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General Information
The Colorado Natural Heritage Program (CNHP) tracks and ranks Colorado's rare and imperiled species and habitats, and provides information and expertise on these topics to promote the conservation of Colorado's valuable biological resources. Data maintained in the Colorado Natural Heritage Program database are an integral part of ongoing research at CSU and reflect the observations of many scientists, institutions and our current state of knowledge. These data are acquired from various sources, with varying levels of accuracy, and are continually being updated and revised. CNHP also offers a wide range of related services including biological monitoring, research, mapping, and conservation planning services.
CNHP is a nonprofit organization, and is a sponsored program of the Warner College of Natural Resources, Department of Fishery and Wildlife Biology at Colorado State University. We are also a member of the Natural Heritage Network, an international network of partners that use the same scientific methodology to enable scientists to monitor the status of species and natural communities from state, national, and global perspectives.
Current Events - January 2008
Past Events - June 2006
The poster "A Database for Tracking Populations of Endangered, Threatened, Proposed and Candidate Species in National Parks" (Tabloid, PDF, 2.1 mb) was presented jointly by the Colorado Natural Heritage Program and the National Park Service at the 20th Annual Meeting of the Society for Conservation Biology in San Jose, California from June 24-28, 2006. The full-sized poster in MS PowerPoint poster can be Seen Here (35 in x 49 in, PPT, 39.3 mb).
- Wetland Ecological Integrity Scorecards
Recently, CNHP assisted NatureServe in developing a pilot set of Ecological Integrity Scorecards to establish performance standards for wetland mitigation and monitoring. The scorecards provide a framework in which various biotic and abiotic indicators are rated and integrated into an overall assessment of ecological integrity of Southern Rocky Mountain wetland and riparian ecological systems. They can be used as a rapid or intensive assessment. Indicator ratings are based on deviation from “natural” reference benchmarks (natural range of variability). Final scores are produced for five categories: (1) Landscape Context; (2) Biotic Condition; (3) Abiotic Condition; (4) Size; and (5) Overall Ecological Integrity. The scorecards can be used to set priorities for conservation & management, ambient monitoring, and wetland mitigation monitoring and performance criteria.
An introductory report as well scorecards for wetland and riparian ecological systems of the Southern Rocky Mountains can be found here:
Note: these are pre-calibrated assessments and have not yet been tested on field data.
Highlights:
- Silky Pocket mouse subspecies trapped in Canyons of the Ancients -- not seen in Colorado for over 20 years!
- Two new species were described in Western Colorado, Cryptantha gypsophila and Physaria pulvinata. Three new B1 Potential Conservation Areas have been developed to encourage protection of the excellent occurrences of these shale barren plants.
- Guide versions of Ecological Systems now available for download.
- CNHP developing new Wetland and Upland Quality Assessment Tools.
- CNHP receives White House Conference on Cooperative Conservation Award for Army Compatible Use Buffer Project around Fort Carson.
- CNHP Director, Renée Rondeau, elected to serve as Western Representative on NatureServe’s Section Council.
- CNHP Director, Renée Rondeau, featured talking about Great Sand Dunes National Park in new NatureServe promotional video titled "Discovery, Understanding, Conservation: How NatureServe Makes a Difference".
- Click Here to view the online version of the video (43 mb broadband connection suggested).
- Click Here to download the fine-quality version of the video to your computer (161 mb, broadband connection strongly suggested).
- Other Recent Publications:
- Brad Lambert is co-author with Erin Muth (USGS) and others of a manuscript on Boreal Toads titled “Estimation of the probability of male toads returning to the breeding site” that was accepted for publication in Ecology.
- Gaughan, C. R., and S. DeStefano. 2005. Movement patterns of rural and suburban white-tailed deer in Massachusetts. Urban Ecosystems 8:189-200.
- S.L. Neid and D.D. Biesboer. 2005. Alleviation of salt-induced stress on seed emergence using soil additives in a greenhouse. Plant and Soil 268: 303-307.
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