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Southern Rockies, Colorado Presented by Danielle Neumann For Endangered Species, Society & Sustainability White River National Forest

White River National Forest Presentation

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White River National Forest

Southern Rockies, ColoradoPresented by Danielle NeumannForEndangered Species, Society & Sustainability White River National Forest

I have lived in (yes, in) the White River National Forest for the last 6 years. The pictures provided through the presentation are mainly my own. This forest is close to my heart, fulfilling the need for wilderness that drove my husband and I to leave Michigan and move to a state, Colorado, where we knew no one. I wanted to share my experience here on a slide.My Forest

My mustang & I in the WRNF. Packing Tibetan Yaks at Camp Hale with my friend. I went on my first climb in Lime Creek Canyon.The view from Deep Creek Overlook, the Flat Tops, WRNF.

The WRNF is owned by the American people through the government and run by the United States of America Department of Agriculture Forest Service.Though the forest is public wilderness managed by the government, there are many towns and cities within its borders with private properties.The WRNF is located in the Southern Rockies, in the western half of Colorado. I have provided a map of this extensive, amazing mass of land.There are 8 wilderness areas, 10 mountain peaks over 14,000 feet above sea level and 12 ski resorts in the forest spread over 2.3 MILLION acres.This is the top forest in the country for recreation.This map is provided by the U.S.F.S. (fs.usda.gov)About White River National Forest

History

The White River National Forest was established in 1891 as the White River Plateau Timber Reserve; it was the second such timber reserve in the United StatesThe USFS gained the WRNF in 1905 after an act of Congress changed the name forest reserves to national forestsThe WRNF was originally 1.1 million acres, created by President Harrison. President Roosevelt visited in 1901 while his chief executive hunted mountain lions. Roosevelt reduced the forest by 61,000 acres in 1902 and a further 159,000 acres in 1904.In 1946, Aspen Mountain opened with two chair lifts. In the 1960s, following Aspens skiing success, other resorts opened up. More than 10 million people visit the forest each year now.1984 was the year the forest completed its first Land and Resource Management Plan (fs.usda.gov)It is a local myth, accepted and unaccepted by certain theorists, that after Roosevelts WRNF hunting trip in 1901 he was presented with the first stuffed bear at the Hotel Colorado in Glenwood Springs. This is claimed to be the origin of the teddy bear.

Types of Habitat

The habitats of the forest are incredibly diverse, from low elevation shrubland to 14,000 foot mountain peaksSome of the riparian habitats are found near the Piney lake, Sylvan Lake, Squaw Creek, Salt Creek and Lake Creek areas.Sagebrush flats can be found up on the Flat Tops, in the Wolcott area, the Rifle area and the Meeker area

Montane forests cover many of our skiable acreage, such as Beaver CreekTimberlines are clearly visible and relatively easily hiked to from the Piney Lake areaSubalpine & alpine habitats can be visited in the Gore Range & Sawatch range; 14,000 peaks such as Mt Holy Cross can be summited in WRNFOn the way to the 14,000 peak summits alpine grasslands and tundra are crossed

Species OverviewThis is Copper, a fox in the WRNF who used to come to us when called and hike around our property with us.The WRNF is home to a great diversity of species, such as :

Black bearMountain lionMooseBig horn sheepElkMule deerRed foxPine martens Bats

Endangered Species include:

Black-footed ferretLynx

Raptors commonly sighted:

Bald eagleGolden eagleAmerican kestrelOspreyRed-tailed hawksGreat horned owls

Over 249 avian species have been recorded on Ebird. (ebird.com)

Flora includes:

Aspen grovesSagebrushJuniper CottonwoodVarious firsVarious pinesColumbineLarkspur

(fs.usfs.gov)

LynxLynx canadensisI spoke at length with Elizabeth Roberts, a wildlife bioligist and botanist with the White River National Forest. The audio of my phone interview is on the next slide, as our in-person interview fell through.

