As is true in all life zones, healthy ecosystems and communities are comprised of a diversity of age classes of plants and animals. For example, a healthy plant community has a nice mix of babies, toddlers, teenagers, middle-aged adults, grandma’s and grandpa’s and great grandparents (known as seral stages). Natural occurrences such as disease, climatic changes, and fires continually give rebirth to the vegetation cycles on the Uncompahgre Plateau resulting in this balanced cycle of vegetation. Human intervention can, however, adversely affect this balance.
As an example, the suppression of natural fires for the last 120 years has resulted in major changes in the natural ecosystem as vegetation grows older and more decadent. The encroachment of trees and shrubs throughout the landscape is diminishing the quality, quantity and diversity of plant species available for both wildlife and livestock. Vegetatively speaking, the Plateau has a robust population of “baby boomers”.
In general, human activities appear to have significantly changed the ecological complexion of the Uncompahgre Plateau. In addition to changes in native plant species diversity, age, and productivity, post-settlement activities have increased soil erosion and noxious weed invasion. Maturing plant communities result in an increase in transpiration (vegetative water loss) and a decrease in vegetative ground cover, moisture retention and water quality.
The effect of human’s activities has been an overall reduction in land health. For example, a BLM land health assessment conducted on the Escalante area (approximately 100,000 acres) in 1998 indicated the following problems (BLM, 1998. Escalante Land Health Assessment):
Soils
- Lack of protective cover and a high percentage of bare soil.
- Accelerated erosion.
Plant Communities
- Presence of noxious weeds.
- Low levels of perennial grass.
- Low plant vigor.
- Lack of cool season grasses.
- Low vegetation diversity.
- Lack of forbs.
- Pinyon-juniper invasion into sagebrush and mountain shrub communities.
- Dominance by late seral stage vegetation.
- Old shrubs with low vigor.
- Changes in habitat structure, condition and arrangement of habitat components as indicated by vegetative change.
- Declining winter range quality and quantity for mule deer and elk.
Wildlife
- Reduced mule deer population.
- Increased elk population.
- Reduced neo-tropical bird populations.
Water Quality & Riparian Areas
- Incised channels, presence of noxious or invasive vegetation, braided channels, and inadequate streamside vegetation.
- Non-point source water pollutants from the area include: sediment, nutrients, and biological pathogens (primarily bacteria and protozoan) and much of the accelerated levels of sediment are a result of historic and some present uses that have resulted in poor watershed conditions and unstable stream channels.
There are several scientific and management tools that are used to assess the need for active management. To learn more about these, follow the links below.