Linking Colorado's Landscapes
Linking Colorado's Landscapes was designated the 2006 Exemplary Ecosystem Award by the Federal Highway Administration!
Read SREP and CDOT Press
Release - October 2007
Click here
to learn
more about the importance of landscape connectivity.
Phase I
In a step towards implementing our Vision, SREP completed a statewide
assessment of wildlife linkages in collaboration with the
Colorado
Department of Transportation (CDOT), the Federal Highway
Administration, The Nature
Conservancy, and Colorado State University, identifying and
prioritizing wildlife linkages across the state of Colorado. The goal of
this work is to provide transportation planners, state and federal
agencies, community leaders, engineers, and conservationists with a
statewide vision for reconnecting habitats that are vital for
maintaining healthy populations of native species.
Both the Federal Highway Administration and CDOT have begun promoting
wildlife crossings in their transportation plans and construction
projects. While much of the work to date is preliminary, CDOT has
completed an analysis of the Interstate 70 (I-70) transportation
corridor that identified 13 key wildlife-crossing areas. Agency support
for wildlife connectivity is critical to the survival of wildlife
populations at both a local and a regional scale. Through Linking
Colorado's Landscapes SREP expanded upon CDOT's work on I-70 to analyze
connectivity needs for wildlife across the entire state.
To achieve the goals of the project, SREP utilized a two-track approach
that integrated local and regional expertise, as well as computer
modeling. The first track - or 'expert track' – consisted of a series of
interagency workshops held across the state to identify both functioning
and degraded wildlife linkages vital to wildlife populations. The
workshop participants then evaluated the characteristics and existing
condition of each identified linkage.
The second track - or 'computer modeling track' - considered the same
questions within the framework of a geographic information system (GIS).
Colorado State University research scientist
Dr. Dave Theobald lead this effort. Dr. Theobald combined layers of
spatial data about landscape characteristics (e.g., topography, rivers
and streams) with wildlife habitat preferences and movement patterns to
model areas of the landscape that are important for wildlife movement.
The highest priority linkages identified by each of these tracks were
then combined with CDOT animal-vehicle collision data and transportation
planning data to select a subset of high-priority wildlife linkages for
further assessment.
To download the Phase I Report
click here
For more information on creating safe highways for wildlife and people
click here
Phase II
Having identified important wildlife linkages, the next phase in the
project was to conduct in-depth analysis for each of these linkages and
develop preliminary recommendations for improving highway permeability
for wildlife. The following high priority linkage areas were selected
for these analyses (click on the title to download a report; to download
the Methodology Report describing how the Linkage Assessments were
completed, click here):
Douglas
County Front (I-25): Connectivity among these otherwise
isolated habitat remnants at the fringes of the burgeoning Denver
metropolitan area supports local wildlife dispersal.
Durango-San Juan Basin (US 160, US 550): Linkages traversing
Highway 160 east and west of Durango and Highway 550 north of Durango
provide important connections between elk winter ranges and dispersal
corridors for black bears.
US 160, Durango to Pagosa Springs
US 160, Mancos to Durango
US 550, Animas Valley
Meeker
to Craig (CO 13): Three primary linkage areas were identified
across Highway 13, connecting the White River National Forest to
northwester BLM lands.
US 13, Big Bottom
US 13, Nine-Mile Gap
US 13, Meeker Hogback
Monarch Pass and Poncha Pass (US 50, US 285): Spanning between
the Sawatch Range, Cochetopa Hills, and the Sangre de Cristos, this
linkage opens up access to large expanses of otherwise inaccessible
habitat.
Montrose-Ridgway (US 550): This linkage provides a connection
for deer, elk, mountain lions, and other animals moving through the
valley between the Uncompahgre Plateau and the Cimmaron Mountains.
North
Tennessee Pass (US 24): A critical linkage through the central
Rockies, Tennessee Pass is part of a larger linkage crossing over Vail
Pass to connect the Eagle's Nest and Holy Cross Wilderness Areas.
Raton
Pass (I-25): While there is little public land in this area, the
linkage continues to support wildlife movement between the large
expanses of plains habitat to the east and foothills habitat to the
west.
Wolf Creek Pass (US 160): Spanning the
Continental Divide, this linkage provides an important landscape
connection for large carnivores between the high quality habitats of the
South San Juan and Weminuche Wilderness Areas.
SREP visited and inventoried each of these linkage areas where they are
transected by highways, compiling information on existing structures,
and determining how and where animals are traversing from one side of
the roadway to the other. These inventory data were combined with other
layers of information, such as land ownership and management adjacent to
the highway, traffic densities, and zoning. To complete the linkage
assessments, SREP partnered with transportation engineers to develop
guidelines and recommendations for improving safe passages for wildlife
across these critical stretches of highway. These recommendations,
combined with information on future highway projects will help to
discern appropriate mitigation measures and funding opportunities.
CDOT recently awarded two grants for three-year wildlife crossing field
studies to members of our Linking Colorado’s Landscapes Executive
Committee from Colorado State University, Dr. Dave Theobald and Dr.
Kevin Crooks. SREP will continue collaborating with
Dr. Theobald and
Dr. Crooks to ensure coordination between these monitoring efforts
and the implementation of appropriate mitigation measures.
|
