Aiken Canyon Preserve is a
Nature Conservancy
The Nature Conservancy (TNC) is a global environmental organization headquartered in Arlington, Virginia. it works via affiliates or branches in 79 countries and territories, as well as across every state in the US.
Founded in 1951, The Natu ...
-managed state property in
Colorado
Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of t ...
. It was first observed and named after
Charles Aiken, a 19th-century U.S. surveyor, pioneer, and
ornithologist
Ornithology is a branch of zoology that concerns the "methodological study and consequent knowledge of birds with all that relates to them." Several aspects of ornithology differ from related disciplines, due partly to the high visibility and th ...
who first surveyed the region in the 1870s and identified more than 75 bird species. The preserve consists of foothills, shrub and woodland ecosystems and is southeast from Colorado Springs located on the eastern slope of the
Rampart Range
The Rampart Range is a mountain range in Douglas, El Paso, and Teller counties, Colorado. It is part of the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains. The range is almost entirely public land within the Pike National Forest
The Pike National Forest ...
which is within a smaller foothill system of the
Front Range
The Front Range is a mountain range of the Southern Rocky Mountains of North America located in the central portion of the U.S. State of Colorado, and southeastern portion of the U.S. State of Wyoming. It is the first mountain range encountere ...
. The surrounding mountain ranges of the Rampart Range and
Palmer Divide
Named after Colorado Springs founder William Jackson Palmer, the Palmer Divide is a caprock escarpment style ridge in central Colorado that separates the Arkansas River basin from the South Platte basin. It extends from the Front Range of the Rock ...
created the nature preserves sustainable ecosystem.
There is also a four-mile (6 km)-loop hiking trail on the preserve.
The preservation title came into effect in 1991 when the Nature Conservancy signed a 99-year conservation lease to maintain exclusive rights of while still being state-owned, the Nature Conservancy then acquired the remaining which totalled the preserve to of land.
The land still left on the east side of Aiken canyon is owned by
Fort Carson
Fort Carson is a United States Army post located directly south of Colorado Springs in El Paso, Pueblo, Fremont, and Huerfano counties, Colorado, United States. The developed portion of Fort Carson is located near the City of Colorado Springs i ...
and the remaining west side is owned by the
Bureau of Land Management
The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is an agency within the United States Department of the Interior responsible for administering federal lands. Headquartered in Washington DC, and with oversight over , it governs one eighth of the country's la ...
.
Aiken Canyon is one of the state's
Natural Areas and one of
The Nature Conservancy
The Nature Conservancy (TNC) is a global environmental organization headquartered in Arlington, Virginia. it works via affiliates or branches in 79 countries and territories, as well as across every state in the US.
Founded in 1951, The Natu ...
protects, an effort that began more than 50 years ago. Its mission is to "preserve the plants, animals and natural communities that represent the diversity of life of Earth by protecting the lands and waters they need to survive".
History
Fires
From the
dendrochronology
Dendrochronology (or tree-ring dating) is the scientific method of dating tree rings (also called growth rings) to the exact year they were formed. As well as dating them, this can give data for dendroclimatology, the study of climate and atmos ...
of a cross-section examination of Ponderosa Pine Trees (
Pinus ponderosa
''Pinus ponderosa'', commonly known as the ponderosa pine, bull pine, blackjack pine, western yellow-pine, or filipinus pine is a very large pine tree species of variable habitat native to mountainous regions of western North America. It is the ...
), it was found that between the years of 1602 and 1999 there were over 20 fire incidents at Aiken canyon preserve. There were also "five fire years including 1753, 1839, 1859, 1892 and 1933".
These occurrences were suggested to be from railroad expansion and cattle ranching from the result of frequent mailing services within the area between 1872 and 1935 as well as changing weather patterns.
The finding of
gold
Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile met ...
within the Front Range area early 19th century lead to the establishment of
Denver
Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...
city in Colorado which then created mailing service popularity. The frequent mailing services then lead to the establishment of railroads such as the
Kansas Pacific
The Kansas Pacific Railway (KP) was a historic railroad company that operated in the western United States in the late 19th century. It was a federally chartered railroad, backed with government land grants. At a time when the first transcontin ...
