Roaring Fork Biodiversity and Connectivity Study
Combining field-based assessment and geospatial modeling, we are working with a team of stakeholders in the 930,000 acre Roaring Fork Watershed to use focal species of mule deer, elk, and bighorn sheep to frame landscape connectivity and conservation prioritization. This project has capitalized on rare access to large tracts of private land combined with public land sampling locations to assess forage and habitat quality across the elevational gradients. CNHP Primary Team: Andrea Schuhmann, Lee Grunau, Renee Rondeau, Michelle Fink, Sarah Marshall, and Denise Culver.
Bat Population Assessments
Using a suite of field methods, e.g., acoustic monitoring, mist netting and passive integrative transponders, and roost and hibernacula assessment, we are working throughout the state of Colorado and southern Wyoming to assess the status and ecology of bat population and surveil for the emergence of white nose syndrome. CNHP Team: Andrea Schuhmann, Jeremy Siemers, Rob Schorr, and Beth Stevenson.
GLORIA: Global Observation Research Initiative and Alpine
In partnership with the National Parks Service and U.S. Forest Service, we monitor long-term alpine vegetation monitoring sites across the Rocky Mountain West as as part of the global GLORIA network. The GLORIA project uses standardized methods and protocol to capture the effects of climate change on alpine vegetation. A number of CNHP team members have participated in this project since the inception of our program’s involvement in 2011. CNHP Primary Team in 2021: Andrea Schuhmann, Sarah Marshall, Alexa Armstrong, and Teru Funabashi.
Conservation Easement Baseline Inventory Reporting
We work with the City of Fort Collins and Larimer County Open Space and Parks to gather ecological and site condition information on properties acquired as part of the Laramie Foothills Mountains to Plains partnership that has now conserved over 50,000-acres of land in the Laramie Foothills region. CNHP Team: Andrea Schuhmann and Susan Spackman-Panjabi.
Climbing and Acoustic Surveys for Bats at Fishers Peak State Park
We completed an assessment of the rock quality, access, and recreational climbing potential of three primary areas of exposed cliff line at the newly established Fishers Peak State Park while simultaneously searching for roosting bats using a methodology adapted from (Schorr et al. in press) and recommended by Climbers for Bat Conservation organization. CNHP staff: Andrea Schuhmann and climbing technician and AMAZING artist, Sophie Binder.
Survey of Critical Resources of Button Rock Preserve
We completed a bioinventory of the critical and characteristic plants, animals, and ecological communities of the 300-acre Button Rock Preserve owned and managed by the City of Longmont, Colorado. CNHP Team: Andrea Schuhmann, Pam Smith, Beth Stevenson, and Susan Spackman-Panjabi.