Madrean Watersheds LCD

The Madrean Watersheds Pilot Area includes watersheds spanning Arizona, New Mexico, Sonora, and Chihuahua. The area includes the Madrean Archipelago, characterized by isolated forested mountain ranges surrounded by a “sea” of intervening flatlands, and expands east to include adjacent grasslands. As a testament to its rich diversity of species and habitats, the area has been recognized by Conservation International as one of only 35 Global Biodiversity Hotspots. With more than 4,000 vascular plant species, the Madrean Archipelago harbors the highest diversity of mammals, birds, bees, and ants anywhere in the conterminous U.S. It provides habitat for lower elevation species to migrate in response to increasing temperatures and is home to species and habitats found nowhere else in the world. Ranching is key to the area’s economy, cultural identity, and social structure. However, based on climate change projections, this area will likely experience some of the greatest changes in temperature and water availability in North America.