Protecting and Researching Wildlife Habitats
Colorado Parks and Wildlife understands that conserving and restoring certain species go hand in hand with improving their habitats. Colorado has various habitat communities, but they usually fall into five main types. Each of these landscapes has its own animals and challenges.
Habitats in Colorado
Alpine Habitats
Some Colorado wildlife live in the alpine ecosystem, meaning that they inhabit landscapes where trees become stunted or can no longer grow, which happens at about 11,500 feet in Colorado. Because Colorado contains one-fourth of all alpine habitats in the lower 48 states, it remains a stronghold for alpine species. That’s why it is important for the agency to monitor the impact climate change may have on alpine wildlife.
Which Wildlife Depend on this Habitat?
- White-tailed ptarmigans
- American pikas
- Brown-capped rosy finches
Challenges
- Balancing Recreation and Natural Resources
- Energy Development and Land Use
Conservation in Colorado
Our Work
What we know about climate change suggests that habitats and the types of animals living there will change because of shifts in temperature and rainfall. Pika, white-tailed ptarmigan and brown-capped rosy finches are good indicators of alpine ecosystem health because they're sensitive to these changes. Colorado Parks and Wildlife is keeping a close eye on these species over time to understand how they're doing and how they're affected by the environment.
Aquatic Habitats
Streams, rivers and natural lakes all fall into the aquatic habitat type. Their specific characteristics often vary based on location, creating different habitat communities within Colorado.
25
Colorado species of greatest conservation need supported by lakes
30
species of greatest conservation need supported by mountain streams
33
species of greatest conservation need supported by Eastern Plains rivers
31
species of greatest conservation need supported by rivers like the Colorado, White, and Yampa
Which Wildlife Depend on this Habitat?
- Mountain sucker
- Cutthroat trout
- Leopard frogs
- White pelican
- River otters
- Little brown bats
- White-faced ibis
- Bald eagles
Challenges
- Urban development lends itself to consumptive water use and dams, which can pose problems for aquatic ecosystems.
- Colorado Parks and Wildlife carefully allots water rights and engages in rigorous habitat restoration in order to keep negative effects at a minimum.
Conservation in Colorado
Our Work
Colorado Parks and Wildlife, along with other agencies in the Department of Natural Resources, teams up with the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service in a large conservation program. Together we work with neighboring states, water groups, conservation organizations, and land management agencies. We aim to restore and reconnect river habitats, create smart water plans and involve the public to protect native fish. Colorado Parks and Wildlife's invasive species program leads efforts to raise awareness and prevent the spread of these nonnative species.
Forest Woodland Habitats
Forest ecosystems are complex habitats defined by their trees: a continuous strand of trees, with a closed or open canopy, is classified as a forest. The wildlife within forests depends on these trees for food and shelter. Over 200 species of greatest conservation need are known to use the forests of Colorado.
3.2
million acres covered by ponderosa pine woodlands
2
million acres covered by lodgepole pine forest
nearly 7
million acres covered by piñon-juniper forest
850,000+
acres covered by mixed conifer forest
Which Wildlife Depend on this Habitat?
- Lynx
- Snowshoe hares
- Flammulated owls
- Pawnee montane skipper
Challenges
- Land development (residential, transportation and energy) causes fragmentation
- Human development have modified the natural processes that have shaped that landscape by suppressing fire modified the footprint of the forested landscapes in Colorado
- Climate change may alter natural fire regimes and increase insect outbreaks
Conservation in Colorado
Our Work
Wildlife technicians, biologists, and park staff work hard to take care of our forested areas, making sure both wildlife and visitors benefit. We team up with other government agencies to manage forests and handle fires on public lands. Colorado Parks and Wildlife helps private landowners manage their forests, and our researchers study how wildlife reacts to big insect outbreaks.
Grassland Habitats
Grasslands are made up of grasses and broad-leaved, herbaceous plants. They usually have very few or no woody plants and see warm growing seasons. Examples of grasslands are mixed and tallgrass prairie and shortgrass prairie.
3
million acres in Colorado covered by foothill and mountain grasslands
Which Wildlife Depend on this Habitat?
- Greater prairie chicken
- Sharp-tailed grouse
- Grasshopper sparrow
- Lark bunting
- Sacel
- Northern bobwhite quail
- Ring-necked pheasant
- Lesser prairie chickens
- Burrowing owls
- Hawk
- Massasauga rattlesnake
- Swift fox
Challenges
- Fragmentation to urban sprawl and housing along the front range.
