Mountain Scholar :: Browsing by Author "Smith, Gabrielle, author"

Browsing by Author "Smith, Gabrielle, author"

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Open Access
Colorado Department of Transportation roadside fen inventory
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2018-05) Lemly, Joanna, author; Schroder, Kristin, author; Long, Lexine, author; Smith, Gabrielle, author; Colorado Natural Heritage Program, publisher
Open Access
Colorado watershed planning toolbox: bridging the gap between ecological data, applied restoration and water resource management
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2018-11) Marshall, Sarah, author; Lemly, Joanna, author; Smith, Gabrielle, author; Colorado Natural Heritage Program, publisher
Wetlands are an essential component of Colorado's landscape that greatly benefit the people of Colorado by performing a number of vital functions, including water quality improvement, flood attenuation, and wildlife habitat. Colorado's watersheds are the headwaters of several major interstate river systems and management decisions made here have disproportionately large effects on downstream states. At the same time, Colorado is one of the fastest-growing states in the U.S., placing increasing demands on limited groundwater and surface water resources and stressing aquatic ecosystems. As resource managers, planners, and restoration practitioners attempt to mitigate for impacts to aquatic ecosystems, there is a growing need for conservation planning tools that help bridge the gap between ecological data collection and applied restoration and water resource management. The Colorado Natural Heritage Program has worked to meet this need by developing the Watershed Planning Toolbox—an online mapping interface intended to help users visualize wetland and stream distribution, landscape-scale ecological functions, hydrologic modification, stressors, and prioritization for conservation and restoration at the HUC8 subbasin scale.
Open Access
Colorado Wetlands Mobile App: a user's guide
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2015-12) Lemly, Joanna, author; Culver, Denise, author; Holfelder, Kirstin, author; Smith, Gabrielle, author; Colorado Natural Heritage Program, publisher
The Colorado Wetlands Mobile App delivers information about Colorado's wetlands to users via smartphones or tablets. It was created by the Colorado Natural Heritage Program (CNHP) through a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region 8 Wetland Program Development Grant (WPDG). The App is free and available to the public from the major App distribution points, including Apple App Store and Google Play Store. CNHP's main objective in creating the App was to provide wetland professionals and public citizens alike with information to guide conservation and appreciate of the state's value wetland resource.
Open Access
Conserving roadside populations of Colorado's globally imperiled plants, a pilot project
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2014-10) Smith, Gabrielle, author; Panjabi, Susan Spackman, author; Colorado Natural Heritage Program, publisher
Colorado supports habitat for approximately 120 globally imperiled plant species. These plants are in need of conservation attention to prevent unnecessary extirpations and extinctions. Numerous populations of these globally imperiled plants are known from roadside locations in Colorado. The Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT), the Colorado Natural Areas Program at Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW), and the Colorado Natural Heritage Program (CNHP) are working together to ensure that information about the roadside plant populations is made available to the people and organizations managing and working along the roadways. Location information is critical to communicate so that road crews, weed managers, and others can avoid preventable harm to the plants. Further, there is a need for the development of species-specific Best Management Practices (BMPs) that will articulate and specify on-the-ground management considerations for highly imperiled species (for example, specific times to avoid spraying, mowing, etc.). This pilot project addresses these needs by targeting ten globally imperiled plants that are known from roadside locations in Colorado, by delivering user-friendly location information and species-specific Best Management Practices (BMPs) to pertinent parties, and by engaging in outreach to actively reduce the potential threat from road maintenance.
Open Access
Fen mapping for the Bridger-Teton National Forest
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2018-11) Smith, Gabrielle, author; Lemly, Joanna, author; Colorado Natural Heritage Program, publisher
The Bridger-Teton National Forest contains a rich resource of fen wetlands. This report and associated dataset provides the BTNF with a critical tool for conservation planning at both a local and Forest-wide scale. These data will be useful for the ongoing BTNF biological assessment required by the 2012 Forest Planning Rule, but can also be used for individual management actions, such as planning for timber sales, grazing allotments, and trail maintenance. Wherever possible, the Forest should avoid direct disturbance to the fens mapped through this project, and should also strive to protect the watersheds surrounding high concentrations of fens, thereby protecting their water sources.
