CSU ESS 440: Investigating Colorado's Ever-Changing Riparian Habitat

Students enrolled in WCNR’s Ecosystem Science & Sustainability 440 spring semester worked with CNHP staff on several learning projects. One of these projects was to re-evaluate Front Range riparian plots from the 1991-1999 State Riparian and Wetland classification project. The students were given four plots with data sheets and photos from the 1990s with the task of relocating each plot and noting changes in appearance and function. Additionally, the students developed a video documenting the process as well as the results. Denise Culver, a CNHP ecologist, was thrilled with the results, saying “Everyone quickly grasped the complexities of Colorado’s wetland and riparian ecosystems. The conclusions were thoughtful and insightful.”  You may view the video below.

The ESS 440 students are: Charlie Beasley, Katherine Feldman, Danielle Reimanis, Makenzie Ruppert, Savannah Telander, and Caitlin Tuminello. Denise was assisted by Neal Swayze, a WCNR student workstudy.  

Wetland Ecologist Denise Culver Receives CSU Distinguished Administrative Professional Award

At her core, Denise is first and foremost a ‘plant geek,’ with an infectious passion for petals and perigynia that has propelled her through an incredible and highly successful 20 years at CNHP. Throughout that time, she has written and submitted 96 proposals, out of which 90% have been successfully funded (an astounding $3,720,882!). She is a member and past officer of the Colorado Native Plant Society and an instructor in the Native Plant Master Program. She has been the project leader for over 20 Colorado county surveys for critical biological resources and is the lead author for the Field Guide to Colorado’s Wetland Plants: Identification, Ecology and Conservation. She also assisted in designing and developing the Colorado Wetlands App (CNHP’s first app).

Denise’s positivity and strong work ethic shines through to colleagues, co-workers, and students alike. She never comes up short in her commitment to educate others about wetlands and wetland plants. Congratulations, Denise!

Denise and her wonderful Nakai atop the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. 

Wetland Monitoring in Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve

One of CNHP’s Wetlands crew spent July collecting data at wetland sites in Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve in southern Colorado. The park and preserve is home to about 1,700 bison, and a large elk herd. The wetland monitoring data collected will be used to aid in planning and decision making as part of the Park’s ungulate management plan process. The wetland crew braved warm weather and abundant mosquitoes to collect vegetation, soil and ungulate use data, and install game cameras at over 20 sites.

The CNHP Wetlands crew and National Park Service Inventory and Monitoring employees after training in Great Sand Dunes National Park. 

Lexine Long and Erin Borgman setting up a vegetation monitoring plot in Great Sand Dunes National Park. 

When not in Great Sand Dunes National Park, the wetland crew also worked on a project surveying fen wetlands close to state highways for a project sponsored by the Colorado Department of Transportation. Fens are groundwater-fed wetlands with 40 or more centimeters of organic soil (often peat). Organic soil accumulates very slowly – at approximately 20cm in 1,000 years, so fens are an incredibly important wetland resource in Colorado. The crew got to spend their time working in the beautiful mountain passes of Colorado, and saw many interesting wetlands while collecting vegetation and soil data for the project.

Lexine Long collecting vegetation data in a fen in the San Juan mountains.

A fen wetland in the San Juan mountains. 

Adventures in Wetland Ecology

by Sarah Marshall

As the first few aspen leaves turned gold, and a fresh dusting of snow fell on the high peaks along the Continental Divide, our National Wetland Condition Assessment (NWCA) field crew wrapped up 3 months of field sampling in 28 Colorado wetlands. Our work was part of a long-term EPA study to evaluate the ecological condition of wetlands and other aquatic resources across the United States, and included evaluating the plant community, hydrology, soils, water quality, and stressors for each site we visited. Beginning in the playas of the Great Plains, and ending in snowmelt and groundwater-fed fens and beaver ponds in the mountains, we traveled over 5,000 miles to access study sites. Some of our more adventurous sites involved backpacking to high-elevation meadows in the Maroon Bells-Snowmass and Holy Cross wilderness areas, bison herds and a rattlesnake in our vegetation plots in the San Luis Valley, and a few surprise moose hunkered down in riparian willow thickets.  When we set out to sample our last site for the summer field season, a rough mountain 4WD road led us to a lovely willow carr… covered with several inches of fresh snow.