,
Union Pacific
The Union Pacific Railroad , legally Union Pacific Railroad Company and often called simply Union Pacific, is a freight-hauling railroad that operates 8,300 locomotives over routes in 23 U.S. states west of Chicago and New Orleans. Union Paci ...
,
Denver Pacific Railway and Telegraph Company and the
Denver and Rio Grande Railway. The expansion of these railroads near Aiken Canyon brought
cattle ranching
A ranch (from es, rancho/Mexican Spanish) is an area of land, including various structures, given primarily to ranching, the practice of raising grazing livestock such as cattle and sheep. It is a subtype of a farm. These terms are most often ...
to the area as it was common for cattle to be sold to the gold miners in exchange for gold. This construction and agriculture expansion increased the
rangeland
Rangelands are grasslands, shrublands, woodlands, wetlands, and deserts that are grazed by domestic livestock or wild animals. Types of rangelands include tallgrass and shortgrass prairies, desert grasslands and shrublands, woodlands, savannas ...
area burning for better cattle
fodder
Fodder (), also called provender (), is any agriculture, agricultural foodstuff used specifically to feed domesticated livestock, such as cattle, domestic rabbit, rabbits, sheep, horses, chickens and pigs. "Fodder" refers particularly to food g ...
. The areas are burned to maneuver the cattle into better vegetative patches of land to exclude the already used up grasslands. This cycle of occurrences caused the majority of the historical fire instances.
The
El Niño-Southern Oscillation
EL, El or el may refer to:
Religion
* El (deity), a Semitic word for "God"
People
* EL (rapper) (born 1983), stage name of Elorm Adablah, a Ghanaian rapper and sound engineer
* El DeBarge, music artist
* El Franco Lee (1949–2016), American po ...
has also been shown to have contributed to other fire anomalies at the Aiken canyon area between the periods of 1753 and 1935.
This association is due to the lower elevation forests of Ponderosa Pine trees which are expanded through seed disbursement during the wetter than usual weather periods of
El Niño
El Niño (; ; ) is the warm phase of the El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) and is associated with a band of warm ocean water that develops in the central and east-central equatorial Pacific (approximately between the International Date L ...
during summer and spring along with periods of
La Niña
La Niña (; ) is an oceanic and atmospheric phenomenon that is the colder counterpart of as part of the broader El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) climate pattern. The name ''La Niña'' originates from Spanish for "the girl", by an ...
which create a climate that is drier than usual with droughts, lack of humidity and precipitation. The drier periods created lagged fire occurrences which fueled the wildfires with the Ponderosa Pine trees around the
Rocky Mountains
The Rocky Mountains, also known as the Rockies, are a major mountain range and the largest mountain system in North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch in straight-line distance from the northernmost part of western Canada, to New Mexico in ...
and specifically Front Range area through the cycle of warm and cold climate changes.
Further information received from th
tree skeleton plotsand fire-scarring also indicated evidence of short intervals of fire re-occurrence which were more than double for the periods of 1872 to 1935,
this is when fires happen more frequently from the previous wildfire. The shorter re-occurrences are known by researchers to contribute to environmental damage as it does not allow growth and expansion of species and vegetation.
Fire suppression methods such as
logging
Logging is the process of cutting, processing, and moving trees to a location for transport. It may include skidding, on-site processing, and loading of trees or logs onto trucks or skeleton cars.
Logging is the beginning of a supply chain ...
and controlled burning were not common in Colorado until after 1910 which was speculated to be the result of the
Great fire of 1910
The Great Fire of 1910 (also commonly referred to as the Big Blowup, the Big Burn, or the Devil's Broom fire) was a wildfire in the Inland Northwest region of the United States that burned in North Idaho and Western Montana, with extensions into ...
. These suppression methods were only practical when a
Civilian Conservation Corps
The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) was a voluntary government work relief program that ran from 1933 to 1942 in the United States for unemployed, unmarried men ages 18–25 and eventually expanded to ages 17–28. The CCC was a major part of ...
was formed in 1935 which enabled conservation jobs nearby at the canyon.