Open Access
Fen mapping for the Dixie National Forest
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2018-12) Smith, Gabrielle, author; Lemly, Joanna, author; Colorado Natural Heritage Program, publisher
This report and associated dataset provides the Dixie National Forest with a critical tool for conservation planning at both a local and Forest-wide scale. These data will be useful for the ongoing Dixie National Forest biological assessment required by the 2012 Forest Planning Rule, but can also be used for individual management actions, such as planning for timber sales, grazing allotments, and trail maintenance. Wherever possible, the Forest should avoid direct disturbance to the fens mapped through this project, and should also strive to protect the watersheds surrounding high concentrations of fens, thereby protecting their water sources.
Open Access
Fens mapping for the Ashley National Forest
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2017-04) Smith, Gabrielle, author; Lemly, Joanna, author; Colorado Natural Heritage Program, publisher
The Ashley National Forest (ANF) covers 1.3 million acres within the Upper and Lower Green River Basin in northeast Utah. The diverse geography of the ANF creates an equally diverse set of wetlands that provide important ecological services to both ANF and lands downstream. Organic soil wetlands known as fens are an irreplaceable resource that the U.S. Forest Service has determined should be managed for conservation and restoration. Fens are defined as groundwater-fed wetlands with organic soils that typically support The Ashley National Forest contains a rich resource of fen wetlands. This report and associated dataset provides the ANF with a critical tool for conservation planning at both a local and Forest-wide scale. These data will be useful for the ongoing ANF biological assessment required by the 2012 Forest Planning Rule, but can also be used for individual management actions, such as planning for timber sales, grazing allotments, and trail maintenance. Wherever possible, the Forest should avoid direct disturbance to the fens mapped through this project, and should also strive to protect the watersheds surrounding high concentrations of fens, thereby protecting their water sources.
Open Access
Fens mapping for the Manti-La Sal National Forest
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2017-04) Smith, Gabrielle, author; Lemly, Joanna, author; Colorado Natural Heritage Program, publisher
This report and associated dataset provide the MLSNF with a critical tool for conservation planning at both a local and Forest-wide scale. These data will be useful for the ongoing MLSNF biological assessment required by the 2012 Forest Planning Rule, but can also be used for individual management actions, such as planning for timber sales, grazing allotments, and trail maintenance. Wherever possible, the Forest should avoid direct disturbance to the fens mapped through this project, and should also strive to protect the watersheds surrounding high concentrations of fens, thereby protecting their water sources.
Open Access
Fens mapping for the Rio Grande National Forest
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2016-04) Smith, Gabrielle, author; Lemly, Joanna, author; Smith, Pam, author; Kuhn, Bernadette, author; Colorado Natural Heritage Program, publisher
The Rio Grande National Forest (RGNF) covers nearly two million acres within the Rio Grande Headwaters River Basin in south central Colorado. The diverse geography of the RGNF created an equally diverse set of wetlands that provide important ecological services to both RGNF and lands downstream. Organic soil wetlands known as fens are an irreplaceable resource that the U.S. Forest Service has determined should be managed for conservation and restoration. Fens are defined as groundwater-fed wetlands with organic soils that typically support sedges and low stature shrubs. In the arid west, organic soil formation can take thousands of years. Long-term maintenance of fens requires maintenance of both the hydrology and the plant communities that enable fen formation. ... The Rio Grande National Forest contains a rich resource of fen wetlands. This report and associated dataset provide the RGNF with a critical tool for conservation planning at both a local and Forest-wide scale. These data will be useful for the ongoing RGNF biological assessment required by the 2012 Forest Planning Rule, but can also be used for individual management actions, such as planning for timber sales, grazing allotments, and trail maintenance. Wherever possible, the Forest should avoid direct disturbance to the fens mapped through this project, and should also strive to protect the watersheds surrounding high concentrations of fens, thereby protecting their water sources.