After visiting so many different types of wetlands around the state, I have a renewed commitment to better understand and protect Colorado’s wetlands, and all of the processes that sustain them--from beavers constructing dams to elevate the local water table to moose and elk creating gaps in the willow canopy for the herbaceous understory to thrive. It was also rewarding to meet ranchers, scientists, and other land managers who play an active role in conserving Colorado’s wetlands. With threats ranging from rising water temperatures and earlier snowmelt associated with climate change to groundwater withdrawals and invasive weeds, preserving the diverse assemblages of native plants and animals that inhabit Colorado wetlands requires partnerships across public and private land, and thinking about wetlands as part of the larger landscape. I hope that our work this summer, and all of the work done by the CNHP wetlands team, continues to support and inform wetland conservation and management decisions in Colorado, and improve our collective understanding of these remarkable ecosystems!

A moose leaps out of a fen near Creede, Colorado on the Rio Grande National Forest. 

Scott Guinn and Sarah Marshall still smiling as the mosquitoes swarm in the Little Grizzly Creek drainage in Jackson County, Colorado.

KristiLee Halpin and Tyler Stratman set up a wetland plot in the Holy Cross Wilderness near Gold Dust Peak.

Sarah Marshall holds an impressive column of organic soil, known as peat, from a fen in the Routt National Forest near Livingston Park.

Colorado Wetlands App Now Available for Android and iPhones

Just in time for field season, the Colorado Natural Heritage Program is pleased to announce the release of the Colorado Wetlands Mobile App! The App is available for FREE at both the Google Play Store and iTunes App Store.

The Colorado Wetland Mobile App contains three main sections:

Wetland Plants: Detailed descriptions and photos of 711 plant species found in Colorado’s wetland and riparian areas. The plants are searchable through many different search criteria and filters.

Wetland Maps: Access to digital National Wetland Inventory (NWI) maps. The App shows NWI maps for the entire state of Colorado and can use location information from the device to show mapped wetland where the user is located. The Maps screen can also be used to search for wetland plants potentially found at the user’s location.

Wetland Types: Brief description of the most common wetland and   riparian types found in Colorado.
Wetland types can also be used as a filter for searching plant species.

For more information, see the user's manual online.

CNHP welcomes your feedback! Comments and questions can be addressed to Denise Culver or Joanna Lemly.

CNHP Leads Wetland Assessment Training in Colorado Springs

On September 9-10, CNHP Wetland Ecologists Joanna Lemly and Cat Wiechmann led a two-day training on the Ecological Integrity Assessment (EIA) methodology in Colorado Springs. A diverse group of twenty natural resource professionals attended the training, including representatives from six different federal, state, and local government agencies, four different consulting firms, and several conservation groups. The training included a full day of classroom instruction and a day in the field at Bear Creek Regional Park practicing the wetland assessment technique. Reviews from the class were all very positive, with many participants stating that they look forward to applying what they learned in their work. 

CNHP Wetland Ecologist Cat Wiechmann (red shirt) teaches training participants how to assess wetland condition using the Environmental Integrity Assessment protocol.

The training was funded by a grant from U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Region 8 and Colorado Parks and Wildlife, and was offered at no cost to participants.

Cover page of the new Ecological Integrity Assessment Manual available on the CNHP website.

More information on the EIA methodology, including links to download the field manual (pictured above), datasheets, and presentations about applying the EIA method, can be found here.

