Browsing by Author "Fink, Michelle, author"
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Item Open Access A conservation blueprint for neotropical migratory birds in western Colorado(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2007) Fink, Michelle, author; Hanni, David, author; Klute, David, author; Sovell, John, author; Rondeau, Renée Jane, author; Colorado Natural Heritage Program, publisherItem Open Access Adaptation in the face of environmental change: supporting information for Colorado BLM(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2019-07) Fink, Michelle, author; Decker, Karin, author; Rondeau, Renée, author; Gruanu, Lee, author; Colorado Natural Heritage Program, publisherItem Open Access Colorado wildlife action plan enhancement: climate change vulnerability assessment(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2014-12) Fink, Michelle, author; Decker, Karin, author; Colorado Natural Heritage Program, publisherDuring the revision of Colorado's current SWAP, the Colorado Natural Heritage Program (CNHP), Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW), North Central Climate Science Center and U.S. Geological Service Fort Collins Research Center collaborated to produce climate change vulnerability assessments for high priority wildlife habitats in the state. Our objectives were to: 1. Evaluate exposure and sensitivity of priority habitats by identifying the degree of climate change expected between current and future conditions for climate factors believed to influence the distribution of the habitat. 2. Evaluate adaptive capacity of each habitat by assessing factors that affect the resilience of the habitat to change in landscape condition, invasive or problematic native species presence, dynamic process alteration between past and current conditions, and the characteristic bioclimatic envelope of the habitat. 3. Produce summary vulnerability ratings for priority habitats.Item Open Access Final report: identifying potential landscapes for conservation across the grasslands of North America: integrating keystone species, land use patterns, and climate change to enhance current and future grassland restoration efforts(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2022) Davidson, Ana, author; Augustine, David, author; Menefee, Michael, author; Krank, Lindsey Sterling, author; Van Pelt, Bill, author; Brum, Fernanda Thiesen, author; Fink, Michelle, author; Houts, Michae, author; Williamson, Matt A., authorItem Open Access Geospatial environmental and community analysis in Pueblo and El Paso counties, Colorado(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2008-04) Landon, Melissa, author; Fink, Michelle, author; Gibson, Nicole, author; Scharf, Lynn, author; Colorado Natural Heritage Program, publisherItem Open Access Iterative distribution modeling for two endemic plants of the northern Piceance basin(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2013-04) Smith, Gabrielle, author; Handwerk, Jill, author; Fink, Michelle, author; Decker, Karin, author; Colorado Natural Heritage Program, publisherSpecies distribution modeling is one of many tools available to assist managers in understanding the potential distribution of rare and endemic species when regulating and prioritizing different land-use scenarios. Developing a predictive model of the distribution of a particular species can involve several different techniques, and be reported under a variety of names. All such models, however, are based on the ecological principle that the presence of a species on the landscape is controlled by a variety of biotic and abiotic factors, in the context of biogeographic and evolutionary history. Because we rarely, if ever, have complete and accurate knowledge of these factors and history, we can only seek to predict or discover suitable habitat by using characteristics of known occurrences of the taxon in question. The modeling process is further constrained by our inability to measure habitat characteristics accurately on a continuous spatial scale. As a result, modeling factors are usually an approximation of the environmental factors that control species distribution, using available data that is probably only a surrogate for the actual controlling factors. In the context of our study, species distribution modeling is a process that uses a sample of a real distribution (known locations or element occurrences) to build a model (estimate) of suitable environmental conditions (and, by implication, unsuitable conditions), and map that model across a study area. In this study we used an iterative modeling approach to investigate the potential distribution of two rare species: Physaria (Lesquerella) congesta and Physaria obcordata.Item Open Access Modeling fish habitat response to support climate adaptation strategies(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2019) Fink, Michelle, author; Decker, Karin, author; Rondeau, Renée, author; Gruanu, Lee, author; Colorado Natural Heritage Program, publisherItem Open Access Noxious weed monitoring at the U.S. Air Force Academy: year 5 results(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2010-03) Rondeau, Renée Jane, author; Anderson, David G., author; Lavender, Amy, author; Decker, Karin, author; Fink, Michelle, author; Parker, Jessica P., author; Colorado Natural Heritage Program, publisherItem Open Access Rare plant distribution models: CODEX display & call for expert review(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2022-09-16) Smith, Jessica, author; Fink, Michelle, author; Decker, Karin, author; Handwerk, Jill, author; Panjabi, Susan, author; Doyle, Georgia, author; Colorado Natural Heritage Program, publisherItem Open Access Restoration prioritization of the Cache La Poudre Watershed(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2014-12) Granau, Lee, author; Fink, Michelle, author; Decker, Karin, author; Sueltenfuss, Jeremy, author; Colorado Natural Heritage Program, publisherThe largest and most destructive fire in the history of Larimer County, the High Park Fire, burned 87,200 acres within the Cache la Poudre watershed with aftereffects including increased flooding, significant erosion, and increased threats to many natural and cultural resources. The natural resources which have been impacted, and will continue to be threatened, include: water used for municipal, domestic, hydropower, and agricultural supply; soil productivity across the forested region; critical habitat for federally listed threated or endangered species; and native plant communities on lands where invasive and noxious species are absent. Currently, restoration work has been completed ad hoc in areas that may not maximize the benefit for the larger public. A comprehensive planning effort was needed to combine stakeholder interests and scientific knowledge to prioritize and maximize future restoration efforts on these publicly owned lands. Our goal was to bring together expert stakeholders to identify the risks and values at risk within the watershed. While this was originally viewed as an activity that would focus solely on the burn area, initial feedback we received suggested we adapt the research to include not only the recently burned area, but the entire watershed, and beyond that, the entire county. As Larimer County had significant interest