Potential Natural Vegetation. A few areas support grey oak at the lowest elevations. The growing season lasts less than 70 to 170 days. Surface Water Characteristics. This Section supplies much of the water to the Rio Grande and Pecos Valley basins.
Several streams are perennial.
Natural fire regime averages 3 to 10 years of frequency in ponderosa pine forests. Much of this area is covered with timber, with some areas of commercial quality. Another use of land is as range. The earliest human occupation of the Sacramento-Manzano Mountain Section was characterized by an emphasis on big game hunting supplemented with gathering wild plant foods. Evidence for these activities is primarily restricted to the lower elevations and the base of the mountains.