Job Announcement: Wetland Ecology Research Associate

The Colorado Natural Heritage Program (CNHP) at Colorado State University (CSU) seeks one experienced Wetland Ecology Research Associate to work closely with CNHP’s Wetland Team on all aspects of wetland condition assessment projects in Colorado. Pre-field season activities includes logistics and planning, securing permission to access sites on public and private land, preparing field maps in ArcGIS, and preparing field supplies. During summer field seasons, the position acts as Field Crew Lead, coordinating the work of other field team members and communicating with the Wetland Team Leader, as well as actively collecting field data on wetland condition. Post-field season activities include quality control of field data, identifying collected plant specimens, entering field data or working with interns and work studies to enter data, and collaborating with the Wetland Team Leader on data analysis and report writing.

To apply and view a complete position description, please visit: http://jobs.colostate.edu/postings/16757.   

Applications deadline is August 24, 2015. 

Reflecting departmental and institutional values, candidates are expected to have the ability to advance the Department's commitment to diversity and inclusion.

CSU is an EO/EA/AA employer and conducts background checks on all final candidates.

Free Wetland Training in Colorado Springs, Sept 9-10, 2015

CNHP is excited to offer a free training on the Ecological Integrity Assessment (EIA) method for assessing wetland condition. The training will be limited to 20 participants. The course will be taught by CNHP wetland ecologists Joanna Lemly and Laurie Gilligan. The training will be help Sept 9-10, 2015 at Colorado Parks and Wildlife Regional Office in Colorado Springs. Training sessions will be held from 9am-4pm on both days. Day 1 will be in the classroom, Day 2 will be held at a nearby wetland. Please RSVP to Joanna Lemly or 970-491-2127) to reserve your spot. 

The EIA method for wetlands has been developed and refined over 10 years by NatureServe and Natural Heritage Programs across the county and adapted for use in Colorado by CNHP. In partnership with CPW, CNHP has used the method to assess the condition of over 500 wetlands and riparian area across Colorado. The EIA method places an emphasis on biotic integrity and combines quantitative vegetation metrics will qualitative metrics that evaluation landscape context, buffer, hydrology, soils, and water quality. For more information and background on the EIA method, please visit the EIA section of NatureServe’s website.

This free training has been funded by a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 8, Wetland Program Development Grant and Colorado Parks and Wildlife.

Report on Denver's Urban Wetlands Now Available

We are pleased to announce that our report on the condition of urban wetlands in Denver County is now available on the CNHP website. As part of this two year EPA-funded study, we assessed the condition of 46 urban wetlands in the Denver area, updated National Wetland Inventory maps for Denver County, and created a brochure highlighting high quality urban wetlands in Denver County. Special thanks to our partners Kelly Uhing and Alan Polonsky from the City and County of Denver for collaborating with us on the project!

CNHP Pilots Water Chemistry Measurements in Wetland Condition Assessments

By Laurie Gilligan, CNHP Wetland Ecologist

The wetlands team kicked off their water chemistry data collection pilot project in the Lower Arkansas Basin under perfect weather conditions: rain, lightning, mud, and more rain! All of the spring rain has filled playas that have not been saturated in years, and is greening up the Arkansas River floodplain and its marshes. These conditions will give our crew the opportunity to test how well our data collection methods work in waters with high variability in sediment and water levels. However, accessing sites safely has meant dodging the notoriously fierce thunderstorms that roll over the open southeastern plains.

Joanna Lemly, CNHP wetland ecologist, collects water samples
in a playa on the southeastern plains of Colorado.

Pools within a small stream outside Florence, Colorado provide
good habitat for native plains fish species.

CNHP is excited to add water chemistry measurements to this year’s wetland assessments. While water chemistry measurements are frequently taken in lakes and rivers, more research is needed on nutrient levels, metal loads, and other water chemistry measurements in shallow vegetated wetlands. By adding water chemistry measurements to our wetland condition assessments, we can begin to observe the relationships between the wetland’s water chemistry and its overall condition. The first step with this pilot year of water quality sampling is to refine protocols and analysis, and to get a glimpse of the range of variation in water chemistry parameters that we may see in the plains.