The last known lynx was trapped in what is now the back bowls of Vail Ski Resort in the 1970s. This does not mean there were no more lynx left in the state, rather that there were no more reported sightings.

In 1999, reintroduction of the lynx began, with 69 released in suitable habitats across the state. All of the released animals wore collars to aid research.

The lynx was put on the Endangered Species Act in 2000 and a recovery plan was due September of 2002. The recovery plan was never completed. However, an interagency coordinated approach was addressed through two amendments. Liz felt that the amendments were crucial to the reintroduction success & really helped guide management policies. The lack of a recovery plan can be misleading if the amendments are not discussed when the topic isbroached.

At first, when the lynx were introduced, there was a highmortality rate. The lynx were then held & fed well beforerelease. There is no conclusive data on why the mortalityrates were so high, but it can be reasonably deduced that the lynx needed a grace period to adjust to the new territories. Mortality rates dropped with the new approach.

It is difficult to know what a self-sustaining, non-threatenedpopulation of lynx looks like as they are not an apex predator and were scarce to begin with. However, since multiple generations have reproduced without human intercession, the reintroduction is considered a success. (wikipedia.org)

Lynx (continued)

Researchers have left the lynx population alone for the last few years. Liz was of the opinion that this was beneficial to the species, as they are not acclimated to people and the population should be left wild if success is to continue.

Monitoring such an elusive species is difficult. Researchers use trail cameras set up at key crossroads to identify individuals and traffic.

Snowshoe hare are the primary diet of the lynx, with red-tailed squirrels being their secondary prey. Both live in old growth forests, which have been affected by our Rocky Mountain pine beetle epidemic. There is an ongoing study of hare populations, but Liz pointed out that the new growth trees unaffected by the beetles provide suitable habitat & forage for the snowshoe hares.

The lynx issue prompted a terrorist group to light structures on Vail Mountain on fire when Vail proposed an expansion of their ski terrain in an area with ideal lynx habitat. While the ski runs and the traffic in the winter do affect some of their terrain, Liz pointed out that the forest service took the lynx population into account when considering the expansion (Vail leases from the U.S. Forest Service.) Part of the contract with Vail required operations in the summer to be completely stopped so the lynx are not disturbed for that portion of the year. It should be noted that Blue Sky Basin, the expansion, backs up to large, completely undeveloped tracks of lynx habitat and wilderness areas.

As discussed further in this presentation, the lynx habitat in the WRNF is highly fractured and this species is very subject to the edge effects.(rockymountainwild.org)

I called the public affairs department of the White River National Forest and spoke with Bill Kight about shadowing a ranger for a day or coming in to do an interview. He was really helpful and suggested that I meet with Elizabeth Roberts, a wildlife biologist and botanist who has been with the White River National Forest for over 10 years. He suggested that Liz, as she goes by, would know the most about lynx habitat. All of the information on the previous few slides are referenced from my interview.

Liz is getting ready to leave the WRNF for a position in Oregon and had to cancel our in-person interview. Instead, we scheduled it last minute over the phone. Some of my questions were more suited for the Colorado Department of Wildlife wildlife manager, but I was unable to meet with him in time to complete this project. I tried to keep the tone of the interview conversational instead of interrogational. As I have never met Liz face to face, I was a little more awkward and said um more that I usually would have. Part of it was me trying to stay organized while interviewing from my car!

While we began discussing lynx, towards the end of the interview we discussed some management issues and very briefly touched on invasive species. The second audio clip was simply me asking about Lizs career path and for her career path suggestions, which might be useful to other students in this course.