in our process and provided input to the final model, and to make the results as widely applicable as possible, we decided to use the Larimer County boundary as our research extent. This would allow for the prioritization of restoration activities within the burned area, but also prioritize areas in the Cache la Poudre Watershed and the adjacent Big Thompson Watershed (which was significantly degraded by intense flooding in September 2013). We also adapted the research to include other risks and factors that were not initially included in the post-fire analysis. To accomplish our goal of prioritizing areas across the landscape for restoration activities to reduce risk and increase ecological health, we invited expert stakeholders from local municipalities, the state and federal government, and academic researchers to a workshop for them to provide feedback on risks and values at risk within the watershed.Item Open Access Roaring Fork Watershed biodiversity and connectivity study(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2022) Rondeau, Renée, author; Fink, Michelle, author; Schuhmann, Andrea, author; Gruanu, Lee, author; Colorado Natural Heritage Program, publisherItem Open Access SHRP 2 C21A: pilot test the ecological approaches to environmental protection developed in capacity research projects C06A and C06B(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2012-08) Lemly, Joanna, author; Goldstein, Joshua, author; Keske, Catherine, author; Smith, Gabrielle, author; Carlson, Erick, author; Anderson, David G., author; Decker, Karin, author; Fink, Michelle, author; Grunau, Lee, author; Colorado Natural Heritage Program, publisherAwareness of the need for more effective, streamlined, and integrated planning of transportation improvements has permeated all levels of government, and has become a top priority to advance the level of sophistication and integration for transportation planning. For example, the Federal Highways Administration (FHWA) has committed to the use of collaborative approaches to transportation planning, and has established environmental streamlining and stewardship as a major strategic direction for the agency. These approaches are now being recognized for their effectiveness and impact on reduced costs, fewer delays, and better environmental outcomes. Modernized, integrated concepts of transportation planning are the focus of research being supported through the Strategic Highways Research Programs. A significant advancement in this field is the development of the Integrated EcoLogical Framework (referred to hereafter as IEF or Framework) that has resulted from the SHRP 2 CO6 projects. Given the progressive approaches that have been embraced and implemented by the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT), such as the Shortgrass Prairie Initiative, the Framework has a strong potential to further advance efforts to insert proactive natural resource conservation into the transportation planning process. At this stage in the evolution of these practices, a process has been developed that holds great promise for improving ecosystem and species recovery and watershed restoration, but it has yet to be adequately tested. This approach represents a major paradigm shift for transportation planning, and before it is (or should be) embraced by the planning community it requires testing, followed, if necessary, by refinements and adjustments. Thus, the Framework, while leading towards better answers and better results, leaves planners with many crucial questions at this juncture. According to the results of C06 research, three main barriers to successful environmental outcomes of transportation projects include lack of resources, lack of data, and resistance to change. CO6 identified three recommended solutions: 1) integrated planning (incorporating transportation, land use, and conservation in practical and effective ways), 2) making data available to support project and planning needs, and 3) the identification of priority conservation areas where opportunities for avoidance, preservation, and restoration can be seized. In this project, the research team addressed all three of these needs, as well as the other questions defined by the research team.Item Open Access Statewide strategies to improve effectiveness in protecting and restoring Colorado's wetland resource: including the Rio Grande Headwaters Pilot Wetland Condition Assessment(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2011) Lemly, Joanna M., author; Gilligan, Laurie, author; Fink, Michelle, author; Sullivan, Brian, author; Wilcox, Grant, author; Johnson, Chris, author; Colorado Natural Heritage Program, publisherItem Open Access Treeline monitoring in the San Juan Basin tundra: a pilot project, 2012(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2012) Kummel, Miroslav, author; Rodda, Gordon, author; Fink, Michelle, author; Rondeau, Renée Jane, author; Colorado Natural Heritage Program, publisherIn order to monitor the effects of climate change in the San Juan alpine, the Colorado Natural Heritage Program (CNHP) set up permanent monitoring plots near treeline, the most likely area to notice tree and shrub recruitment. We field checked three sites (Lizard Head Pass, Kendall Mountain, and Deer Creek Park) prior to choosing the Deer Creek Park area near Kendall Mountain and Silverton. In addition to the field work, we conducted a GIS analysis to detect changes in treeline and tree density between the years 1951 and 2011. This report discusses the methods and results of the field monitoring and GIS analysis and describes a scenario to expand this project to more sites within the San Juan Mountains.Item Open Access Treeline monitoring in the San Juan Mountains(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2014-12) Decker, Karin, author; Rondeau, Renée Jane, author; Fink, Michelle, author; Colorado Natural Heritage Program, publisherTemperatures in the San Juan Mountain region have risen approximately 1.8°F over the last 30 years, primarily after 1990, and are projected to continue warming. As temperatures rise we expect increased rates of tree growth and tree establishment at the subalpine/alpine ecotone (treeline). We wanted to discern if upper treeline changes could already be detected through remote sensing. We compared aerial photographs from 1951 and 2011 for 8 San Juan mountain peaks. The images were georeferenced and virtual transects were created to help establish position of treeline in each sample year. We found that the treeline has not moved, but that tree density has increased. Therefore, the difference between 1951 and 2011 treeline was calculated by determining differences in tree density within the area delimited as treeline. Differences in shadows between images were corrected for by examining shadows of immutable objects and calculating a correction factor. Detected differences varied widely, from 2 - 27% increase in tree density (mean 12%) over the last 60 years. We conclude that treeline changes can be detected, although the rate of change is slow and variable. The high variability may be due to aspect, with the wetter aspects increasing faster. We also suggest that this cost-effective remote sensing technique could be a useful monitoring tool for determining landscape changes in areas that are hard to access.