Playa on Bureau of Land Management (BLM) land in Huerfano County, Colorado. With extra spring moisture in 2015, many playas in the Lower Arkansas Basin showed concentric rings of vegetation-in this case, an inner ring of spreading yellowcress (Rorripa sinuata).

Botany Essentials for the 2015 Field Season

If you are out in the field already, or planning to go soon, make sure you have a copy of A Field Guide to Colorado’s Wetland Plants: Identification, Ecology, and Conservation.

If you are working in wetlands on Colorado's Eastern Slope, you can also order a copy of Common Wetland Plants of Colorado's Eastern Plains: A Field Guide. Check our website in September for the upcoming Wetland Field Guide App!

Jennifer Ackerfield, Collections Manager of the CSU Herbarium, has written a new flora for the state of Colorado. Pre-orders are now accepted at the JBRIT website.

Jennifer Ackerfield's new flora will help amateurs and professional botanists alike key out Colorado plant species like the Rocky Mountain blue columbine (Aquilegia saximontana). 

Is your Phragmites native?

If you work in wetlands, you have no doubt marveled at the spectacular common reed (Phragmites australis). This grass can tower over a field biologist, growing up to 15 ft tall. It is frequently found along streambanks and ditches in Colorado. Often considered an aggressive non-native, recent development of molecular markers has led to the discovery that both native and introduced genotypes exist in North America. This evidence suggests that land managers should think twice before treating common reed like an invasive weed.

Common reed (Phragmites australis) grows in a tall stand in wetlands along the Arkansas River.

It can be difficult to determine native vs. introduced Phragmites using morphological characters. Luckily, Dr. Bernd Blossey has created a handy guide to help distinguish between them. If looking at this table makes you dizzy, the website also offers a free diagnostic service. Send them your common reed specimen, and they will key it out for you! Crystal Strouse, Fort Collins Natural Areas botanist, recently suspected that a population of Phragmites at Running Deer Natural Area was native. After sending material to Bernd Blossey, it was confirmed that the Running Deer population belongs to the native genotype of common reed. At CNHP, we plan on making more collections of this species during the 2015 field season to help determine how common the native genotype is in Colorado.

A stand of common reed (Phragmites australis) at Running Deer Natural Area was identified as the native genotype.

Job Announcement: Wetland Ecology Field Technician

COLORADO NATURAL HERITAGE PROGRAM
Position Announcement:

The Colorado Natural Heritage Program (CNHP) at Colorado State University (CSU) seeks 4 experienced field technicians for summer field work assessing the condition of wetlands throughout the lower Arkansas River Basin in southeast Colorado. Positions require field botany and ecology skills. Pay rate is $2000-2800/month. Position duration is 3 or 5 months (May–Sept or June–Aug 2015). Knowledge of plant taxonomy and species identification required. Preferred qualifications include experience in wetland or riparian ecology, local flora, and familiarity performing field work for long days (10+ hours).

Field technician Spencer Rubin surveys wetlands on the
Southeastern Colorado Plains in 2014.

Fieldwork will take place in wetlands and riparian areas ranging from excellent to poor condition as part of a wetland condition assessment project in the lower Arkansas River Basin. Standard duties will involve driving and hiking to field sites; in-field plant identification, in-office plant identification with a microscope; detailed completion of field survey forms, data entry, landowner interaction; and extensive collection of vegetation, water, soil, wildlife habitat, and environmental data. Data will be collected using both rapid assessment protocols and more in-depth vegetation surveys. Field housing will likely be based in Pueblo, CO. Some camping and travel will be necessary.

Field technician Cat Weichmann surveys wetlands on the
Southeastern Colorado Plains in 2014.

To apply and view a complete position description, please visit and select Wetland Ecology Field Technician Research Associate I.

First consideration of applicants will begin February 16, 2015. Applications will continue to be considered until all positions are filled or until July 31, 2015, whichever comes first.

Reflecting departmental and institutional values, candidates are expected to have the ability to advance the Department's commitment to diversity and inclusion.