The Civilian Conservation Corps was formed as a nine-year program to reduce the effects of the
great depression
The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...
during the 1930s by giving working jobs to the unemployed, which usually consisted of park and preserve maintenance and the construction of shelters and trails such as those in the Aiken Canyon area. Volunteer programs are still used by the Nature Conservancy to maintain the park lands and reduce potential fire and weed hazards.
The Nature Conservancy now implements controlled burning methods in forest land areas to induce regeneration of certain species, which was the result of knowledge from previous fire occurrences at Aiken canyon.
Field station
Aiken canyon preserve had a field station as of 1996, it was a 1,700 square foot (158 square meters) building
and served as an educational facility for the public, students and researchers. The station was mainly utilised by a staff group of 15 individuals who managed the conservancy of the land.
When the field station was fully operational, interactions with visitors and researchers included activities such as "exploration trips, management of the infrastructure and hiking trail, bird watching and monitoring, inventory, weed management plans as well as teaching programs for schools".
The Nature Conservancy also hosted multiple bird watching programs during the summer and winter months since 1995.
The field station was set for demolition and then reconstruction towards the end of September 2016 due to mould pollutants in the structure from hay insulation. It was decided to leave demolished with funding not being reinstated as the Nature Conservancy had limited resources towards the project and re-establishment.
Instead of the field station renewal, the Nature Conservancy stated that they would instead build a structure which would serve as a meeting point for hikers and low socioeconomic children to part-take in certain nature activities at Aiken Canyon towards the end of 2016.
Attractions
Hiking trail
The main hiking trail at the Aiken Canyon preserve is a loop that has a high point elevation of and the lowest descent of . The trail is described as starting at an information kiosk which then at drops down near the creek bed, it then turns right at which leads to a junction section near cabin ruins at . The lookout area is then reached at , after that the trail returns to a looping section at which then returns to the beginning at about . "The trail is used by hikers, runners, bird watching groups and field trips in the area".
Nature educational programs
The Nature Conservancy at Aiken Canyon Preserve host multiple educational opportunities for children, visitors and researchers; these programs are usually available during the summer with an approximate of 12 school groups each year. There is also a close relationship between the conservancy and nearby colleges who may need to use the preserve for research and other purposes.
Biology and ecology
The environmental coverage between the north side of Palmer Divide and the higher slopes of the Rampart Range created an ecological system of grass and woodland in Aiken canyon. The biological communities at the canyon reside near the
Beaver Creek area which provides a protected and sheltered area for plants, organisms and animals to grow and repopulate.
Flora
![Ipomoea leptophylla NPS-1](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/88/Ipomoea_leptophylla_NPS-1.jpg)
The flowering season at Aiken Canyon ranges between the end of May and June.
There are two main rare plant communities within the canyon region, such includes the
Piñon pine
The pinyon or piñon pine group grows in southwestern North America, especially in New Mexico, Arizona, and Utah. The trees yield edible nuts, which are a staple food of Native Americans, and widely eaten as a snack and as an ingredient in New ...
group as well as
Juniperus monosperma
''Juniperus monosperma'' is a species of juniper native to western North America, in the United States in Arizona, New Mexico, southern Colorado, western Oklahoma ( Panhandle), and western Texas, and in Mexico in the extreme north of Chihuahua. ...
.
At higher altitudes, the lands at the canyon are mainly consistent of
pinyon-juniper woodlands and the lower escalations of the land consist of grasslands.
Unexpected plants in the area include
Ipomoea leptophylla
''Ipomoea leptophylla'', the bush morning glory, bush moonflower or manroot, is a species of flowering plant in the bindweed family, Convolvulaceae.
It belongs to the morning glory genus ''Ipomoea'' and is native to the Great Plains of wester ...
(bush morning-glory) an
Penstemon brandegeei(Brandegee's Penstemon).
