRS-GTR-19. 1998 
70~----------------------------------------------------------------. 

\ 60~--~-------- ----------------.--------.---------------------------------------------1 \ ---

1911 50~----~------------------- -.---------------------------------~----~------~ \ ~ ~ 1994 

\ <1> 

- 40-t-----;\~----·---·--.. --·--·-·-·-·--·-·--·---·-.. - .. ·-.. -·.---.. ----------- () 

ct1 

-

<1> \ a. 

UJ 

<1> 

<1> 30-+----\-\\---------.---.----------.------------1 \ I--

\. 

20-+-------~------ .\ 

10-+--~--.------~~~:~---=-:- _= __ 

o I I I I I I I I I I ITT T T 

4-6.9 10-12.9 16-18.9 22-24.9 28-30.9 34-36.9 40-42.9 46-48.9 

7-9.9 13-15.9 19-21.9 25-27.9 31-33.9 37-39.9 43-45.9 

DBH Class, in inches 

Figure 26. Number of trees by size class in ponderosa pine forests of the Sacramento mountains, 1911 and 1994. There are many 

more trees in the smallest size classes in the modern forest than in the 1911 forest, where there were fewer trees in 

general and more of the middle size classes. The 1994 forest shows the inverse-j curve typical of a young forest, while the 

1911 forest shows more of a bell-shaped curve. 1911 data are from Woolsey (1911); 1994 data are from the Lincoln 

National Forest RMRIS database. 

1880, compared with less than 5 percent of the total forest 

of all habitat types today. Ponderosa pine old-growth is 

probably underestimated because no reliable age-diameter data exist. No old-growth ponderosa pine remains in 

the Sacramentos today. 

The homogenization of size and age structure, the increase in density, and the shift to dominance by Douglasfir and white fir in areas previously dominated by ponderosa pine have left the forest more susceptible to more 

intense and spatially widespread disturbances by increasing connectivity. Insect outbreaks now occur more frequently, kill more trees, and affect larger areas in this homogeneous forest than in the historical forest. Dwarf 

mistletoe infects a larger percentage of the forest. Fires 

now often burn as intense crown fires over huge areas, 

rather than burning as surface fires that only occasionally 

erupt into localized crown fires to create stands of aspen. 

Fires can now burn only under extreme conditions that 

exceed suppression capability, and fuels have built up to 

high levels after nearly a century without less intense surUSDA Forest Service Gen. Tech. Rep. RMRS-GTR-19. 1998 

face fires to reduce them. The species that now dominate 

the forest are not generally fire-resistant, as the ponderosa pines were, and the density of saplings in the understory, which have established in great numbers in the absence of surface fires, provide ladder fuels into the canopy. 

Because these conditions are uniform and continuous over 

large areas, fires can spread quickly rather than being 

stopped by natural structural fire breaks that existed in 

the more heterogeneous historic forest. 

Elements of the historic forest persist, however. The 

prevalence of a dense, shrubby oak understory does not 

seem to be solely the product of fire suppression or grazing, as has been thought; the oaks were, if anything, even 

more ubiquitous in the historic forest than they are now. 

Gambel oak and wavy-leaf oak are susceptible to fire but 

are prolific sprouters following surface fires. Most of the 

mountain range was covered with a mixture of species 

that would probably have been classified as mixed conifer forest, though in many areas ponderosa pine was dominant. Holmes (1906) observed that only one type of forest 

71 
8 

7 

Q) 

I.... 6 

() 

CO 5 -

u.. 

CO 4 ~ 

c 3 

CO 

Q) 2 _ ~ 

1 _ 

0 -- - PP OF ES 

• Historic 

Current 

WF WP 

60 

+-' 50 

c 

Q) 

() 40 I.... 

Q) 

0... 30 c 

CO 

Q) 20 ~ 

10 

0 

IPP OF ES WF 

• Historic 

Current 

WP 

Figure 27 B. Comparison of.wood volume by species in the historic and contemporary Douglas-fir (mixed conifer) forest type in the 

Sacramento Mountains. Wood volume reflects not only the number of trees, but the size of trees as well. The increase in 

volume in white fir and southwestern white pine is due mostly to large numbers of young, small trees. b. Wood volume by 

species in contemporary and historic ponderosa pine forests. Increases in volume are mostly due to large numbers of 

young, small trees. Note the small total wood volume compared with the mixed conifer forests, indicative of the relatively 

low productivity of the ponderosa pine stands. Data are from Lincoln National Forest databases. 

