Natural History

The natural history of Bonderman Field Station at Rio Mesa is typical of the spacious "redrock country" that typifies the Colorado Plateau. The station is a wonderful combination of open bottomlands with the Dolores River and its riparian vegetation, flat saltbush and greasewood scrub desert vegetation, and several box canyons of varying length that are dominated by desert scrub and juniper vegetation. Adjacent to Rio Mesa are extensive BLM lands that span from saltbush and greasewood scrub desert vegetation at lower elevations through pinyon-juniper woodlands and upper elevations.

Plant and animal life at Rio Mesa:

• Aquatic Insects
• Terrestrial Insects
• Fish
• Reptiles and Amphibians
• Birds
• Mammals
• Plants