The mixed-grass and tallgrass species at the canyon provide habitat to many species of plants and animals. Example of such plants includes other grass species such as prairie sandreed(
Calamovilfa longifolia
''Calamovilfa longifolia'' is a species of grass known by the common names prairie sandreed and sand reedgrass. It is native to North America, where it occurs from the Northwest Territories to Ontario in Canada and as far south as New Mexico an ...
), little bluestem (
Schizachyrium scoparium
''Schizachyrium scoparium'', commonly known as little bluestem or beard grass, is a species of North American prairie grass native to most of the contiguous United States (except California, Nevada, and Oregon) as well as a small area north of t ...
),
scribner needle grass (Stipa scribneri) and big bluestem (
Andropogon gerardi
''Andropogon gerardi'', commonly known as big bluestem, is a species of tall grass native to much of the Great Plains and grassland regions of central and eastern North America. It is also known as tall bluestem, bluejoint, and turkeyfoot.
Taxon ...
i); these species are usually confined to the canyon region due to land restrictions from developments in the surrounding areas.
Other inhabiting plants also include
Achnatherum
''Achnatherum'' is a genus of plants which includes several species of needlegrass. Several needlegrass species have been switched between ''Achnatherum'' and genus ''Stipa''; taxonomy between the two closely related genera is still uncertain.
' ...
(scribner needlegrass) and the
Quercus gambelii
''Quercus gambelii'', with the common name Gambel oak, is a deciduous small tree or large shrub that is widespread in the foothills and lower mountains of western North America. It is also regionally called scrub oak, oak brush, and white oak.
...
(gamble oak).
Pollination of flowers at Aiken Canyon are mainly performed by solitary bees, which are bees that act alone rather than in communities. During the observational study of pollen in flowers at the canyon, it was found that more pollen was removed by insects such as
bee
Bees are winged insects closely related to wasps and ants, known for their roles in pollination and, in the case of the best-known bee species, the western honey bee, for producing honey. Bees are a monophyly, monophyletic lineage within the ...
s than in any other surrounding areas. This was indicated by researchers where the pollen counts from the day after were 73% less than what it was previously at.
This more frequent pollination from flowers is why the Aiken Canyon area have rare plant and floral communities.
It was found that saplings in the Aiken Canyon region are at a higher reproduction rate due to the partial shaded areas where 80% of sample plant seedlings showed this preference.
Aiken Canyon Preserve was ranked as number 41 on the ‘very high biodiversity significance’ category within preservation areas of El Paso County. This is due to the area having a 'A-ranked' global ranking in dependent on land species such as the two-needle pinyon (
Pinus edulis
''Pinus edulis'', the Colorado pinyon, two-needle piñon, pinyon pine, or simply piñon, is a pine in the pinyon pine group whose ancestor was a member of the Madro-Tertiary Geoflora (a group of drought resistant trees) and is native to the Unite ...
) and mountain mahogany shrubland (
Muhlenbergia montana
''Muhlenbergia montana'', the mountain muhly, is a species of Poaceae, grass. It is native to North and Central America, where it is found throughout the Western United States, the Sierra Nevada (U.S.), Sierra Nevada, Mexico, and Guatemala.
It c ...
).
Fauna
Aiken Canyon Preserve provides habitat for numerous wildlife in its surrounding vicinities. Such includes
black bear
Black bear or Blackbear may refer to:
Animals
* American black bear (''Ursus americanus''), a North American bear species
* Asian black bear (''Ursus thibetanus''), an Asian bear species
Music
* Black Bear (band), a Canadian First Nations group ...
,
mule deer
The mule deer (''Odocoileus hemionus'') is a deer indigenous to western North America; it is named for its ears, which are large like those of the mule. Two subspecies of mule deer are grouped into the black-tailed deer.
Unlike the related whit ...
,
Rocky Mountain elk
The Rocky Mountain elk (''Cervus canadensis nelsoni'') is a subspecies of elk found in the Rocky Mountains and adjacent ranges of Western North America.
Habitat
The winter ranges are most common in open forests and floodplain marshes in the lo ...
