Today's Strategy, Tommorow's Wildlife January 1983 Third Edition

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Colorado's Wildlife - The Broad Picture Colorado wildlife is a renewable natural resource unequalled in human interest, recrea- tional enjoyment, economic value and overall public benefit. Colorado law says that "wildlife" means all vertebrates, including fish, and crusta- ceans and mollusks. About 960 different species live in Colorado. THE HABITAT BASE Our geographical latitude and the variations in elevation —from 3,500 feet to over 14,300 feet — give this Rocky Mountain State a wide variety of habitats and resulting wildlife. There are other parts of this wildlife habitat formula ... tempera- ture, summer rains and winter snows and the dif- ferent "life zones" ... the prairies, foothills, mon- tane, subalpine and alpine. Each of these zones produces myriad land forms and accompanying plants and many lakes, creeks, ponds, and rivers. In Colorado, there is a transition from the moun- tains to the prairies through some of the most diversified wildlife habitat on the North American continent. Before the turn of the century, human pres- sures on wildlife were few and relatively unim- portant. People activities, in fact, were some- times beneficial to wildlife. For instance, farmers left fences, weeds and willow patches as places for pheasants, quail and other farm game to live. Those days are mostly gone. Farming, graz- ing, timber cutting, lake and reservoir construc- tion and many other modifications of the land keep changing the places where wildlife can live. Resulting variations in habitat sometimes aid wildlife. Usually, however, the growth of human population generally has a strong adverse effect on the habitat that produces and supports these wild species. People activities grow. Developments, cars, snowmobiles, off -road vehicles, ski areas, reser- voir construction, highway and airport building, grazing, lumbering, clean farming, draining wet- lands, new towns and cities, hikers and photog- raphers ... all of these, with their noises and com- motions and change of the environment, have a negative effect on wildlife in one way or another. These people pressures are becoming more acute and much of the new human activity takes place right in the middle of some of the best wildlife habitat in Colorado. Human population growth in the State will continue. The human population of 2,889,964 in 1980 will increase to about 3.7 million by 1990 and to over 4.5 million by 2000 —fifty -six percent more people in Colorado before the end of the next decade. Their activities and disturbances in wildlife habitats will put new and heavier wildlife management obligations on all of us. In spite of all of these pressures, Colorado still has many wide open spaces and forest areas where excellent wildlife habitat is provided. By and large, these are public lands. Almost a third of the nearly 104,000 square miles of Colorado is Federal land. The Forest Service owns nearly 22 percent of Colorado, the Bureau of Land Manage- ment (BLM) owns over 12 percent, and 2.52 per- cent is in National Parks and Monuments, mili- tary reservations, and Indian lands. The highways, five prisons, colleges, hospi- tals, wildlife lands, capitol grounds and other State buildings take up less than five percent of the land in the State. County and city lands, parks, highways, and buildings occupy another one percent. Within the complex of land ownership and distribution, the fragile and highly important aquatic environment exists. Comprising less than 0.4 percent of the State's total surface area, about 3,600 flowing streams and rivers, over 2,000 natural lakes and ponds, and hundreds of man -made impoundments provide the homes for Colorado's fish and other aquatic wildlife species. Because of the limited number of water areas in the State, and because of the many influ- ences on water quality and quantity, particular attention must be given to preserving this aquatic habitat. The sportsmen of Colorado have purchased nearly 244,000 acres —and leased about 240,000 other acres through easements, access rights, and hunting and fishing rights for use, free of charge, by Colorado license buyers and other wildlife enthusiasts. Altogether, this land set 9