CSU is an EO/EA/AA employer and conducts background checks on all final candidates.

Common Wetland Plants of Colorado’s Eastern Plains: A Pocket Guide

CNHP is excited to announce the release of the Common Wetland Plants of Colorado’s Eastern Plains: A Pocket Guide.  The pocket guide is a complimentary publication to the comprehensive Field Guide to Colorado’s Wetland Plants. The Pocket Guide highlights common wetland plants, both native and non-native located within the Eastern Plains. It is designed to help landowners and other wetland managers correctly identify common wetland plants, manage for preferred species, and control noxious ones.

Cover photo: a playa on the plains

The Pocket Guide contains 119 species with 6 key characteristics (with bolded highlights of diagnostic characters), similar species, habitat and ecology comments, and management comments.

Sample page from the pocket guide

This project was made possible with an U.S. EPA, Region 8, Wetlands Program Development Grant with in-kind match from the Colorado Parks and Wildlife Wetland Program and Colorado State University. The Pocket Guide is available for free from CNHP or can be mailed for $6.00 shipping and handling cost.  One can order from the CNHP Wetland Information Center website here or contact Denise Culver (Denise.Culver@colostate.edu) for more information.

CNHP Hosts Workshop on Sedges in Partnership with the Colorado Native Plant Society (CoNPS) February 22-23, 2014

By Pam Smith, CNHP Field Botanist/Ecologist

Denise Culver, Wetland Ecologist teaching the enthusiastic workshop attendees.

People came from Boulder, Denver, Estes Park, Fort Collins and Golden to Colorado State University to attend a workshop hosted by the Colorado Natural Heritage Program (CNHP). Thirty people from a variety of backgrounds including consulting firms, local, state and federal governments, resource management, CSU students and retired biologists came to a Colorado Native Plant Society workshop on one of the more difficult groups of plants to identify - the sedges (Cyperaceae family).  Although the study of this group can be challenging, workshop leader Denise Culver, a wetland ecologist at CNHP made it fun! Rhymes, fun metaphors and a few jokes added to the learning experience.

Pat Murphy (CoNPS) and Kate Dwire (USFS) making an identification
determination on one of the sedge samples provided during the workshop.

Denise recently published a book on wetland plants in Colorado and the sedge family is a large part of her book. (Psst, if you want a copy they are available online at: Field guide to Colorado’s Wetland Plants)
Workshops not only provide great hands on experience for participants but provide an excellent forum for networking with other potential partners and colleagues throughout the state.  The connections and experiences of the participants add to the knowledge and usefulness of the gathering. There was added excitement as the group found out they would get a preliminary copy of the much awaited book, Key to the Colorado Sedges, by Janet Wingate, which is not currently available to the public. Wingate’s book is useful to identify a particularly tough group in the sedge family from the genus Carex. The participants learned about 15 different species including cottongrasses, spikerushes, bulrushes in addition to the Carex group.

Smiling workshop members enjoying the challenge of learning about sedges.

Perhaps you have heard the little saying “sedges have edges and rushes are round”..., well it turns out it is not all that easy, and many new tricks and information were provided so that people would have tools to make proper identifications to the species level.  Many of the people attendees work with plants as part of their job and are aware that proper identification can lead to better management practices.   Denise also provided information on the ecological importance of sedges including wetland soil stabilization, water filtration, and wildlife habitat and food. People were interested to hear that very few of the sedges are weeds, with the majority all native to Colorado.  Armed with a full day of learning and networking, everybody seemed excited for the upcoming field season to get outside to find and identify those wonderful, albeit tricky, members of the sedge family.

Sprengel’s sedge (Carex sprengelii) is an example of one of the
members of the Cyperaceae family that can be found in Colorado.

Adapting to Climate Change by Restoring Wetlands

Climate change presents challenges and opportunities for conservation and livelihoods throughout Colorado and rather than standing by and doing nothing we present an example of a restoration strategy that benefits birds, wetlands, groundwater, ranching, and overall health of the landscape while planning for future climate change.  As temperatures rise and precipitation variation becomes even greater than today we can expect frequency and intensity of droughts to increase thus threatening our wetlands that are so important to life.  Restoring our valuable wetlands today will create resilience to a changing climate and help people and nature adapt to the future.

