Ecological Issues Subcommittee

The Ecological Issues Subcommittee focuses on ecological impacts to the Chihuahuan Desert ecosystems of the task force region of southwestern New Mexico-northwestern Chihuahua. The largest desert in North America, the Chihuahuan Desert extends from southeastern Arizona, through southern New Mexico to west Texas at its northern end and as far south into Mexico as San Luis Potosí.

The region lies at 3000 – 5000 feet in elevation and is bordered by the Sierra Madre Oriental to the east and the Sierra Madre Occidental to the west. The Chihuahuan Desert receives less than 10 inches of precipitation annually, mostly during summer monsoons. Its vegetation ranges from grasslands, chaparral and shrub lands at lower elevations to piñon-juniper woodlands at the higher elevations.

According to the Ecoregional Conservation Assessment of the Chihuahuan Desert conducted by the Nature Conservancy, World Wildlife Fund and Pronatura, it "is the most biologically diverse desert in the Western Hemisphere and one of the most diverse arid regions in the world."

Major threats to Chihuahuan Desert ecosystems defined by the Ecological Issues Subcommittee include:

  • Resource mismanagement e.g., groundwater depletion, soil loss, overgrazing, vegetation removal
  • Land use changes leading to habitat loss and habitat fragmentation
  • Loss of biodiversity
  • Extinction of threatened/endangered species (e.g., bison, prairie dog, grassland birds)
  • Loss of environmental services (e.g., retention of soils, water infiltration)
  • Invasive species (e.g., Mesquite, exotic grasses)
  • Trafficking/poaching in flora/fauna

Goals/Objectives

Reduce the main threats to the Chihuahuan Desert Ecosystem through the participation of communities in the western part of the Chihuahuan Desert.

Objective 1: Mexico and the United States identify the high-priority areas for the conservation of biodiversity and implement actions for 2012

Objective 2: Mexico and the United States implement educational campaigns on the ecosystems of the west of the Chihuahuan Desert

Objective 3: Mexico and the United States design and implement policies, programs and laws that protect border environmental patrimony

Objective 4: Mexico and the United States implement programs of conservation in the high-priority areas of the Chihuahuan Desert

Objective 5: Mexico and the United States implement projects of rural development that guarantee the conservation of grassland ecosystems in the west of the Chihuahuan Desert

Strategies/Actions

Subcommittee Projects