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Last modified
8/11/2009 11:41:06 AM
Creation date
9/30/2006 10:11:59 PM
Metadata
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Template:
Publications
Year
1993
Title
Wetlands of Colorado
Author
Kate Jones and Dr. David Cooper
Description
Description and pictures of Colorado wetlands
Publications - Doc Type
Historical
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<br />WET MEADOWS: <br />...South Park... Cheny Creek... <br /> <br />If you've traveled to Gunnison on <br />U.S. Highway.'iO from Monarch <br />Pass dnwn through the Tomichi <br />Valley...or driven U.S. 285 through <br />South Park...ur even the Boulder <br />Turnpike...you've passed right by wet <br />meadows. Tbis type of wetland is very <br />common across Coloradn below 9,000 <br />feet, wberever seasonal snowmelt or <br />irrigation keeps soils saturated for <br />extended periods of time but deep <br />flooding does not occur. <br />Wet meadows often exist along- <br />side ntber types of wetlands, such as <br />riparian areas and marshes. Like <br />other wetlands, they have very impor- <br />tant purposes, including flood and <br /> <br />whether it occurs naturally or has <br />been created as a result of irriga- <br />tion-is often used for hay production <br />and for livestock grazing. Wet mead- <br />pollution control and groundwater ows are also grazed by deer and elk. <br />recharge. When these wetlands are grazed or <br />Wet meadows often show bayed close to the ground, tbeir shal- <br />up greener or darker than tbe rest low waters still <br />I, <br />of the landscape. Plants found \" ' can provide <br />in these wetlands range from \;~ Lc:-.,. "'" . important brows- <br />some oftbe most common ~...;l,<",A~. "~/<~ /'ing grounds for <br /> <br />~::~:c~rc~~:~, tt:es~~~e~~~~e ;.f:~~ h. ) / shore.bi.r. ds ~:~es <br /> <br />most rare, like the slender spi- (::- _._~\/ v ~ for breed- <br />der flower, wbich is found only ,,':~ _'> \/ ~ ing pairs of <br />in wet meadows in tbe San Luis Valley. '\ )/ water birds. <br />Native grasses commonly found in wet / Tbe seeds of some <br />meadows include tufted bairgrass, plants found in <br />manna grass and redtop. ~_ wet meadows <br />In agricultural areas, .~ ./ are valuable <br />tbis type of meadow- <br /> <br /> <br /> <br />10 <br /> <br />__<'-c. 1 , <br />/--= 1/,.-' <br />,r' I 4/:/4 <br />~ . " . ,. ~-, <br />'" __ -0_.." <br /> <br />~\! <,o'-------="'- <br />~.., ____ . \~ '" ,1/ <br /> <br />r~\.. k,;':"" <br />/ .~. \/ 'I <br />~\vt/~ '~ <br />I, 1/ <br /> <br />~=~o,~~\ if=- -::';~ <br /> <br />.~ <br /> <br /> <br />\ \ S/mdcr 'pidCl <br />'~... flo/(('r. "'lIs/mtioll <br /> <br />food for birds like mallards and pin- <br />tails. If wet meadows are not grazed <br />or hayed, they offer early nesting sites <br />to species like mallards, which nest in <br />the hummocks of grasses and otber <br />plants that rise above tbe wet parts of <br />the meadow. <br />Depending on elevation and the <br />presence of a steady water supply, a <br />wet meadow may also be used by a <br />variety of amphibians, from leopard <br />frogs to chorus frogs and boreal toads. <br />The boreal toad, Colorado's only higb- <br />elevation toad, once thrived in wet- <br />lands above 7,000 feet. Since 1985, <br />these toads bave disappeared from <br />more than 80 percent of their historic <br />range. Experts believe environmental <br />degradation-perhaps ozone deple- <br />tion-may be to blame. <br /> <br />Wet meadows are very <br />common in Colorado <br />at elevations below <br />9,000 feet. They often <br />exist alongside other <br />types of wetlands, <br />such as riparian areas <br />and marshes. <br /> <br />
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