680000 

o cci::: : ([) . 0 0 0 0:', 0 .-

. ;. ;. '- ::~:"o .':-:.' 

<p ::.0 O' 0 0 

o - - .. ' 

. '. c;:> ... ' 670000 

o 000 

o 

o 0 

660000 

>-

o 

650000 

o 

o 0 0· .. ·,0:; 0:: 0 

640000 . .. ~ . 

640000 650000 660000 670000 680000 

x 

Figure 28. Large tree (~ 53 cm dbh) density in reconstructed old-growth forest in Block 4, based on General Land Office survey data. 

72 

Density is depicted using a "contour interval" format, where lines represent specified numbers of large old treeslha. Block 

4 was a mesic mixed conifer forest at the crest of the Sacramentos that was sampled before logging began in 1899; 

numbers along the axes are State Plane coordinates. Large old trees are concentrated in patches. Of the total area, 33.2 

percent had 11-20 stemslha; 14.6 percent had 21-40 stemslha; 11.0 percent had 41-60 stemslha; 6.0 percent had 61-80 

stemslha; 5. 1 percent had >80 stemslha. A total of 36.7 percent of the total area of Block 4 would have been classified as 

old-growth before 1899 based on the definition of old-growth derived from large tree densities. From Regan (1997). 

USDA Forest Service Gen. Tech. Rep. RMRS-GTR-19. 1998 
was found above 2462 m (8000 ft), a fir type with white 

fir, Douglas-fir, and occasional Engelmann spruce, with 

an open, shrubby understory and a ground cover of grass 

and perennial herbs-a good description of the present 

white fir/oak and white fir/maple habitat types. 

Aspen stands occurred as inclusions within the historic 

mixed conifer forest. Aspen is considered a seral tree in 

the Sacramento Mountains and is usually found in openings caused by fire or other disturbance, though it may 

persist in the canopy of mixed conifer forest as well. Aspen is a clonal species that sprouts readily from rootstocks 

that can survive for long periods of time. Aspen is generally declining in New Mexico, mostly as a consequence of 

fire suppression (Dick-Peddie 1993, Sallach 1996). In the 

Sacramento Mountains, as els~where in the Southwest, 

many aspen stands are being invaded by conifer saplings. 

Aspen sprouts are very attractive to wildlife and domestic livestock and are often eaten back as quickly as they 

emerge. Aspen is also susceptible to a variety of insects 

and diseases, which usually attack mature stands. A complex of western tent caterpillar (Malacosoma californicum) 

and large aspen tortrix (Choristoneura conflictana), combined with Marssonina leaf blight (Marssonina populi), has 

been observed to defoliate aspen in recent years, and various trunk rots and stem cankers cause significant reductions of growth and vigor in mature stands. 

In some parts of New Mexico, aspen has been observed 

to invade meadows that have been over-grazed and from 

Figure 29 B. (above) Cruising Douglas-fir, 1928. Note the 

tremendous size of the trees and the openness of 

the understory. US Forest Service photo 233423, 

Lincoln National Forest Heritage Resource Program 

collection in Alamogordo, on file at the Lincoln 

National Forest Supervisor's office. b. (right) Large, 

old Douglas-fir surrounded by dense ingrowth, Peake 

Canyon, 1994. Photo by Laurie Huckaby. 

USDA Forest Service Gen. Tech. Rep. RMRS-GTR-19. 1998 

which fire has been excluded, though this does not seem 

to be happening in the Sacramentos (Dick-Peddie 1993). 

Individual aspen trees rarely live more than 150 years, 

and many stands initiated at or before the turn of the century are old, susceptible to disease, and overtopped by 

conifers. The aspen component of the modern forest is 

probably smaller than in the historic forest. 

Subalpine forest is more common in the northern part 

of the Lincoln National Forest, around Sierra Blanca, above 

3077 m (10,000 ft) elevation. The diagnostic species is Engelmann spruce, a.p indicator of cold temperatures, here 

found at its southernmost distribution. Around Sierra 

Blanca, Engelmann spruce occurs with subalpine fir in I 

zones of high snowfall and accumulation, forming communities similar to spruce-fir communities in the Rocky 

Mountains to the north. In the Sacramento district, spruce 

forests are found in pockets of cold air drainage at high 

elevations (2738-2831 m; 8900-9200 ft), notably in Hubbell 

and Sacramento Canyons (Alexander et al. 1984). Subalpine fir is absent, and Douglas-fir is the common co-dominant tree; Rocky Mountain maple is the common understory shrub. Engelmann spruce was probably never very 

common or widespread in the Sacramentos, as the General Land Office survey and early observers agreed. 

