The Upper Rio Grande provides important habitat for pronghorn, who prefer vast, open terrain at elevations between 3,000 and 6,000 feet. Pronghorns are the fastest land mammals in North America and can reach speeds up to 60 miles per hour. They are also known to have the longest documented migrations in the continental United States – up to 160 miles.
While pronghorn are built for speed, they are not adept at jumping, so fences severely impact the pronghorn’s ability to move across the Upper Rio Grande landscape. One easy solution is to remove or raise the bottom strand of a fence. Pronghorn are able to pass under fences that have been raised to 18 inches or more.