- Largest challenge to Colorado’s mixed and tallgrass remnants is conversion to active row crop production. This massive loss of habitat affects everything from plains mule deer to pheasants to greater-prairie chickens to grasshopper sparrows.
Conservation in Colorado
Our Work
Colorado Parks and Wildlife actively restores grassland habitats through state and federal programs, collaborating with the USDA on initiatives like the Conservation Reserve Program. We partner with Farm Services Agency (FSA) and Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) for effective conservation targeting grassland species like the prairie grouse, grassland songbirds and pollinating insects that support the food chain for most grassland birds.
Additionally, we join forces with other organizations, placing farm bill biologists in NRCS offices to aid in wildlife planning for private landowners. With the grassland ecosystem's vulnerability to drought, CPW closely monitors its health through research. We also collaborate with oil, gas, livestock and ranching industries, implementing best practices for habitat mitigation and restoration.
Shrubland Habitats
Shrubland, also called scrub, bushland or thicket, generally sees more rainfall than grassland or desert but less than forest. Short trees, or shrubs, constitute shrubland, and the habitat type often occurs on ridges and cliffs. Examples of shrubland include sandsage shrublands on Colorado’s eastern plains, saltbrush shrublands and sagebrush shrublands. Desert shrubland are grass-dominated areas with an open shrub layer.
Which Wildlife Depend on this Habitat?
- Kit fox
- Prairie dog
- Lesser prairie chicken
- Gunnison sage grouse
- Greater sage grouse
- Burrowing owl
- Columbian sharp-tailed grouse
- Golden eagle
Challenges
- Fragmentation due to roads and trails
- Invasive species
- Agriculture and livestock
- Oil and gas
Conservation in Colorado
Our Work
Colorado Parks and Wildlife strives to mitigate the effects of various threats to shrublands through efforts such as habitat restoration, the Invasive Species Program, implementation of compatible grazing practices and best management practices.
Riparian and Wetland Habitats
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) defines wetlands as “areas where water covers the soil, or is present either at or near the surface of the soil all year or for varying periods of time during the year, including during the growing season.” Riparian zones are the areas alongside a river or stream. These conditions support a unique set of wildlife species.
Which Wildlife Depend on this Habitat?
- Boreal toad
- Preble’s meadow jumping mouse
- Whooping crane
- Snowshoe hare
- Checkered whiptail
- Aquatic species
Challenges
- Drought, dams, groundwater depletion
- Invasive species
Conservation in Colorado
Our Work
Colorado Parks and Wildlife strives to mitigate negative effects of these through habitat restoration and conservation easements. We also utilize area management processes and best management practices to overcome the obstacles posed by roads and trails as well as oil and gas drilling. Colorado Parks and Wildlife’s Invasive Species Program and Resource Stewardship section address these issues by raising awareness and mitigating the spread of these nonnative species.
Other Habitats
A few habitat communities in Colorado do not fit neatly within any established habitat types. These communities fall into a miscellaneous “other” category. These include hot springs, sand dunes, agriculture, reservoirs, shorelines, mountains and canyons.
Which Wildlife Depend on this Habitat?
- Greater sandhill crane
- Owl
- Bat
- Eagle
- Bighorn Sheep
Challenges
- Recreational activities
- Mining
- Climate change
Conservation in Colorado
Our Work
Colorado Parks and Wildlife addresses these challenges by implementing best management practices, completing careful land use planning, and dedicating time to research and monitoring of fragile and changing habitats.
Protecting Colorado Habitats
The work of Colorado Parks and Wildlife's land conservation programs also include protecting habitat for Colorado wildlife.
Protecting Colorado Wetlands and Habitats
Since its beginning in 1997, the Colorado Wetlands Program has preserved, restored, enhanced or created almost 220,000 acres of wetlands and adjacent habitat and more than 200 miles of streams.
Find out more about the programProtecting Colorado Natural Areas
Working with the Colorado Natural Areas Program, Colorado Parks and Wildlife helps to protect 96 Designated Natural Areas, which are home to threatened or endangered animal species.
Learn more about the programHabitat Research
Researching Wildlife Habitat
Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) is committed to researching better ways to restore and improve wildlife habitat. Many CPW researchers, biologists and managers are actively engaged as wildlife habitat restoration and improvement requires a broad knowledge base.
