This report summarizes the results of a rapid landscape-scale climate vulnerability assessment for the Gunnison Basin. The primary objective of this assessment was to determine what ecosystems/habitats and species are most at risk to climate change (and why) under climate change scenarios predicted for 2050. This report summarizes the results of a landscape-scale climate change vulnerability assessment of 24 ecosystems (17 terrestrial and seven freshwater ecosystems) and 73 species of concern (50 plants and 23 animals) in the Upper Gunnison Basin, Colorado.
Species distribution modeling is one of many tools available to assist managers in understanding the potential distribution of rare and endemic species when regulating and prioritizing different land-use scenarios. Developing a predictive model of the distribution of a particular species can involve several different techniques, and be reported under a variety of names. In this study we used an iterative modeling approach to investigate the potential distribution of two rare species: Physaria (Lesquerella) congesta (Dudley Bluffs Bladderpod), and Physaria obcordata (Piceance twinpod).
Seventeen globally imperiled plants found in oil and gas development areas in Colorado are in danger of extinction. Collectively, these species occupy less than 11,000 acres in Colorado. One of the biggest conservation issues for Colorado native plants is the lack of awareness of the existence and status of these rare plant species. Avoiding or minimizing impacts to these species during oil and gas development activities may help to effectively conserve their habitat and is unlikely to confer substantial impacts on oil and gas development projects.
This report includes a summary of the results of the past ten years of population monitoring of targeted noxious weeds at the U.S. Air force Academy, emphasizing changes that were observed between 2012 and 2016.