Historic forests were generally much more open than 

those of the present, with more large, older trees, more 

widely spaced and generally without the dense thickets 

of evergreen saplings present today (Fig. 29 a,b). Historic 

73 
forests were more variable in age and size of trees across 

the landscape. Patches of old trees were interspersed with 

patches of young trees, aspen, and openings, where surface fires had become localized crown fires or had burned 

more intensely in a particular area. 

In addition to disrupting the historic disturbance regime in the ecosystems of the Sacramento Mountains, the 

homogeneity of the vegetation also makes those ecosys74 

terns less resilient in the face of other disturbances that 

may be secondary to those that had the homogenizing 

effect. Invasions of non-indigenous species, such as white 

pine blister rust, are severe and widespread. Extreme 

weather events have had dramatic effects on an already 

stressed ecosystem (witness the droughts of 1904 and the 

1950s). The effects of possible future climate changes are 

yet unknown. 

USDA Forest Service Gen. Tech. Rep. RMRS-GTR-19. 1998 
PART VI. USING INFORMATION IN THE ECOSYSTEM 

NEEDS ASSESSMENT PROCESS 
The extensive information of the previous sections is 

useful for understanding the cultural and natural history 

of the Sacramento Mountains and provides considerable 

insight into human-induced changes in the Sacramento 

Mountains ecosystem. In the introductory section on Ecosystem Management, the concept of an ecosystem needs 

assessment was discussed as a more specific way to determine how human activities have altered ecosystems. 

The assessment process may be used to evaluate the ecological consequences of human activities to ecosystems 

that need attention if important features of ecosystems are 

to be conserved or restored. While this document focuses 

on the reference or histo.(ic ecological conditions of the 

Sacramento Mountain ecosystem, we will illustrate how 

reference conditions might be used in an ecosystem needs 

assessment process. This is done here only as an example 

and only qualitatively. An actual assessment requires careful consideration of both historic and current conditions, 

including considerable mapping and quantitative analysis of data. Such an effort is best left to local professionals 

who have ready access tdall pertinent and available data 

and information and who can garner the resources needed 

for such an analysis. 

The assessment process may be done in various ways, 

but most assessments have certain common features 

(Dahms and Geils 1997, Haynes et al. 1996, Kaufmann et 

al. 1994, Quigley and Bigler-Cole 1997, Quigley et al. 1996, 

US Forest Service 1996). We list the following as steps that 

should be included, based on Figure 1: 

1. Review applicable ecological principles. 

2. Set the spatial and temporal framework for the issues 

being addressed. 

3. Describe the existing condition of the analysis area at 

relevant scales of time and space. 

4. Examine reference or historical ecological information 

relevant to the analysis area. 

5. Compare existing conditions with reference conditions 

(the coarse-filter process). 

6. Evaluate the uncommon, sensitive, or threatened components of the system, both current and past (the finefilter process). 

7. Identify ecological concerns or needs about existing 

conditions based on ecological principles applied at appropriate scales of space and time. 

A common difficulty of ecological assessments is that 

they often quickly become more complex and bogged 

down by detail than is necessary. It is helpful to treat the 

assessment process as an iterative one, as software development has been done for personal computers. The first 

version can be quite simple, focusing for example on a 

qualitative review of all the information available to identify the most obvious ecological problems, which are usually related to individual ecological issues. It might be 

76 

done by experienced professionals meeting for only a few 

days. The second version focuses more clearly on a quantitative examination of the differences between existing 

and reference ecological conditions, including both the 

coarse-filter and fine-filter components of the ecosystem 

assessment process. Earlier versions may address only a 

single ecological issue. Their value should not be underestimated, however, because even rather gross generalizations, if adequately documented, may change the course 

of resource management. They also provide a learning 

experience and serve as a basis for later versions that address ecological integrity more thoroughly by incorporation of multiple ecological issues. The fourth or fifth version will be much more complex than the earlier versions. 

The more advanced version should be a more thorough 

qualitative and quantitative analysis of ecological problems, often in relation to multiple identified issues at 

multiple spatial and temporal scales, and should identify 

spatially explicit changes that are needed to assure or 

improve ecological integrity. 