Restoring and improving wildlife habitat can involve:
Habitat Research
Current Research Projects
Restoring and improving terrestrial wildlife habitat is critical to ensuring that wildlife has access to the resources — forage, water, shelter — needed to sustain healthy populations. This requires understanding how habitat is being impacted and what methods are most effective in creating a landscape suitable for a variety of wildlife.
NutraFix ™ (Edaphix™ LLC) is a recently developed fertilizer formula which has been shown in preliminary trials to control cheatgrass while promoting the growth of perennial plants. In this study, our goal is to inform application rates and to better understand any positive or negative effects NutraFix may have on soil processes. A parallel study being conducted by Utah Division of Wildlife Resources will extend the scope of the study to 10 sites (5 in Colorado and 5 in Utah), with support from the Agricultural Resources Service for soil work.
A new type of seeder, dubbed a pothole seeder, was designed and built as part of another CPW study after prior research indicated that seeding over a roughened surface of mounds and holes could aid in cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum) control during plant establishment. The goal of this project is to monitor the first 4 projects to use the new pothole seeder located at Escalante SWA (Delta County), Mountain Island Ranch (Mesa County), Nash Wash (Grand County Utah), and Sims Mesa (Montrose County). We continue to improve the seeder and monitor its effectiveness at aiding plant establishment and controlling weeds. We also aim to improve habitat for species like antelope and Gunnison sage-grouse.
Piceance Basin
Pinyon-juniper habitat has increased throughout the western United States over the past century. While this increase is not necessarily unnatural or detrimental, managers often convert pinyon-juniper stands to sagebrush ecosystems in an effort to increase forage for big game, especially elk and mule deer. This can be accomplished by fire, however using prescribed fire as a management tool is often difficult to implement due to safety concerns.
Therefore, several mechanical methods of removing pinyon and juniper trees have been developed:
- Ship Anchor Chaining - This is the oldest method and entails dragging a ship anchor chain between two bulldozers in order to pull over and uproot trees. This is generally the least expensive method, although it causes soil disturbance and large tree skeletons remain behind after treatments.
- Roller Chopping – This method entails dragging a rotating drum with protruding plates behind a bulldozer. Trees are knocked over by the bulldozer and chopped into pieces by the rotating drum.
- Mastication - This is the most recent and expensive method. It uses a rubber-tired loader with a mulching head to grind trees into a fine mulch. This method causes the least amount of soil disturbance of the three described here.
To determine which of these three treatments produces the most favorable plant community, we initiated a field study in the Magnolia region of the Piceance Basin in fall 2011. Each treatment was applied to a 0.8-hectare parcel in each of 7 replications. Initially, we saw higher incidence of exotic species with rollerchopping than with chaining or hydroaxing, and a benefit of mastication in establishing native annual species. In 2017, six years post-treatment, there were few differences among treatment types, but all treated areas differed greatly from controls. Perennial grass cover and cheatgrass cover were higher in treated areas. Perennial forb cover and cover of bitterbrush (Purshia tridentata) were higher in seeded portions of treated areas.
Prior to 1976 the largest contiguous stand of bitterbrush in North America was centered at Bitterbrush State Wildlife Area near Maybell, Colorado. Fires and cheatgrass invasion have resulted in the loss of two-thirds of this stand, which provides critical winter forage for big game. Although some bitterbrush recovery has been noted in many areas recovery has been too slow to outpace the return of fire.
Big game heavily utilize the remnant patches of bitterbrush which have escaped fire at Bitterbrush State Wildlife area. Protecting these patches and promoting their expansion will likely require finding a technique for cheatgrass control that is compatible with bitterbrush germination. It may also require finding parts of the landscape where seed predation is lower. Rodents and harvester ants compete for bitterbrush seeds, and cheatgrass invasion has likely changed both rodent and ant populations. Although bitterbrush relies on rodents to help disperse their seeds, and most bitterbrush plants grow from abandoned rodent caches, too much rodent cache pilfering could prevent bitterbrush from re-establishing. Our experiments include weed control treatments, ant exclusion, and rodent exclusion cages to help unravel these effects.
Habitat Research
Research Library
The Research Library was created in the late 1960s to provide support primarily to the wildlife research sections. The Research Library evolved to serve the broader information management needs of CPW staff. Library collections now include habitat research publications.