,
mountain lions
The cougar (''Puma concolor'') is a large cat native to the Americas. Its range spans from the Canadian Yukon to the southern Andes in South America and is the most widespread of any large wild terrestrial mammal in the Western Hemisphere. I ...
,
bobcat
The bobcat (''Lynx rufus''), also known as the red lynx, is a medium-sized cat native to North America. It ranges from southern Canada through most of the contiguous United States to Oaxaca in Mexico. It is listed as Least Concern on the IUC ...
s,
grey foxes,
badger
Badgers are short-legged omnivores in the family Mustelidae (which also includes the otters, wolverines, martens, minks, polecats, weasels, and ferrets). Badgers are a polyphyletic rather than a natural taxonomic grouping, being united b ...
s and
tuft-eared pine squirrels as well as over 100 species of birds such including the
common Poorwill
The common poorwill (''Phalaenoptilus nuttallii'') is a nocturnal bird of the family Caprimulgidae, the nightjars. It is found from British Columbia and southeastern Alberta, through the western United States to northern Mexico. The bird's habi ...
,
Cordilleran Flycatcher
The Cordilleran flycatcher (''Empidonax occidentalis'') is a small insect-eating bird. It is a small ''Empidonax'' flycatcher, with typical length ranging from 13 to 17 cm.
Adults have olive-gray upperparts, darker on the wings and tail, wi ...
,
Juniper Titmouse
The juniper titmouse (''Baeolophus ridgwayi'') is a passerine bird in the tit family Paridae. The American Ornithologists' Union split the plain titmouse into the oak titmouse and the juniper titmouse in 1996, due to distinct differences in song ...
Verginias Warbler MacGillivrays Warbler and the
Western Tanager
The western tanager (''Piranga ludoviciana''), is a medium-sized American songbird. Formerly placed in the tanager family (Thraupidae), other members of its genus and it are classified in the cardinal family (Cardinalidae). The species's plumag ...
. There are also known hunting birds in the area such as
sharp-shinned hawk
The sharp-shinned hawk (''Accipiter striatus'') is a small hawk, with males being the smallest hawks in the United States and Canada, but with the species averaging larger than some Neotropical realm, Neotropical species, such as the tiny hawk. ...
s,
cooper's hawk
Cooper's hawk (''Accipiter cooperii'') is a medium-sized hawk native to the North American continent and found from southern Canada to Mexico. This species is a member of the genus ''Accipiter'', sometimes referred to as true hawks, which are f ...
s,
northern harrier
The northern harrier (''Circus hudsonius''), or ring-tailed hawk, is a bird of prey. It breeds throughout the northern parts of the northern hemisphere in Canada and the northernmost USA.
The northern harrier migrates to more southerly areas ...
s,
prairie falcon
The prairie falcon (''Falco mexicanus'') is a medium-large sized falcon of western North America. It is about the size of a peregrine falcon or a crow, with an average length of 40 cm (16 in), wingspan of approximately 1 meter (40&nb ...
s and
golden eagle
The golden eagle (''Aquila chrysaetos'') is a bird of prey living in the Northern Hemisphere. It is the most widely distributed species of eagle. Like all eagles, it belongs to the family Accipitridae. They are one of the best-known bird of p ...
s. Among the common species known in the area include the estimated habitat for the endangered
Mexican Spotted Owl
The spotted owl (''Strix occidentalis'') is a species of true owl. It is a resident species of old-growth forests in western North America, where it nests in tree hollows, old bird of prey nests, or rock crevices. Nests can be between high and ...
as well as the natural heritage of two species of butterfly
Dusted skipper
''Atrytonopsis hianna'', the dusted skipper, is a butterfly of the family Hesperiidae. It is found in the United States from eastern Wyoming, central Colorado, northern New Mexico and central Texas east to New Hampshire and Massachusetts, south ...
and the
Simius roadside skipper which rely on the Aiken canyon medium to tall grasslands for survival due to their preferred host plant, the big bluestem.
