Teller County survey of critical biological resources

CNHP, in partnership with the Coalition for the Upper South Platte (CUSP) and Teller County, has been awarded a grant from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to survey critical biological resources in Teller County this summer. In addition to the EPA grant, Teller County was also awarded a Conservation Excellence grant from Great Outdoors Colorado, which they will use to further fund the survey work.

CNHP biologists, zoologists, and ecologists will be conducting inventories of rare species, wetlands, and other natural communities throughout the county starting this June. Teller County is at the intersection of four watersheds: Upper South Platte River, South Platte River Headwaters, Fountain Creek, and Upper Arkansas River. CNHP has surveyed all counties surrounding Teller, and we are excited to finally get the chance to fill in this gap in biodivserity knowledge.

A kick-off meeting will be held April 21 at the Carter Herbarium of Colorado College in Colorado Springs, in order to get input from partners and other interested parties about where the best places are to concentrate our surveys and how we can best collaborate with partners from CUSP, the Carter Herbarium, and the Royal Gorge Field Office of the Bureau of Land Management.