Wildlife thrives along the Animas River, where rich green riparian zones provide animals with food, water, and shelter. Since the centuries when Ancestral Pueblo people farmed, fished, and hunted here, plant and animal communities along the river have changed dramatically, and many recent changes are due to modern infrastructure and invasive plants. To protect this critical habitat, conservation corps crews and volunteers remove Russian olives and tamarisk trees and restore native plants. Bald eagles and great blue herons fly overhead, western scrub jays and Canada geese can be heard, and tracks in the sand may reveal mule deer, raccoons, foxes, coyotes, and elusive nocturnal predators such as bobcats or young mountain lions.