Patagonian grasslands ("Podiceps gallardoi"), the rare ruddy-headed goose ("Chloephaga rubidiceps") and the near threatened striated caracara ("Phalcoboenus australis"), which has suffered from over-hunting. The ecoregion has few protected areas. They include Dicky Private Wildlife Reserve ("Refugio Privado de Vida Silvestre Dicky") and Magallanes National Reserve on the mainland, and Reserva Costa Atlántica in Tierra del Fuego. The Patagonian Grasslands of Argentina Conservation Project, organized by The Nature Conservancy, is trying to develop sustainable grazing practices in partnership with scientists and landowners, but it is a challenge to find economic incentives. An Argentine company has worked with The Nature Conservancy to develop protocols
Patagonian Desert Desert is the largest of the 40° parallel and is a large cold winter desert, where the temperature rarely exceeds 12 °C and averages just 3 °C. The region experiences about seven months of winter and five months of summer. Frost is not uncommon in the desert but, due to the very dry condition year round, snow is rare. The Andes, to the desert's west, are the primary reason for the Patagonian desert status as they inhibit the westerly flow of moisture from the southern Pacific from reaching inland. This creates a rain shadow that accounts for the formation of