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Mancos Watershed - 14080107 <br />HISTORI' OF THE l~I_-ANC"05 RIZ~ER CORRIDOR <br />l~tarcli 2~(IG <br />1~Iaril~n Col~~er <br />In a land t~°here ~~°ater can be~ uncertain it is no «~onder that the Mancos Ri~~er is the ~ ital artery for <br />m~ui~- plants and annuals. Even fiom the times of prehistoric lnuuanl:ind, and t~~ell before that. this <br />2000 foot deep can)-on sere-eel as home to mane species, plant and animal, and a tra~-el linlti bet«-cen <br />the La Plata Mountains. the M~uicos ti'alle~-, the ~~-idz opzn desert, and tinall~~ connecting to thz San <br />Juui Ki~rer. ti~~`e l~zo~~~ that the ~ucestral Puebloans came here to gather o~rer thirty--t«-o spzeies of <br />plants that the`- used ~uicl that clicl not ~gi-o«- on top of the Mesa ~~ercle cuesta nor on the other mesas <br />-hire thane people farmed and li~~ed. ~~~e also l~to«° that, during historic tunas, the ~~ei-~- first <br />settlement of European ranchers z~`as along tha rig-er. end no~~-, the ~~cildlife ha~~e oncz again <br />inherited the M~uicos Ri~-cr corridor, at least in a small «-a~ ; at least, for ti~-e ri<<er miles in I\Iesa <br />~'ercle National P~u-l:. <br />_~t this tuna, as housing de~~elopment continues in an e~~ er increasing t~~a~-, the Mancos ti'alle~- is <br />being closed off more and more. Fences, roads, clogs, «-ater pipelines, monocultures of ha~•lands, <br />and houses ha~~e become so dense that there are miles without a clear tlui and miles ~~~ithout a <br />thicket of trees or bn~sh to hide in. The ri~-er has been dried up from rear to ~-eu• b~- persistent <br />iii-igation. e~~en at the cost of Billing tight milts of ri~•er in the l~iancos ~'alle~~ for a fe«- htuiclrecl <br />bales of hay- during the 2002 drought. The deer and el1L can scu-cel~- more ti•oin the sununer Tanga <br />in the La Plata A~Iountains to the i~-inter range in the lowlands. No~~-, a person can count up to ten <br />cars a milt during the ear1~- morning hours and again during the late et-ening hours, just «°hen the <br />ungulates mo~~e to graze in the co~•er of chin clarl;~tess. There can be up to eight animals a clay, day <br />after clay- in the spring and fall, lillecl ~~ ithin a titt~ mile stretch. Dad- after day- the slaughter goes on <br />and no«- deer art at the lowest ntunbers that they- ha~-e bean for silt- ~ cars. Bza~-zrs u~c not <br />allo«-ed in the l~luicos ~,'alle~~ because their instincts to dam tlo~~-ing «-atzr, e~-en ditches, causes <br />great consternation with the farmers. Porcupine still occur in small numbers in the La Plata <br />Mountains but the`- dare not cross the ~~alle~- to seek new territor`~ on adjacent ~~-ild lands because <br />in~-ariabl~- they- are billed on the high~ti~a~~s or shot before their quills are put in a curious colt, calf, <br />or clog. ~t this time, soma huma~t iitliabitants of the ~•alle~- tolerate the larger predators and some clo <br />not. The fe~ti- people «~ho still raise shaep cannot ha~-e mountain lions, co~-otes, and bears. Cattle <br />and horses m•e Bept in mane pastures and this requires mane fences. Fa« ns cmi not jump a fi`-e foot <br />high field «°ire fence and some adult deer miss the mark and become eutanglecl to clie there. During <br />the 1960's the Montezuma C:ount~- Mosquito Control Program vas initiated. I~Ialathion ~`-as spra~~ <br />o~~er the water`-a~.s ~utcl all ponds, up ~uicl cloy`-n tha ri~~er and into the head ~ti-aters. Leopard fi-ogs, <br />bads«-immer bugs, rip~~rian birds. bats. quid o«-1s died b~- the dro~-es. In fact, ~ti-ithin ten rears the <br />leopard ti~og «-as gone! Bird «-atchers reported swing dead «~arblers, tanagers, nati~-e spai7-o«-s, ~uicl <br />e~-en o«-1s, 1~-ing on the ground along the rig-er follo~~ ing the «-eelil~- inalathion aerial spra~~ing. <br />These are some of the hazards for ~ti~ildlife and these human acti~-itie~s ha~~e made a huge break in <br />the important corridor for seasonal tray-e1 and for gene tlo~~-. <br />`What about the plants? I can say- that they ha~-e been ~ttfectecl in t« o «°avs. The ~-alley- nati~•e plants <br />ha~-e been plo~~°ecl up and irrigated a«°a~ . ~xl to replace them eve ha~•e a congestion of European <br />and _-~sian species, somz dzsirzs b~- peoplz and somz not. This replacement ztfect continues clo«~n <br />the rig-erc~-a~- through National Parl: land and through the LTta Mountain Indian Rzser~-ation. ~t this <br />time it is difficult to determine «~hat the nati~~e plant communities «~ould haze fooled like. No~ti- ~ti°e <br />~~e oti-er half of the ground co~~er as non-nati`-e plant special. <br />