Many of southeastern Arizona's grasslands were historically bordered by oak savannah habitat as met the foothills of the Sky Island mountain ranges. These trees were heavily logged to produce charcoal for smelting mining ore. In grazed areas, instead of regenerating oaks, native mesquite trees often invaded (their seed pods are tasty snacks for cows) from nearby riparian areas leading to a dense mid-story thicket or low-canopy woodland--depending on groundwater depth. Thinning mesquite and intentionally planting oaks, protected from herbivory, can re-establish many of the functions of the savannah habitat which hosts a variety of species that do not, or barely, use similar habitats.

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