Through a public-private partnership in the Gunnison Basin (initiated by The Nature Conservancy) we completed a two-year pilot project of restoring wet meadow habitats within sagebrush shrublands.  Using simple and non-expensive techniques that utilize local material we raised the water table and reduced erosion by eliminating headcuts.  In less than two years we can already see the benefit of these simple structures.

Thanks go to the Gunnison Climate Working group, Upper Gunnison River Water Conservancy District, Wildlife Conservation Society, Colorado Parks and Wildlife, Rocky Mountain Bird Observatory, US Fish and Wildlife Service, Southern Rockies Landscape Conserrvation Cooperative and private donors,  Bureau of Land Management, U.S. Forest Service, Natural Resources Conservation Service, Colorado Natural Heritage Program, Western State College, Zeedyk Ecological Consulting, and The Nature Conservancy.

The following presentation was created by Strijek Design with assistance from the Colorado Natural Heritage Program.

Click to view a fullscreen presentation 

One can also view a short video of this project here.

Wetland Ecology Field Technician Job Announcement

The Colorado Natural Heritage Program is looking for 1 or 2 experienced field technicians for summer field work assessing the condition of wetlands throughout the lower Arkansas River Basin. Positions require field botany and ecology skills. Preferred qualifications include experience in wetland or riparian ecology, local flora, and familiarity performing field work for long days (10+ hours).  

Fieldwork will take place in wetlands in natural areas and in created wetlands managed for wildlife habitat, as part of a wetland condition assessment project in the lower Arkansas River Basin. Standard duties will involve driving and hiking to field sites; in-field plant identification, in-office plant identification with a microscope; detailed completion of field survey forms, data entry, landowner interaction; and extensive collection of vegetation, soil, wildlife habitat, and environmental data. Data will be collected using both rapid assessment protocols and more in-depth vegetation surveys. Field housing will likely be based in Pueblo, CO. Some camping and travel will be necessary.

To apply and view a complete position description, please visit: the WCNR job page.  First consideration of applicants will begin on February 17, 2013. Applications will be accepted until position is filled or until July 31, 2013.

Urban Wetland Surprises: Denver’s Parkfield Park

By Bernadette Kuhn, CNHP Botanist

We recently visited Parkfield Park as part of our EPA-funded wetland assessment project in Denver County. Much to our delight it was teeming with dragonflies, aquatic insects, and waving bulrushes. Our crew of botanists jumped up and down when we discovered floating mats of the world’s smallest flowering plant. The mats were made up of thousands of Wolffia columbiana that creating swirly lime-green patterns on the water. Ralph Brooks collected the only known Colorado specimen of W. columbiana from Yuma County in 1980. We collected voucher specimens to distribute to regional herbaria.

David Leatherman holds a green dragonfly with Billy Bunch (EPA), while
 Laura Cascardi and Bernadette Kuhn get distracted by plants.
Photo by Pam Smith.

Tiny, almost granular Wolffia columbiana plants (indicated by white arrows)
are dwarfed by duckweed, Lemna minor. Photo by B. Kuhn.

A Woodhouse’s toadlet at Parkfield Park. Photo by Pam Smith.

Blog readers stay tuned! We will be posting more photos of our Denver urban wetland work throughout the winter. 

Lower South Platte River Basin Wetland & Riparian Condition Assessment Field Season in Full Swing!

by Dave Wesolowski, CNHP Wetland Field Ecology Technician

The field season for wetland and riparian condition assessment has been rocking and rolling since the beginning of June, and we’re learning so much about the Lower South Platte Basin!  Joanna Lemly and Laurie Gilligan lead a field crew consisting of Leah Fugere, Laura Cascardi, Cole Reagan, and Dave Wesolowski.  An intensive week of training has led to a thorough investigation out on the plains and foothills of northeastern Colorado.

