The area extends from the crest of the San Andres Mountains, which are dominated by shrub woodlands, to the Jornada Plains characterized by semi-desert grasslands.

Problems are associated with grazing of livestock, air pollution, and water quality, poaching of plants and animals, and loss of habitats.

[1] The Jornada was established from withdrawn public domain lands by Presidential Executive Order #1526 signed by President William H. Taft five months after New Mexico was granted statehood in early 1912.

Originally named the Jornada Range Reserve, the facility was established within the Bureau of Plant Industry of the USDA, but transferred to the United States Forest Service (USFS) in 1915.

These objectives were seen as critical to addressing the wide spread problems of rangeland degradation that had been documented across the American southwest at the end of the 19th century.