Species considered for inclusion as Species of Greatest Conservation Need (SGCN) had to occur within the state (www.bison-m.org/) and meet at least one of the following conditions:

• Climate Change Vulnerability: Species that are less likely to be able to acclimate to changing climate conditions.
• Declining: Species that either are currently experiencing or have historically experienced a substantial long-term decline in habitat or numbers.
• Vulnerable: Species for which some aspect of their life history and ecology makes them disproportionately susceptible to decline within the next 10 years. Factors include, but are not limited to, concentration to small areas during migration or hibernation; low reproductive rates; susceptibility to disease, habitat loss, wildfire, and anthropogenic overexploitation.
• Endemic: Species that are limited to New Mexico.
• Disjunct: Species that have populations geographically isolated from other populations of the same species and are thereby disproportionately susceptible to local decline or extirpation.
• Keystone: Species that are of demonstrable importance for ecosystem function. These species may contribute more to the conservation of biological diversity, through their impacts on other species, than expected based on their relative abundance, and their removal is likely to lead to a reduction in species diversity or change in community structure or dynamics.

All SGCN had to meet the following criterion:

• Core Range: New Mexico represents a substantive portion of the species’ range; the species is found in multiple counties in New Mexico or, if it is only found in one county at the edge of the state, New Mexico still represents approximately 10% or more of the species’ range. Also excludes species found in one or two counties on the border with Arizona or Texas for which Arizona or Texas populations, respectively, are stable.