In the center of the grassland and shrubland of the Jornada LTER, I gaze across short mesh nets, arranged in an X and stretching approximately one foot across in each direction, sitting unobtrusively on the ground between mesquite, bushes, and snakeweed bunches. Spherical cottontail rabbit pellets congregated in the low places, and Josh Anderson, Reserve Manager at the time, spotted the larger, black-tailed rabbit variety dashing behind the scrub, disappearing into the nooks and crannies beneath the undergrowth. An arching blue sky met the purple silhouettes of the distant mountain ranges, while closer peaks loomed bronze and craggy over our shoulders. Other than a breeze and the echoes of our own voices, Anderson and I heard only silence.

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