Environmental threats
The main threat to the flora ecosystem at Aiken canyon preserve is invasive
noxious weed
A noxious weed, harmful weed or injurious weed is a weed that has been designated by an agricultural or other governing authority as a plant that is injurious to agricultural or horticultural crops, natural habitats or ecosystems, or humans or liv ...
overgrowth.
Such effects have been shown that noxious weeds are capable of overwhelming native plants by tactics such as overshadowing for sunlight, consuming more nutrition from water and soil as well as accelerated growth in comparison. Efforts such as environmental management programs have been put into place by the conservatory to minimise such effects on the land and ecosystem.
Examples of these programs are seen in a weed extraction handbook from the conservancy where recommendations include manual approaches such as pulling or stabbing and more mechanical processes such as
flood
A flood is an overflow of water ( or rarely other fluids) that submerges land that is usually dry. In the sense of "flowing water", the word may also be applied to the inflow of the tide. Floods are an area of study of the discipline hydrol ...
ing,
tilling Tilling can mean:
* Tillage, an agricultural preparation of the soil.
* TILLING (molecular biology)
* Tilling is a fictional town in the Mapp and Lucia novels of E. F. Benson.
* Tilling Green, Ledshire, is a fictional village in Patricia Wentworth ...
,
soil solarization
Soil solarization is a non-chemical environmentally friendly method for controlling pests using solar power to increase the soil temperature to levels at which many soil-borne plant pathogens will be killed or greatly weakened. Soil solarization ...
,
mulching
A mulch is a layer of material applied to the surface of soil. Reasons for applying mulch include conservation of soil moisture, improving fertility and health of the soil, reducing weed growth and enhancing the visual appeal of the area.
A mu ...
and
girdling
Girdling, also called ring-barking, is the complete removal of the Bark (botany), bark (consisting of cork cambium or "phellogen", phloem, cambium and sometimes going into the xylem) from around the entire circumference of either a branch or tru ...
.
Threats towards the fauna life in Aiken Canyon Preserve include
cowbird parasitism, habitat disturbance and possible development conflicts from surrounding areas.
Cowbird parasitism is a main threat to the bird species within the canyon area as the chicks are known to roll or push out the other bird eggs which decreases the native bird population. Habitat disturbance is a threat to the preserve as its adjacent land and private land within the canyon are still possible for construction development.
An example of this threat was the recent proposal of a
Quarry
A quarry is a type of open-pit mine in which dimension stone, rock, construction aggregate, riprap, sand, gravel, or slate is excavated from the ground. The operation of quarries is regulated in some jurisdictions to reduce their envi ...
site in the
El Paso County area in 2016 which would have damaged Aiken Canyon Preserve and surrounding areas on the Front Range as it would have been at the bottom of the site. This proposal was then denied in 2018 by the state board as the construction would have effected the clean drinking water in the area.
The Nature Conservancy is trying to develop a conservation outline to work with current private property owners to reduce future environmental threats.
Weather
During a 20-year observational research period between 1978 and 1998, it was found that average daily precipitation rate was at which was half the average of surrounding mountain ranges. The daily average measured temperature within the month of June was at with a range of difference of 0.1 °C. The
pollen count
A pollen count is the measurement of the number of grains of pollen in a cubic meter of air. High pollen counts can sometimes lead to increased rates of allergic reaction for those with allergic disorders. Usually, the counts are announced for sp ...
within the Aiken Canyon region was found to be on average 16,622 grains within a range of difference to be 1142 grains.
References
External links
Official siteBirds of Aiken CanyonA Birders Springtime Paradise*
Longtime Protectors of Aiken Canyon Preserve Saying Goodyes with Field Station Demolition'
{{DEFAULTSORT:Aiken Canyon Preserve
Nature reserves in Colorado
Protected areas of El Paso County, Colorado
Nature conservation organizations based in the United States
Environmental organizations based in Colorado
Land trusts in the United States
Land trusts in Virginia
Forest conservation organizations
Water organizations in the United States
Non-profit organizations based in Arlington, Virginia
Organizations established in 1951
Scientific organizations established in 1951
1951 establishments in the United States
1951 in the environment
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