The desert southwest is filled with plants and animals that are pretty tough. There isn’t much water and everything has to adapt and struggle at times to deal with the heat and lack of moisture.

Despite the toughness of everything living in the desert, the ecosystems themselves are relatively fragile. It can take several years or even several decades for the land to recover from human interaction. This is due to the lack of water and extreme temperatures in combination with the weather and the soil types. When it does rain, it usually pours. The soils usually consist mostly of sand, with little organic matter or fine-grained silts and clays that hold moister to support plant life. Wind and water constantly shift the sands around and its difficult for the plants to survive.

Conservation of our plants, animals, and the land itself is important and we need to be responsible throughout the process of learning wilderness skills. For example, harvesting too much of one plant or animal in any given area could take many years to recover.

Fire is a very valuable tool and a critical skill that will help maintain your core body temperature. Because of the dry nature of the desert and the mountains of New Mexico, fire can be highly destructive and must be respected and controlled at all times.

Water in the southwest is limited and we need to be very cognizant of the impact that we have on the water we use for drinking, cooking, and hygiene. Its about respect. Everything we do to the environment comes back to us.

Conservation and Environment will be discussed in our skills courses.