In the Sacramento Mountains, a number of ecological 

issues may be raised that are either coarse-filter or finefilter in nature (Fig. 30). We have selected potential issues 

for which a range of information is available for the assessment process, and we will use these to illustrate what 

might be accomplished during progressive cycles or versions of the assessment process. The following partial list 

includes the type of information available for addressing 

each issue. 

Coarse-filter issues and types of information available: 

• Old-growth forests - Patch and stand characteristics, 

limited landscape characteristics, very general maps 

• Fire as an ecosystem process - Fire histories, stand conditions, recent maps 

• Riparian areas - Limited data on historic features, more 

data on uses of riparian areas since settlement 

Fine-filter issues and types of information available: 

• Wolf - Records of historic presence, limited data on 

population densities before extirpation 

• Mexican spotted owl- Limited data on historic populations, extensive data on current status 

• White pine blister rust - Evidence of introduction by 

1990, limited information on long-range consequences 

to the ecosystem 

For each of these issues, we suggest the specific types 

of information that might be available and appropriate 

for successive versions of the assessment process, and a 

possible conclusion that might be reached for each version. Note that these are hypothetical and are not based on an 

actual selection and use of appropriate data in the assessment 

process, even though the possible conclusions might seem reasonable in some cases. 

USDA Forest Service Gen. Tech. Rep. RMRS-GTR-19. 1998 
Coarse Filter 

(Aggregates 

of elements) 

Fine Filter 

(Components 

of aggregates) 

Species with low 

population 

densities 

Figure 30. Additional features of the relationship between coarse filter and fine filter components of the ecosystem needs assessment 

process shown in Fig. 1. 

Iterative Assessment Processes 

Old Growth 

Defining what constitutes old-growth forest in different vegetation types and determining where it is located 

are vital to managing them sustainably. Reference conditions derived from various sources, including remaining 

old-growth stands, are important to understanding the 

historic role of old-growth on the landscape. Some of this 

work has been done in the Sacramentos (Regan 1997, 

Regan et al. 1997; Fig. 31). 

Version 1 - Information may include general effects of 

logging and fire suppression on old-growth forests. 

Possible conclusion: present forests contain only a fraction of the old-growth component that existed historically. 

USDA Forest Service Gen. Tech. Rep. RMRS-GTR-19. 1998 

Version 2 - Information may include a general description of past and present extent of old-growth forests by 

forest type, the relation of these forests to natural disturbance phenomena (especially fire) and logging, and 

the ecological consequences of the present condition. 

Possible conclusion: extensive logging and altered fire regimes have drastically reduced the spatial extent of old 

growth, resulting in multi-layered forest stands with 

younger trees and higher than normal densities of fireintolerant species. 

Version 4.x - Information may include spatially explicit 

present and past age structure, size distribution, and 

species composition of forests that characterize past 

and present spatial and temporal heterogeneity in the 

landscape, and lists of changes that will mitigate these 

problems. 

Possible conclusion: most large ponderosa pine trees in 

[name area} have been removed, resulting in forests having [describe present species, age and size structure}. Rem77 
nant stands of old growth have increased numbers of fireintolerant species [describe}. To restore some of the historic spatial and temporal heterogeneity, forest structure 

in this area can be improved by [identify treatments}. 

The following questions might assist the assessment of 

old -growth forests: 

• What were the spatial extent and distribution patterns 

of old growth for each forest type? 

• What were the structural characteristics of old-growth 

patches and stands, including species composition and 

the age and size structur~ for the major forest types? 

• What processes regulated old-growth forests in the historic landscape? . 

• What was the understory plant and animal diversity 

found in old-growth landscapes, and how has diversity changed with the loss of old-growth forests? 

Fire 

Historic landscapes were shaped by disturbance processes that have been altered by recent human activity. 

Restoration of those processes may be necessary on some 

level to manage forests sustainably. In the Southwest, fire 

has historically been a defining process on landscapes. 

Information about historic fire regimes is available for the 

Sacramento Mountains (Brown et al. 1998, Huckaby and 

Brown 1995, Wilkinson 1997). 

Version 1-Information may include the general effects 

of fire suppression on forests. 

Possible conclusion: present forests are at risk of abnormally intense wildfires and insect/disease outbreaks. 

Version 2 - Information may include historic mean fire 

return intervals for specific areas and forest types and the 

ecological consequences of changes in these patterns. 

Possible conclusion: reduced fire frequencies and timber 

harvest practices have resulted in multi-layered forest 

canopies and higher than normal stand densities. 

