At 8,600 ft above sea level, Lama Foundation thrives adjacent to the beautiful and rugged 1.5-million-acre Carson National Forest in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, the southern tip of the Rockies. The increased snow and rainfall of these mountains gives birth to a vast forest transitioning from fir and spruce at its highest elevation to ponderosa pine, scrub oak, juniper, pinon, and eventually petering out into sagebrush and chamisa on the valley floor, still 6,500 feet above sea level. At the valley’s center lies the majestic Rio Grande River, whose stunning gorge can be seen from Lama’s front porch. The abundant grasses, pine nuts, wild rose hips, and acorns attract abundant wildlife, including elk, mule deer, black bears, several species of rabbit, squirrels, rodents, non-poisonous snakes, red-tailed hawks, owls, wild turkeys, mountain bluebirds, migratory birds, bobcats, and the occasional mountain lion.
