Colorado Rockies forests


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 and trembling aspen. Rocky Mountain Douglas-fir and Engelmann spruce can also be found in the mountain forests. Bristlecone pine 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.

Fauna

Mammals include elk, mule deer, black bear, wolverine, North American cougar, Canada lynx, and American marten. Grizzly bears may exist in this region but there has not been a confirmed sighting of a grizzly in Colorado since 1979.

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 and Indian Peaks Wilderness in north-central Colorado, South San Juan Wilderness in south-central Colorado, Carson National Forest in north-central New Mexico and Medicine Bow – Routt National Forest in southeastern Wyoming.