Version 4.x - Information may include spatially explicit 

present and past age structure, size distribution, and 

species composition of forests that characterize past and 

present spatial heterogeneity in the landscape and lists 

of changes that will mitigate these problems. 

Possible conclusion: much of the ponderosa pine type in 

[name area} has been altered from nearly pure pine to a 

mixture of species having [describe species, age and size 

structure}. The present forest is at risk of extensive crown 

fires, and it is insufficient to provide habitat for [groups 

of animal and plant species favoring more open ponderosa pine habitat}. Forest structure in this area can be 

improved by [identify treatments}. 

The following questions might assist the assessment of 

fire: 

• What was the historic mean fire return interval for each 

major forest type and topographic setting? 

78 

Figure 31. Old-growth mixed conifer forest at Sunspot. Note the 

standing snags, coarse woody debris on the ground, 

and the heterogeneity of tree sizes. Photo by Claudia 

Regan. 

• Was the historic fire return interval relatively constant 

or variable over time? 

• What were typical historic fire intensities and areas, e.g., 

what was the geographic extent of historic fires, and 

how many acres burned as surface fires vs. stand-replacing crown fires? 

• What was the historic effect of fire on vegetation patterns in the landscape, including the species composition, age structure, and size classes of patches and stands 

comprising the landscape? 

• What changes in forest structure have resulted from fire 

suppression? 

• What risks or costs would be involved in restoring historic fire regimes? 

Riparian Conditions 

The historic condition of riparian areas is poorly understood, in part because they have been more heavily 

USDA Forest Service Gen. Tech. Rep. RMRS-GTR-19. 1998 
impacted by recent human activities than other parts of 

the landscape (Fig. 32). 

Version 1-Information is generally lacking for historic 

riparian areas, and no undisturbed riparian areas exist 

for study. 

Possible conclusion: virtually all riparian areas have been 

heavily grazed since the 1880s, and all except those in 

steep topography were farmed extensively by EuropeanAmerican settlers. No riparian areas exist in their historic condition. 

Version 2 - Information may include a record of human activities that have influenced the condition of riparian areas. 

Possible conclusion: excessive past and present grazing, 

water diversion, erosion cOl1trol, grading, and tilling altered riparian plant communities and most of the processes regulating these com111unities, especially natural 

flood cycles. 

Version 4.x - Information from other locations and from 

research may provide insight regarding riparian structure, composition, and ecological processes. 

Possible conclusion: historic riparian areas may have been 

characterized by higher hydrologic flows, meandering 

stream channels, and much higher plant and animal diversity. Historic regional floral and faunal lists suggest 

that the following species and communities were common 

in riparian areas [provide list}. Riparian areas would be 

improved by [list}. 

The following questions might assist the assessment of 

riparian areas: 

• What is known from riparian areas in other portions of 

the Southwest that is helpful in understanding riparian 

ecology in the Sacramento Mountains? 

Figure 32. Eroded banks in a riparian 

meadow, Sacramento 

Mountains. Photo by 

Merrill Kaufmann. 

USDA Forest Service Gen. Tech. Rep. RMRS-GTR-19. 1998 

• What was the species composition of historic riparian 

plant communities? 

• What was the historic hydrologic regime of riparian 

areas in each major forest type? 

• What are the known animal species historically associated with riparian areas? 

• How much of the present riparian plant community 

structure consists of introduced species? 

• What is a reasonable model of restored riparian areas? 

Is it possible to reintroduce natural flood cycles? 

Gray Wolf 

Elimination of large predators and habitat alterations 

by humans have altered the populations of many animals. 

In some places large predators have been reintroduced to 

ecosystems in an attempt to restore more natural animal 

population dynamics. However, this method may not be 

feasible everywhere, due to concentrations of human 

population and land use (Fig. 33). 

Version 1 - Information may include records of extirpation of the gray wolf in the Sacramento Mountains. 

Possible conclusion: all gray wolves were eliminated from 

New Mexico early in the 20th century by hunting and 

trapping. 

Version 2 - Information may include the role of gray 

wolves as large, wide-ranging predators that preyed 

on both large and small animals. 

Possible conclusion: the ecological role played by gray 

wolves has been partially assumed by coyotes, but coyotes do not regularly prey on the larger species such as 

deer and elk. 

