Colorado Rockies forests

{{Short description|Temperate coniferous forests ecoregion of the United States}}

{{Infobox ecoregion

| name = Colorado Rockies forests

| image = Maroon Bells (11678).jpg

| image_size =

| image_alt =

| image_caption = Forest and lake in the Elk Mountains, Colorado

| country = United States

| country1 =

| state = Wyoming

| state1 = Colorado

| state2 = New Mexico

| bird_species = 210

{{cite book |last1 = Hoekstra |first1 = J. M. |last2 = Molnar |first2 = J. L. |last3 = Jennings |first3 = M. |last4 = Revenga |first4 = C. |last5 = Spalding |first5 = M. D. |last6 = Boucher |first6 = T. M. |last7 = Robertson |first7 = J. C. |last8 = Heibel |first8 = T. J. |last9 = Ellison |first9 = K. |title = The Atlas of Global Conservation: Changes, Challenges, and Opportunities to Make a Difference |publisher = University of California Press |editor1-last = Molnar |editor1-first = J. L. |year = 2010 |isbn = 978-0-520-26256-0 |url = https://archive.org/details/atlasofglobalcon0000unse |url-access = registration }}

| mammal_species = 103

| border = Colorado Plateau shrublands

| border1 = Northern short grasslands

| border2 = Western short grasslands

| border3 = Wyoming Basin shrub steppe

| habitat_loss = 1.2653

| habitat_loss_ref =

| protected = 65.39

| protected_ref =

| area =

| biogeographic_realm = Nearctic

| biome = Temperate coniferous forest

| map = Colorado Rockies Forests map.svg

| map_size =

| map_alt =

| map_caption =

}}

The Colorado Rockies forests is a temperate coniferous forest ecoregion of the United States. 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.{{WWF ecoregion|id=na0511|name=Colorado Rockies forests}}{{cite web|url=http://www.cas.vanderbilt.edu/bioimages/ecoregions/50511.htm|title=Colorado Rockies forests|publisher=Vanderbilt University|access-date=2024-05-29}}

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 quaking aspen. Rocky Mountain Douglas-fir, Engelmann spruce, subalpine fir, limber pine and Gambel oak can also be found in the mountain forests.{{cite book|last=Peet|first=RK|year=2000|chapter=Forests and meadows of the Rocky Mountains|pages=77–78|editor1-first=MG|editor1-last=Barbour|editor2-first=WD|editor2-last=Billings|title=North American Terrestrial Vegetation|edition=2nd|publisher=Cambridge University Press|location=Cambridge, UK|isbn=978-0-521-55986-7}} 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.{{NatGeo ecoregion|name=Colorado Rockies forest|id=na0511}}

Fauna

Mammals include elk, mule deer, black bear, mountain lions, wolverine, Canada lynx, and American marten.{{cite web|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100322215919/http://www.worldwildlife.org/wildworld/profiles/terrestrial/na/na0511_full.html|archive-date=2010-03-22|url-status=dead|url=http://www.worldwildlife.org/wildworld/profiles/terrestrial/na/na0511_full.html|title=Colorado Rockies forests (NA0511)|work=WildWorld Full Report|publisher=WWF}}{{cite web|url=https://www.oneearth.org/ecoregions/colorado-rockies-forests/|title=Colorado Rockies Forest|first=Reed|last=Noss|publisher=One Earth|access-date=2024-05-29}} Grizzly bears may exist in this region but there has not been a confirmed sighting of a grizzly in Colorado since 1979. Many bird species are found in this region, including white-tailed ptarmigans, western tanagers, dusky grouses, mountain chickadees, pine grosbeaks, gray jays, pygmy nuthatches, red crossbills, Clark's nutcrackers, American dippers, and Townsend's solitaires.{{cite web|url=https://www.nps.gov/romo/learn/nature/birds.htm|title=Birds|work=Rocky Mountain National Park|publisher=US National Park Service|access-date=2024-05-29}} Raptors include red-tailed hawks and great horned owls.

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, and parts of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains extending into north-central New Mexico.