Laura Cascardi investigates a soil pit.

Laurie Gilligan (far right) leading an exercise during training week.  

Most folks don’t associate the South Platte River or the plains of north eastern Colorado with wetlands, but they are out there and all over the place.  Diverse, complex, and fascinating warm water sloughs, emergent marshes, wet meadows, playas, and many other systems are found throughout the study area.  Our crew camps and surveys in and around many unique areas, including Chatfield and Jackson Lake State Parks and the wonderful towns of Strasburg, Sterling and Sedgwick.  Below we see Cole surveying a pond, which at first may not seem like a wetland but is, providing excellent habitat for wildlife such as: migrating birds, fish, macroinvertebrates, and a host of other organisms.

Cole Reagan field-tests his waders for a site photo.

While the plains wetlands are beautiful and provide crucial habitat for a variety of wildlife, we tend to also find a fair amount of non-native species such as cheat grass (Anisantha tectorum).

Invasive cheat grass!

Overall, it’s been a fun and exciting field season so far.  Our field season surveying the lower South Platte River basin lasts through the end of August.  At that point, we begin analyzing data and preparing for the next basin to survey.  The Lower South Platte has proven to be an intriguing basin full of unique plants and ecological systems.  We look forward to seeing what else northeastern Colorado has to offer!  Stay tuned!

Cole Reagan, Dave Wesolowski and Leah Fugere reviewing the results of today's field survey.

Colorado Natural Heritage Program and Colorado Parks and Wildlife Partnership for Wetland Assessment and Strategic Conservation

by Joanna Lemly, CNHP Wetland Ecologist

CNHP serves as a collaborative research partner to CPW’s Wetlands Wildlife Conservation Program, providing essential information and tools to help CPW target wetland conservation where it is needed most. This partnership is funded primarily by U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, but would not be possible without CPW’s matching contributions. There are four focal areas to the CPW-CNHP partnership:

• Digital Wetland Mapping. CNHP and CPW have worked closely with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s National Wetland Inventory and many funding partners to complete digital wetland mapping for Colorado. Prior to this collaboration, Colorado had little digital wetland mapping and it was impossible to calculate wetlands acres. Now these data can be used to quantify wetland acres in public and private ownership, locate important wetland complexes, and identify wetlands threatened by development. By the end of 2013, the CNHP-CPW will have increased the total coverage of digital wetland mapping mapping data to 90%!

Map of Colorado's Digital Wetland Mapping Status, 2013

• Wetland Assessment Protocols. In collaboration with CPW, CNHP has developed a suite of field and GIS-based wetland tools to assess the overall condition of wetlands and the quality of habitat available for CPW’s priority wetland-dependent wildlife species. These tools can be used to evaluate habitat need in a given watershed or management unit and to evaluate the success of restoration projects.

Modeled Priority Duck Habitat on the Lower South Platte River Basin

•  Basinwide Wetland Condition Assessments. CNHP and CPW have carried out three river basin-scale wetland condition assessment studies. Randomly selected wetlands are visited in each basin to estimate the overall range in wetland condition. To date, over 300 wetlands have been surveyed. These studies provide a baseline understanding of wetlands, the threats they face, and the availability and/or need for habitat in each basin, helping CPW target restoration projects.

Map of Basinwide Wetland Condition Assessments

• Education and Outreach Tools. With essential CPW matching funds, CNHP has developed several important education and outreach tools. Early in 2013, CNHP released the Field Guide to Colorado’s Wetland Plants, an information and photo rich publication that describes over 600 wetland plant species and emphasizes each species beneficial use by wildlife. This publication was distributed to each CPW Wildlife Technician. A series of shorter Pocket Guides to Wetland Plants are in the works for each major region in the state. Along with the field guides, CNHP and CPW have developed online resources about wetlands, including an online wetlands mapper.

Cover of the Field Guide to Colorado's Wetland Plants