The Chihuahuan Desert REA was initiated in September 2012 and is scheduled for completion in early 2016. The Chihuahuan Desert REA team is currently in the Pre-Assessment Phase.
The Chihauhuan Desert ecoregion includes portions of New Mexico, Texas, Arizona, and the country of Mexico; the extent of analysis will generally be restricted to the US. However, when existing data sets that include Mexican portions of the ecoregion are obtained, they will not be clipped to the international border. This ecoregion consists of over 125 million acres (approx. 195,000 sq.miles). The REA covers all or part of 5 BLM Field Office Boundaries.
The Chihuahuan Desert is considered to be one of the most biologically diverse deserts in the world, based on species richness, for both flora and fauna. The dominant vegetation of the Chihuahuan Desert is made up of shrubs such as Creosote(Larrea tridentata) and Tarbush (Flourensia cernua). However, many diverse grasslands dot the ecoregion, containing species such as Purple Three-Awn (Aristida purpurea), Black Grama (Bouteloua eriopoda), and Sideoats Grama (Bouteloua curtipendula). The Chihuahuan Desert receives, on average, around 10” of rain a year, making it typically more wet than the Sonoran and Mojave Deserts.
Management Questions are currently under development and should be completed by mid-2015.
The Conservation Elements have been selected by the Chihuahuan Desert REA Assessment Management Team.
The Change Agents have been selected by the Chihuahuan Desert REA Assessment Management Team.
Conceptual Models are currently under development and should be completed by mid-2015.