Open Access
Fens mapping for the Salmon-Challis National Forest
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2017-12) Smith, Gabrielle, author; Lemly, Joanna, author; Schroder, Kristin, author; Colorado Natural Heritage Program, publisher
The Salmon-Challis National Forest (SCNF) covers 4.3 million acres in five discontinuous units within east-central Idaho. Wetlands within the SCNF provide important ecological services to both the Forest and lands downstream. Organic soil wetlands, known as fens, are an irreplaceable resource that the U.S. Forest Service has determined should be managed for conservation and restoration. Fens are defined as groundwater-fed wetlands with organic soils that typically support sedges and low stature shrubs. In the arid west, organic soil formation can take thousands of years. Long-term maintenance of fens requires maintenance of both the hydrology and the plant communities that enable fen formation. ... This report and associated dataset provide the SCNF with a critical tool for conservation planning at both a local and Forest-wide scale. These data will be useful for the ongoing SCNF biological assessment required by the 2012 Forest Planning Rule, but can also be used for individual management actions, such as planning for timber sales, grazing allotments, and trail maintenance. Wherever possible, the Forest should avoid direct disturbance to the fens mapped through this project, and should also strive to protect the watersheds surrounding high concentrations of fens, thereby protecting their water sources.
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, publisher
Species 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.
Open Access
National Wetland Inventory mapping for the Colorado portion of the Southern Rockies Landscape Conservation Cooperative
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2014) Lemly, Joanna, author; Smith, Gabrielle, author; Sueltenfuss, Jeremy, author; Colorado Natural Heritage Program, publisher
Open Access
National wetland inventory mapping of the Arkansas Headwaters Subbasin
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2016-03) Lemly, Joanna, author; Long, Lexine, author; Smith, Gabrielle, author; Sueltenfuss, Jeremy, author; Colorado Natural Heritage Program, publisher
Wetlands are an integral component of Colorado's landscape and provide a host of beneficial services, such as wildlife habitat, flood abatement, storm water retention, groundwater recharge, and water quality improvement. Wetlands and riparian areas in the Arkansas Headwaters subbasin support biologically significant resources, including plants animals and natural communities. Decisions about wetland management should be based on a solid understanding of their extent and distribution. Yet for most of Colorado, including the Arkansas Headwaters subbasin, these data have historically been lacking because National Wetland Inventory (NWI) mapping by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service was available only on paper. The goal of this project was to create an up-to-date digital map of wetlands in the Arkansas Headwaters subbasin to aid regulatory, conservation and management decisions. The first step was to digitize original 1970–80s NWI maps for areas of the basin lacking digital data. The second step was to create new, updated NWI maps for the subbasin. The last step was to compare the historical and contemporary mapping to evaluate trends in the extent and type of aquatic resources. From this analysis, we attempted to qualitatively distinguish what changes in the mapping represented true changes in the landscape and what changes came from updated mapping methodologies. … Through the NWI mapping and field excursions to the area, it is clear that water development projects over the past 100 years have had a profound and lasting impact on the wetland and aquatic resources of the Arkansas subbasin. With increasing population growth forecasted for the larger Arkansas Basin and the Front Range, and the potential for a warming and drying climate, action should be taken to conserve the important wetland resources of the Arkansas Headwaters subbasin.
Open Access
Recommended best management practices for Arkansas Canyon stickleaf (Nuttallia densa): practices developed to reduce the impacts of road maintenance activities to plants of concern
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2014-05) Smith, Gabrielle, author; Panjabi, Susan Spackman, author; Colorado Natural Heritage Program, publisher
Arkansas Canyon stickleaf (Nuttallia densa) is a small, yellow-flowered, subshrub in the Loasaceae (Blazingstar Family) that is known only from the Upper Arkansas River Basin in Fremont and Chaffee counties, Colorado, and is considered to be imperiled at a global and state level (G2/S2; Colorado Natural Heritage Program 2014). One of the biggest conservation issues for this imperiled plant species is the lack of awareness of its existence and status. Avoiding or minimizing impacts to this species during road maintenance activities will effectively help to conserve its habitat and is unlikely to confer substantial impacts on road maintenance goals and projects. The Best Management Practices (BMPs) included in this document are intended to help increase the awareness of this species for anyone involved in road maintenance activities. The desired outcome of these recommended BMPs is to reduce significantly the impacts of road maintenance activities to the Arkansas Canyon stickleaf on federal, state, and/or private land. The BMPs listed here are intended to be iterative, and to evolve over time as additional information about the Arkansas Canyon stickleaf becomes available, or as road maintenance technologies develop. The intent of these BMPs is to inform people working along roadside areas regarding the importance of Arkansas Canyon stickleaf, one of Colorado's botanical treasures, and to outline some of the ways in which this species can coexist with road maintenance activities. The implementation of these recommendations will help to assure that maintenance activities proceed without unintended harm to the Arkansas Canyon stickleaf.
