The Colorado Rockies forests is a temperate coniferous forest ecoregion of the United States.

Setting

This ecoregion is located in the highest ranges of the Rocky Mountains, in central and western Colorado, northern New Mexico and southeastern Wyoming, and experiences a dry continental climate.

Flora

The dominant vegetation type of this ecoregion is coniferous forest. In contrast with Rocky Mountain ecoregions to the north, lodgepole pine is rather rare, replaced by Ponderosa pine (''

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 ...

'') and trembling aspen ('' Populus tremuloides''). Rocky Mountain Douglas-fir (''Pseudotsuga menziesii'' subsp. ''glauca''), Engelmann spruce (''Picea engelmanni''), Subalpine fir (''Abies lasiocarpa''), Limber pine (''Pinus flexilis'') and Gambel oak (''Quercus gambelii'') can also be found in the mountain forests. Bristlecone pine ('' Pinus aristata'') is the dominant plant at the tree line/ krummholz zone. Aside from coniferous forests, the ecoregion contains meadows, foothill grasslands, riparian woodlands and

alpine tundra Alpine tundra is a type of natural region or biome that does not contain trees because it is at high elevation, with an associated alpine climate, harsh climate. As the latitude of a location approaches the poles, the threshold elevation for alp ...

Fauna

Mammals include

elk The elk (''Cervus canadensis''), also known as the wapiti, is one of the largest species within the deer family, Cervidae, and one of the largest terrestrial mammals in its native range of North America and Central and East Asia. The common ...

(''Cervus canadensis''), mule deer (''Odocoileus hemonius''), black bear (''Ursus americanus''), wolverine (''Gulo gulo''), North American cougar (''Puma concolor''), Canada lynx (''Lynx canadensis''), and

American marten The American marten (''Martes americana''), also known as the American pine marten, is a species of North American mammal, a member of the family Mustelidae. The species is sometimes referred to as simply the pine marten. The name "pine marten" ...

(''Martes americana'').

Grizzly bear The grizzly bear (''Ursus arctos horribilis''), also known as the North American brown bear or simply grizzly, is a population or subspecies of the brown bear inhabiting North America. In addition to the mainland grizzly (''Ursus arctos horri ...

s (''Ursus arctos horribilis'') may exist in this region but there has not been a confirmed sighting of a grizzly in Colorado since ''1979''. A load of bird species are found in this region including black-billed magpies (''Pica hudsonia''), Canada jays (''Perisoreus canadensi''),

Steller's jay Steller's jay (''Cyanocitta stelleri'') is a bird native to western North America and the mountains of Central America, closely related to the blue jay found in eastern North America. It is also known as the long-crested jay, mountain jay, and pin ...

(''Cyanocitta stelleri''), broad-tailed hummingbirds (''Selasphorus platycerus''),

dark-eyed juncos The dark-eyed junco (''Junco hyemalis'') is a species of junco, a group of small, grayish New World sparrows. This bird is common across much of temperate North America and in summer ranges far into the Arctic. It is a very variable species, much ...

(''Junco hyemalis''), and the threatened brown-capped rosy-finches (''Leucosticte australis'') and black rosy-finches (''Leucosticte atrata'').

Threats and preservation

While this ecoregion is listed as "relatively stable/intact", it is threatened by logging, mining, oil and gas development, recreational-residential construction, domestic livestock grazing and introduction of exotic species. Protected areas include

Rocky Mountain National Park Rocky Mountain National Park is an American national park located approximately northwest of Denver in north-central Colorado, within the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains. The park is situated between the towns of Estes Park to the east and ...

and Indian Peaks Wilderness in north-central Colorado, South San Juan Wilderness in south-central Colorado,

Carson National Forest Carson National Forest is a national forest in northern New Mexico, United States. It encompasses 6,070 square kilometers (1.5 million acres) and is administered by the United States Forest Service. The Forest Service's "mixed use" policy allows ...

in north-central New Mexico and

Medicine Bow – Routt National Forest Medicine is the science and practice of caring for a patient, managing the diagnosis, prognosis, prevention, treatment, palliation of their injury or disease, and promoting their health. Medicine encompasses a variety of health care pract ...

in southeastern Wyoming.

References

External links