Interview With WRNF Biologist

Lynx/Management/Invasive QuestionsCareer Adivice

Eurasian Collared-DoveStreptopelia decaocto

There is concern among ornithologists that Eurasian collared-doves are aggressive to native doves and other avian species. They are known to be bullies to local species at bird feeders.However, some ornithologists point out that birds can appear and have explosions in population numbers only to disappear.Across Colorado, there is no bag limit on how many Eurasian collared-doves a hunter can bring down. Hunting is considered the primary management tool at the moment. (denverpost,com)

Invasive Fauna Species

A few Eurasian collared-doves were introduced to the Bahamas in the 1970s.In the 1980s, the Eurasian collared-dove spread to Florida and rapidly colonized most of North America (Allaboutbirds.com)The Bahama birds escaped a burglarized pet shop & made their way to North AmericaThe first Eurasian collared-dove spotted by ornithologists in Colorado was in Rocky Ford in 1996The Eurasian collared-dove is now found in all 64 counties of Colorado, with an estimated population of over 19,000 individuals in 2014 (including White River National Forest)

(Denverpost.com)

Invasive Flora SpeciesScentless ChammomileMatricaria perforata

Scentless chamomile is an escaped ornamental imported from EuropeThe plant now grows worldwideIt is a bushy annual, - 2 feet tall, with 12 petal white flowersIt is well-established in the White River National ForestScentless chamomile is a member of the sunflower familyThe plant has no forage valueIt can cause blistering of muzzles & irritate mucous membranes as well as cause skin rashes in livestockA large portion of White River National Forest is open to livestockScentless chamomile can be confused with Oxeye daisy, which is also a white flower with a yellow center. Oxeye daisy has lobed, broad leafs. The Oxeye daisy is more fern-like. (co.laplata.co.us)

(co.laplata.us)

Management ChallengesAs Liz pointed out in our phone conversation, the White River National Forest is an urban forest. This comes with a unique set of management needs and goals.

There is a large amount of private property within the forest borders. This makes management challenging at times- for instance, controlled burns and natural burns are allowed, but private property and the safety of residents come first. One can logically conclude that this would also make permitting and usage laws different than they might have been if the forest was undeveloped. As the number one forest in the country for recreation, the tourism industry has to be taken into account as it is a huge driving force in the local economies. While this increases traffic and can fracture habitats and create larger edge effects for wildlife, it must be pointed out that people tend to protect and care about what they love. When people visit and play in the forest, the usage fees they pay go to forest maintenance and protection and personal attachment to that specific wilderness is increased. It can be deduced that this increased attachment would make citizens more likely to vote in ways that are beneficial to the forest. (Wikipedia.org)(wikipedia.org)

There are many design flaws within the White River National Forest, unfortunately. We have an extensive road network through many of the wilderness areas and ranges found within the borders, and the forest is an urban forest as discussed in the previous slide. Access to the forest is crucial to the local economies and generally viewed in a positive light. However, in recent years there has been controversy in the White River National Forest over how far that should go. Hidden Gems is a debate that you will hear about in coffee shops, at lunch and on bumper stickers. The Hidden Gems proposal for Colorado intended to expand wildernesses, including the White River National Forest, and create additional wildernesses. The counties where White River National Forest is found were the most affected. Off-road enthusiasts, mountain bikers and industries such as logging and mining have gone against the proposal, wanting those areas to remain open to vehicle access. People in favor of the proposal argue that it is necessary to preserve some of our more pristine wilderness areas and keep them accessible by more natural means only, such as hiking and horseback riding. In wilderness areas, no motorized vehicles or commercial activities are allowed in general. (coloradoindependent.com)It is my personal opinion that enough backcountry areas are accessible by vehicles. Take a look at the next slide to get an idea of what access to part of the WRNF is like. Keep in mind that this is only a small portion of the national forest as a whole. This link below will take you to more extensive maps and areas such as Piney lake and Holy Cross. I think it is important not to further fracture the habitat that many endangered and beloved species call home.

