Sandia Mountains / Cibola NF

The Sandia Mountains earn an Excellent grade because the moisture trigger is met. The 14-day total of 3.14" has kept soil moisture sustained (0.21 VWC today against a 0.25 seven-day average), there's no drought, and snowmelt is complete, so nothing is competing for the water. Oyster, Hedgehog, and Yellow-Gilled Gym are the high-confidence species, with all conditions met and 7 of 7 days above their temperature thresholds. King Bolete, Lobster, Cauliflower, Banded Mottlegill, and both stinkhorns are viable but moderate: soil at 52°F sits just under their 55-58°F minimums and hasn't cleared those thresholds on any of the last 7 days. No factor is formally limiting, but soil temperature is the ceiling on the moderate group, and the dry last 7 days means moisture is now drifting down from its average. Watch for further drying and cooling nights; if soil temps slip further, the moderate species will stall while Hedgehogs and Oysters keep producing. A rain event would hold the moisture and keep the flush going. Hot tip: Prioritize Hedgehog and Oyster ground at mid elevations, since they're the species that match current soil temps. Hit south-facing slopes for any warmth-dependent bolete or Lobster potential, since they hold the most heat.

Generated by Claude (Anthropic) from the structured weather, soil, and phenology data on this page. The LLM can misread edge cases — treat this as a starting hypothesis, not a guarantee. Always verify conditions on the ground before committing to a long drive.