Open Access
Recommended best management practices for Bell's twinpod (Physaria bellii): practices developed to reduce the impacts of road maintenance activities to plants of concern
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2014-10) Smith, Gabrielle, author; Panjabi, Susan Spackman, author; Colorado Natural Heritage Program, publisher
Bell's twinpod (Physaria bellii) is a small, yellow-flowered plant in the Brassicaceae (Mustard Family) that is known only from the Front Range in Boulder and Larimer counties, Colorado, and is considered to be imperiled at a global and state level (G2G3/S2S3; Colorado Natural Heritage Program 2014). One of the biggest conservation issues for this imperiled plant species is the lack of awareness of its existence and status. Avoiding or minimizing impacts to this species during road maintenance activities will effectively help to conserve its habitat and is unlikely to confer substantial impacts on road maintenance goals and projects. The Best Management Practices (BMPs) included in this document are intended to help increase the awareness of this species for anyone involved in road maintenance activities. The desired outcome of these recommended BMPs is to reduce significantly the impacts of road maintenance activities to the Bell's twinpod on federal, state, and/or private land. The BMPs listed here are intended to be iterative, and to evolve over time as additional information about the Bell's twinpod becomes available, or as road maintenance technologies develop. The intent of these BMPs is to inform people working along roadside areas regarding the importance of Bell's twinpod, one of Colorado's botanical treasures, and to outline some of the ways in which this species can coexist with road maintenance activities. The implementation of these recommendations will help to assure that maintenance activities proceed without unintended harm to the Bell's twinpod.
Open Access
Recommended best management practices for Brandegee wild buckwheat (Eriogonum brandegeei): practices developed to reduce the impacts of road maintenance activities to plants of concern
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2014-06) Smith, Gabrielle, author; Panjabi, Susan Spackman, author; Colorado Natural Heritage Program, publisher
Brandegee wild buckwheat (Eriogonum brandegeei) is a mat-forming plant in the Polygonaceae (Buckwheat Family) that is known only from the Arkansas Valley in Fremont and Chaffee counties, Colorado, and is considered to be imperiled at a global and state level (G1G2/S1S2; Colorado Natural Heritage Program 2014). One of the biggest conservation issues for this imperiled plant species is the lack of awareness of its existence and status. Avoiding or minimizing impacts to this species during road maintenance activities will effectively help to conserve its habitat and is unlikely to confer substantial impacts on road maintenance goals and projects. The Best Management Practices (BMPs) included in this document are intended to help increase the awareness of this species for anyone involved in road maintenance activities. The desired outcome of these recommended BMPs is to reduce significantly the impacts of road maintenance activities to the Brandegee wild buckwheat on federal, state, and/or private land. The BMPs listed here are intended to be iterative, and to evolve over time as additional information about the Brandegee wild buckwheat becomes available, or as road maintenance technologies develop. The intent of these BMPs is to inform people working along roadside areas regarding the importance of Brandegee wild buckwheat, one of Colorado's botanical treasures, and to outline some of the ways in which this species can coexist with road maintenance activities. The implementation of these recommendations will help to assure that maintenance activities proceed without unintended harm to these globally imperiled plants.