Design Flaws

http://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/whiteriver/home/?cid=stelprdb5328680

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This is just a sample of some of our accessible areas still considered backcountry. I had to shrink the map to fit the slide, but any line that is not bold or designating the grid is a public road!Motor Vehicle Use in WRNF

(fs.usda.gov)

I realize that saying I have no clear suggestion might seem like a lack of care or study for the purpose of this presentation. However, the design of the forest is currently a hot debate with both sides supported by many highly educated people who know the forest intimately. I thought that I could easily say how I would have done things differently in the past, but upon reflection I dont think that is true.Ideally, the forest would not be cut almost in half from north to south by Interstate 70. The construction of the highway was originally a hot debate by locals. The building of an elk fence about 10 years ago, to keep wildlife off the highway and reduce fatalities of people and wildlife alike, was also controversial as it interrupts traditional elk migrations. I used to board my horse next to the Colorado Department of Wildlife wildlife managers property (Bill Andre.) One day Bill mentioned in passing that it was sad how the lynxs habitat was fractured by the highway in an almost impassable way for the species. However, this has made visiting our area safer for tourists and has brought in much needed revenues. I am in favor of the Hidden Gems proposal and do think that there should be more hard-to-reach areas. I think this would help a huge design flaw (the building of roads and amount of easy human access.) We have shy species such as the lynx and black-footed ferret that are affected by human presence.As far as ideal design goes, the approval for the ski areas such as Vail and Beaver Creek should not have been approved. There was much construction in the forest for the development of the resorts, including alteration of landscapes for ski runs and lifts. Though I cant agree with the terrorists who started fires at Vail, I can agree that the creation of Blue Sky Basin did fracture lynx habitat and render it unusable during winter. However, I do ski Blue Sky Basin and I do appreciate the boost to the economy Vail Resorts has provided. This also generates more money for conservation of areas not in use right now; Vail Resorts does contribute to environmental education and protection even as they use some controversial areas to make profits.I dont feel that there is any clear cut answer to designing the White River National Forest. Perhaps there is no clear-cut answer to design suggestions in any of the forests or reserves we discuss in this class. In summary, there is much that could have been done in the name of preservation and conservation when designing the forest at the expense of the economy and mountain lifestyles.My biggest suggestion would be to maintain where we are, dont build any more roads, campgrounds or access and approve the Hidden Gems Proposal. This would involve increased community presence by WRNF workers and those who can make a convincing case for lack of easy access in a wilderness expansion.Design Suggestion

Roberts, Elizabeth. "Elizabeth Roberts Interview." Telephone interview. 6 Mar. 2015."About White River National Forest." Forest Service. USDA, n.d. Web. 6 Mar. 2015."History & Culture." White River National Forest -. FS/USDA, n.d. Web. 08 Mar. 2015.Scoppettone, G. Gary. "A FISH SURVEY OF THE WHITE RIVER, NEVADA." Western North American Naturalist 64.1 (2004): 45-52. Forest Service. USDA. Web. 6 Mar. 2015."EBird Subnational2 Eagle." EBird. EBird, n.d. Web. 08 Mar. 2015."Lynx Photo." Wikipedia. Wikipedia, n.d. Web. 6 Mar. 2015. ."Scentless Chamomile (Matricaria Perforata)." Scentless Chamomile (Matricaria Perforata). State of Colorado, n.d. Web. 08 Mar. 2015. .Lofholm, Nancy. "Invasive Doves Colonize Colorado and Overshadow "good" Doves." The Denver Post. The Denver Post, 25 Feb. 2014. Web. 08 Mar. 2015."Eurasian Collared-Dove." Identification, All About Birds. Cornell Lab of Ornithology, n.d. Web. 08 Mar. 2015.Vail, Colorado." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web. 08 Mar. 2015. ."Stop Hidden Gems Logo." Blogspot.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 6 Mar. 2015. ."Pro Hidden Gems Logo." Icravefreebies.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 6 Mar. 2015. .Williams, David O. "Hidden Gems Wilderness Debate Heats Up In Mountain Towns." Coloradoindependent.com. Colorado Independent, 2 Aug. 2010. Web. 8 Mar. 2015. .References