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2016 conservation track: identifying key wetlands areas in the rio grande national forest by alison gallensky and aaron hall
1. Identifying Key Wetlands Areas in
the Rio Grande National Forest
Alison Gallensky
GIS and IT Director
Aaron Hall, PhD
Representative, Rockies and Plains
@aarohall
2. The Project
What: Identify high quality wetlands and
wetlands complexes
Where: Rio Grande National Forest,
Colorado
Why: so they can be protected
When: As part of the current Forest Plan
revision process
How: use a combination of Geographic
Information System modeling and analysis,
expert input, and site visits
And: come up with an approach that can
be used in other areas.
GIS in the Rockies 2016
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3. Outline
Wetlands – Aaron
Forest Planning – Alison
Wetlands Analysis – Aaron and Alison
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5. Wetlands, why do we care?
Wetlands are important?
Ecosystem services (quality and quantity)
Water storage
Carbon sequestration
Water filtration
Plant and animal habitat
90% of species
25% on public lands (lower 48)
Opportunity!
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6. National Forests
The United States Forest Service is a
division of the federal government that
manages National Forests
There are 155 National Forest covering
almost 190 million acres of forests and
grasslands in the United States (8.5%
percent of land in the United States).
There are 15 National Forests in
Colorado covering over 13 million acres
(20% of land in Colorado).
The Rio Grande National Forest covers
1.86 million acres in southwest
Colorado.
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7. Forest Planning
Every National Forest must develop and
maintain an effective management
plan.
The Forest Service is required to involve
the public in forest planning.
The Forest Service must develop and
update a 10 to 15 year plan for how it
would manage the land and resources
in each individual national forest.
All management activities in the
national forest must be consistent with
the forest plan.
The Rio Grande National Forest is in the
process of updating its plan.
Divide Ranger District - North Clear Creek Falls, water tumbling
over a rock cliff. West of Creede, Highway 149.
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8. Wetlands Analysis: Public Lands
Goal: identify important wetlands and wetland complexes
High value
Ecosystem services
Biotic habitat
Including “watershed” area
Simple GIS analysis
Readily available data
Portable to other landscapes
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9. Methods
Start with NWI data
Assess variables
8 abiotic
15 biotic (43 species identified)
Additive scoring system
No rankings/weightings
Rank scored by HUC12
Document conflicts
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10. Abiotic Variables
Wetland size
Adjacency
Network
Headwaters
Springfed (2)
Carbon sequestration
Human modification
Rio Grande Reservoir, fall foliage, West of Creede,
Highway 149, US Forest ServiceGIS in the Rockies 2016
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11. Biotic Variables
Boreal toad
Bald eagle
Gunnison sage-grouse
Osprey
Peregrine falcon
Rio Grande chub
Rio Grande cutthroat trout
Xanthus skipper
Altai cottongrass
Arizona willow
Northern moonwort
Philadelphia fleabane
Smith’s whitlowgrass
Southern Rocky Mountain cinquefoil
Gunnison sage-grouse Northern moonwort Xanthus skipper
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12. Data Sources
Data Set Source Contents Used in Analysis
National Wetlands
Inventory
US Fish & Wildlife Service Wetlands/Characteristics
National Hydrology
Database
USGS Streams/Rivers/Springs
National Map USGS Springs
NHD Plus EPA/USGS Stream Order
Element Occurrences Colorado Natural Heritage
Program
Animal and Plant Sightings
Potential Conservation
Areas
Colorado Natural Heritage
Program
Habitat for Sensitive Species
Wildlife Habitat Colorado Oil & Gas Conservation
Commission/Colorado Parks and
Wildlife
Animal Habitat Areas
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18. Contact Information
Aaron Hall
Rockies and Plains Representative
Defenders of Wildlife
720-943-4581
ahall@defenders.org
Alison Gallensky
GIS and IT Director
Rocky Mountain Wild
303-454-3345
alison@rockymountainwild.org
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