Raft Watershed of the Upper Snake River Basin, the habitat of the reserve supports a large variety of mammals, birds, reptiles, and invertebrates. Amphibians - Common amphibians that could be found near water include boreal toad, Great Basin spadefoot toad, and northern leopard frog. Birds - The reserve provides excellent breeding and prey habitat for many raptor species including golden eagle, prairie falcon, red-tailed hawk, northern harrier, sharp-shinned hawk, Cooper's hawk, American kestrel, turkey vulture, and great horned owl. Swainson's hawk and ferruginous hawk are less abundant in the reserve. Other common bird species includes sage grouse, pinon jay, Clark's nutcracker, common nighthawk, rock doves, mourning doves, cliff swallow, mountain bluebird, hermit thrush, mountain chickadee, rock wren, house wren, solitary vireos, warbling vireos, green-tailed towhee, Virginia's warbler, Brewer's blackbird, and various sparrows. Mammals - A partial list of mammals in the reserve includes, cougar, mule deer, coyote, bobcat, badger, yellow-bellied marmot, cliff chipmunk, mountain cottontail rabbit, black-tailed jackrabbit, snowshoe hare, northern grasshopper mouse, Merriam's shrew, several species of voles, and a variety of bats. Pronghorn and bison were probably common a century ago. Reptiles - Typical lizard species include the western whiptail, western fence lizard, Long-nosed leopard lizard, sagebrush lizard, and northern desert horned lizard. Snakes include the western rattlesnake, Great Basin gopher snake, striped whipsnake, and wandering garter snake. The western rattlesnake is the only strongly venomed snake found in the reserve. Plants Notable plant life includes: The Kruckeberg's sword fern is found in the cool, moist micro-habitats in the granite formations. The fern grows in rock crevices and is normally found at higher elevations than City of Rocks. Primary threats to this species are trampling and or removal by visitors along rock climbing routes. Stands of piñon/juniper woodlands are dominated by the single-leaf piñon pine and Utah juniper, interspersed with mountain big sagebrush and curl-leaf mountain mahogany. The pinon seed is edible and gathered by local residents. Higher slopes are covered with mountain big sagebrush, snowberry, serviceberry, and bitterbrush, with other shrubs, grasses, and herbs growing in the openings between shrubs. Groves of aspen, stands of douglas-fir and lodgepole pine, are located on the upper stony/grassy slopes of the reserve. Quaking aspen groves occur in canyons containing streams. Other dominant plants in the City of Rocks National Reserve include: Piñon / juniper woodlands and forest Conifer / aspen woodlands and forests Riparian scrub and herbaceous wetlands Big sagebrush