79 
Version 4.x - Information may include the roles of hunting and coyotes as surrogates for gray wolves. 

Possible conclusion: hunting of larger animal species by 

humans and predation of smaller species by coyotes partially substitute for the ecological function of wolves, but 

do not provide the biological regulation and natural selection processes found in animal communities that contain a wolf population. The predator/prey structure of the 

ecosystem would be improved by [list}. 

Mexican Spotted Owl 

Human land use practices have altered habitats for 

many organisms. Some ha\Ze already been eliminated; others are threatened or endangered. Managing ecosystems 

for sustainable conditions based on reference conditions 

may help restore habitat for endangered species (US Department of the Interior 1995). 

Version 1 - Information may include identification of 

the Mexican spotted o~l as a species requiring special 

protection. 

Possible conclusion: habitat for the Mexican spotted owl 

is to be managed to protect owl populations. 

Version 2 - Information may include examination of the 

historic forest as habitat for the Mexican spotted owl. 

Possible conclusion: historic forests were [or were not} 

likely to have supported a viable population of Mexican 

spotted owls. 

Version 4.x - Information nlay included projected historic population levels of the Mexican spotted owl. 

Possible conclusion: based on present knowledge of Mexican spotted owl requirements and the range of habitat 

conditions suitable for the species, the historic landscape 

had the following amounts of suitable habitat [provide list}. 

Thus the historic landscape may have had [more or less} 

habitat for Mexican spotted owls than the present landscape. 

In a historic ecosystem context, reasonable populations of 

the Mexican spotted owl would be [list}. Keystone ecological 

processes regulated historic owl habitat [list}. 

White Pine Blister Rust 

Human activities introduce organisms that are not native to ecosystems. Often these organisms are able to outcompete, prey upon, or parasitize native organisms that 

have no evolved defenses against them, radically altering 

species composition and distribution in a landscape. 

80 

Version 1 - Information may characterize the introduction of the non-native white pine blister rust in the Sacramento Mountains. 

Possible conclusion: white pine blister rust is believed to 

have been introduced into the Sacramento Mountain ecosystem by transplanting of tree seedlings. 

Version 2 - Information may include the effects of white 

pine blister rust on southwestern white pine. 

Figure 33. Can hunting of deer by humans replace the 

ecological function of the gray wolf in the Sacramento 

mountains? A hunter in the early 1900s, Lincoln 

National Forest Heritage Resource Program 

collection in Alamogordo, on file at the Lincoln 

National Forest Supervisor's office. 

Possible conclusion: white pine blister rust is a new disease threatening white pine trees throughout the Sacramento Mountain ecosystem. 

Version 4.x - Information may characterize the ecological consequences of the decreasing role of southwestern white pine in the Sacramento ecosystem. 

Possible conclusion: continued spread of white pine blister rust may drastically limit the presence of southwestern white pine in the Sacramento Mountains, thus threatening the structure of plant and animal communities 

where white pine existed historically. 

Blending Ecosystem Needs With 

Social and Economic Needs 

The assessment process illustrated above should result 

in an understanding of the ecological status of an analyUSDA Forest Service Gen. Tech. Rep. RMRS-GTR-19. 1998 
sis area, considered in the context of ecological principles 

applied over the appropriate scales of space and time. This 

process identifies ecological issues of concern, and it documents in a scientific way the features and characteristics 

of present ecosystems that are satisfactory and those that 

are in need of protection or restoration. In a perfect world, 

all ecosystem integrity problems could then be solved 

through management actions. In reality, however, most 

ecological problems are very complex and are difficult to 

solve, and often the most effective solutions may conflict 

with social and economic concerns of people at local, regional, and national scales. 

Natural resource managers and decision-makers regularly deal with social and economic interests. In the past, 

this has been done with limit~d understanding of or inUSDA Forest Service Gen. Tech. Rep. RMRS-GTR-19. 1998 

terest in the ecological integrity of the natural resource 

systems that are impacted. The strength of the ecosystem 

needs assessment process is that it helps provide a scientifically based analysis of the integrity of the ecosystems 

on which people depend and ranks that along with social 

and economic interests. Consequently, decision-makers 

can address economic and social issues that affect natural 

resources with a much more complete and balanced understanding of the benefits and risks to the integrity of ecosystems. The goal of the ecosystem needs assessment process is 

not to force allianq. management decisions to solve all ecological problems. Rather, the goal is to provide those involved 

in land management decisions with the information needed 

to make intelligent and balanced choices, based on anticipated consequences to long-term ecological integrity. 

81 

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ROCKY MOUNTAIN RESEARCH STATION 

I 

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