NMSU professor leads wildlife research effort in the Jemez Mountains

Among the ponderosa pines in the Valles Caldera National Preserve, large herds of elk may be seen foraging on the grasses along the forest floor. Many areas in these Northern New Mexico Jemez Mountains have been through prescribed burns or forest thins to allow for a less dense canopy, so new grasses and shrubs may grow on the forest floor and so wildfires will be less destructive. These forest restoration treatments are part of the larger Southwest Jemez Collaborative Landscape Restoration Project that includes the Santa Fe National Forest and Valles Caldera National Preserve. James Cain, a wildlife and affiliate associate professor at New Mexico State University, is leading a research team to monitor how certain mammals are responding to the forest thins and prescribed burns. - from: NMsunews

Esmé Cadiente

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