Rangeland health assessment of grazing allotments in Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park and Curecanti National Recreation Area
Courkamp J, Jablonski K, Flora M, Lambert J, Melzer S, Sueltenfuss J. 2022. Rangeland health assessment of grazing allotments in Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park and Curecanti National Recreation Area. Natural Resource Report. NPS/NRSS/BRD/NRR—2022/2440. National Park Service. Fort Collins, Colorado. https://doi.org/10.36967/2293367
We assessed rangeland health at 28 locations distributed across nine grazing allotments in Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park (BLCA; five allotments) and Curecanti National Recreation Area (CURE; four allotments). Assessments were conducted using Interpreting Indicators of Rangeland Health (IIRH), a qualitative protocol designed to assess departures from reference condition for three rangeland attributes: soil/site stability, hydrologic function, and biotic integrity. Nine locations in three allotments at BLCA were assessed in 2019, and the rest of the locations were assessed in 2021. Assessment sites are reviewed on an allotment-by-allotment basis, and sites with at least one IIRH attribute rated as a moderate or greater departure from reference were considered “ecologically compromised” for the purpose of this report. Rangeland health varied, with conditions in some allotments more concerning than others. All locations in the Red Rock Canyon Allotment at BLCA (three) were ecologically compromised due to annual weed dominance, and all locations in the Stevens Creek allotment (three) were ecologically compromised due to widespread evidence of erosion and a near complete lack of herbaceous vegetation. Across all allotments, many locations were characterized by a lack of perennial bunchgrasses, which were identified as a dominant or sub-dominant component of the reference plant community in most cases. The authors of this report were not fully informed of the criteria used to select the assessment locations; thus, managers should seek out other pertinent information (e.g., management history) to contextualize the findings of this report before changing management.
- Type
- Published Report
- Authors
- Courkamp, Jacob; Jablonski, Kevin; Flora, Miranda; Lambert, Justin; Melzer, Susan; Sueltenfuss, Jeremy
- Date of Issue
- 2022-08
- Publisher
- National Park Service
- DOI
- 10.36967/2293367
- Units
- BLCA , CURE , NRSS
- Keywords
- Grazing, IIRH, Interpreting Indicators of Rangeland Health, Rangeland