Open Access
Recommended best management practices for Colorado green gentian (Frasera coloradensis): practices developed to reduce the impacts of road maintenance activities to plants of concern
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2014-05) Smith, Gabrielle, author; Panjabi, Susan Spackman, author; Colorado Natural Heritage Program, publisher
Colorado green gentian (Frasera coloradensis) is a small plant in the Gentianaceae (Gentian Family) that is known only from the southeastern Colorado in Baca, Bent, Prowers, and Las Animas counties, and is considered to be imperiled at a global and state level (G2G3/S2S3; Colorado Natural Heritage Program 2014). One of the biggest conservation issues for this imperiled plant species is the lack of awareness of its existence and status. Avoiding or minimizing impacts to this species during road maintenance activities will effectively help to conserve its habitat and is unlikely to confer substantial impacts on road maintenance goals and projects. The Best Management Practices (BMPs) included in this document are intended to help increase the awareness of this species for anyone involved in road maintenance activities. The desired outcome of these recommended BMPs is to significantly reduce the impacts of road maintenance activities to the Colorado green gentian on federal, state, and private land. The BMPs listed here are intended to be iterative, and to evolve over time as additional information about the Colorado green gentian becomes available, or as road maintenance technologies develop. The intent of these BMPs is to inform people working along roadside areas regarding the importance of Colorado green gentian, one of Colorado's botanical treasures, and to outline some of the ways in which this species can coexist with road maintenance activities. The implementation of these recommendations will help to assure that maintenance activities proceed without unintended harm to the Colorado green gentian.
Open Access
Recommended best management practices for Colorado's globally imperiled plants: practices to reduce the impacts of road maintenance activities to plants of concern
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2017) Panjabi, Susan, author; Smith, Gabrielle, author; Colorado Natural Heritage Program, publisher
Colorado supports habitat for approximately 120 globally imperiled plant species (Colorado Natural Heritage Program, Colorado State University 2017). These plants are in need of conservation attention to prevent unnecessary extirpations and extinctions. Numerous populations of these globally imperiled plants are known from roadside locations in Colorado. The Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT), the Colorado Natural Areas Program at Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW), and the Colorado Natural Heritage Program (CNHP) are working together to ensure that information about the roadside plant populations is made available to the people and organizations managing and working along the roadways. Location information is critical to communicate so that road crews, weed managers, and others can avoid preventable harm to the plants.
Open Access
Recommended best management practices for Cushion bladderpod (Physaria pulvinata): practices to reduce the impacts of road maintenance activities to plants of concern
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2017) Panjabi, Susan, author; Smith, Gabrielle, author; Colorado Natural Heritage Program, publisher
Cushion bladderpod (Physaria pulvinata) is a low, compact plant in the Brassicaceae (Mustard Family). It is densely matted and hairy, less than 3 dm across with 4-petaled yellow flowers. It is known from widely scattered outcrops of grayish Mancos shale in San Miguel and Dolores counties, Colorado, and is considered to be imperiled at a global and state level (G1/S1; Colorado Natural Heritage Program 2017). One of the biggest conservation issues for this imperiled plant species is the lack of awareness of its existence and status. Avoiding or minimizing impacts to this species during road maintenance activities will effectively help to conserve its habitat and is unlikely to confer substantial impacts on road maintenance goals and projects. The Best Management Practices (BMPs) included in this document are intended to help increase the awareness of this species for anyone involved in road maintenance activities.
Open Access
Recommended best management practices for DeBeque milkvetch (Astragalus debequaeus): practices developed to reduce the impacts of road maintenance activities to plants of concern
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2014-05) Smith, Gabrielle, author; Panjabi, Susan Spackman, author; Colorado Natural Heritage Program, publisher
DeBeque milkvetch (Astragalus debequaeus) is a small plant in the Fabaceae (Pea Family) that is known only from the Colorado River Valley in Delta, Garfield and Mesa counties, Colorado, and is considered to be imperiled at a global and state level (G2/S2; Colorado Natural Heritage Program 2014). One of the biggest conservation issues for this imperiled plant species is the lack of awareness of its existence and status. Avoiding or minimizing impacts to this species during road maintenance activities will effectively help to conserve its habitat and is unlikely to confer substantial impacts on road maintenance goals and projects. The Best Management Practices (BMPs) included in this document are intended to help increase the awareness of this species for anyone involved in road maintenance activities. The desired outcome of these recommended BMPs is to reduce significantly the impacts of road maintenance activities to the DeBeque milkvetch on federal, state, and/or private land. The BMPs listed here are intended to be iterative, and to evolve over time as additional information about the DeBeque milkvetch becomes available, or as road maintenance technologies develop. The intent of these BMPs is to inform people working along roadside areas regarding the importance of DeBeque milkvetch, one of Colorado's botanical treasures, and to outline some of the ways in which this species can coexist with road maintenance activities. The implementation of these recommendations will help to assure that maintenance activities proceed without unintended harm to these globally imperiled plants.