NPS/A. Washuta
The Northern Colorado Plateau Network monitors air quality, big rivers, climate, invasive exotic plants, land surface phenology, landbirds, landscape dynamics, uplands, and water quality at Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park. The results of that monitoring provide park managers with scientific information for decisionmaking.
Before becoming a national park in 1999, Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park was established as Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Monument by Presidential Proclamation on March 2, 1933, for "preservation of the spectacular gorges and additional features of scenic, scientific, and educational interest." The walls of the Black Canyon rise at least 2,000 feet above the Gunnison River, which roars in the canyon depths at an average gradient of 95 feet per mile in the park.
Elevation ranges from 1,645 meters (5,400 feet) at canyon bottom to 2,675 meters (8,775 feet) on Signal Hill. Temperatures range from a low of -9°C (15°F) in the winter to approximately 29°C (85°F) in the summer. Average annual precipitation is 400–508 millimeters (16–20 inches). Snowfall measures between 76 and 140 centimeters (30–55 inches). Most precipitation occurs in the form of spring and summer rains. The canyon rims are dominated by scrub oak and pinyon-juniper forests intermixed with patches of high-desert sagebrush communities. The canyon's north-facing slopes favor Douglas-fir and Colorado blue spruce, while the river bottom has a number of deciduous trees and shrubs characteristic of river strands in the region.
Livestock grazing, exotic plant species invasion, adjacent land development, an altered hydrologic regime, past fire exclusion, and a lack of baseline data are the park's main natural resource management concerns.
Quick Reads
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- Locations: Black Canyon Of The Gunnison National Park, Curecanti National Recreation Area
- Offices: Inventory and Monitoring Division, Natural Resource Stewardship and Science Directorate, Northern Colorado Plateau Inventory & Monitoring Network
At Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park and Curecanti National Recreation Area, long-term vegetation monitoring provides park managers with useful information for decision making on topics including changes in climate, grazing, and fire management. A recent report summarizes monitoring from 2011 to 2022 of vegetation and soil conditions provides management recommendations for their conservation.
- Locations: Arches National Park, Black Canyon Of The Gunnison National Park, Bryce Canyon National Park, Canyonlands National Park, Capitol Reef National Park, more »
- Offices: Inventory and Monitoring Division, Northern Colorado Plateau Inventory & Monitoring Network
Northern Colorado Plateau Network’s long-term landbird monitoring program provides habitat-based updates for bird population status and trends in the parks in the Northern Colorado Plateau. These inform scientists and managers about changes in bird populations and about the health of the habitats they depend on. Learn more about which species were detected in the network parks for the first time and which landbird populations were increasing or declining between 2005 - 2024.
- Locations: Acadia National Park, Agate Fossil Beds National Monument, Alibates Flint Quarries National Monument, Amistad National Recreation Area, Antietam National Battlefield, more »
- Offices: Appalachian Highlands Inventory & Monitoring Network, Chihuahuan Desert Inventory & Monitoring Network, Cumberland Piedmont Inventory & Monitoring Network, Eastern Rivers and Mountains Inventory & Monitoring Network, Great Lakes Inventory & Monitoring Network, more »
Across the US, changes in water availability are altering which plants grow where. These changes are evident at a broad scale. But not all areas experience the same climate in the same way, even within the boundaries of a single national park. A new dataset gives park managers a valuable tool for understanding why vegetation has changed and how it might change in the future under different climate-change scenarios.
- Locations: Arches National Park, Black Canyon Of The Gunnison National Park, Bryce Canyon National Park, Canyonlands National Park, Capitol Reef National Park, more »
- Offices: Inventory and Monitoring Division, Natural Resource Stewardship and Science Directorate, Northern Colorado Plateau Inventory & Monitoring Network
Because birds can be sensitive to habitat change, they are good indicators of ecosystem integrity. The Northern Colorado Plateau Network partners with the University of Delaware to assess breeding-bird species trends in three different habitats: low-elevation riparian, pinyon-juniper, and sage shrubland. Find out which species were increasing and declining at network parks as of 2023.
- Locations: Arches National Park, Black Canyon Of The Gunnison National Park, Bryce Canyon National Park, Canyonlands National Park, Capitol Reef National Park, more »
- Offices: Inventory and Monitoring Division, Northern Colorado Plateau Inventory & Monitoring Network
Birds of the desert southwest, a climate-change hotspot, are among the most vulnerable groups in the US. To help park managers plan for those changes, scientists evaluated the influence of water deficit on landbird communities at 11 national parks in Utah and Colorado. The results will help land managers to focus conservation efforts on places where certain species are most vulnerable to projected climate changes.
- Locations: Arches National Park, Black Canyon Of The Gunnison National Park, Bryce Canyon National Park, Canyonlands National Park, Capitol Reef National Park, more »
- Offices: Inventory and Monitoring Division, Northern Colorado Plateau Inventory & Monitoring Network
Scientists from the Northern Colorado Plateau Network travel thousands of miles each year to collect data on plants, soils, and water across network parks. But it would be impossible to cover every square inch of the Northern Colorado Plateau with boots on the ground. Instead, we simultaneously monitor the parks with boots in space—satellite data that provide information at a much broader scale.
- Locations: Arches National Park, Aztec Ruins National Monument, Bandelier National Monument, Bent's Old Fort National Historic Site, Big Bend National Park, more »
- Offices: Chihuahuan Desert Inventory & Monitoring Network, Climate Change, Climate Change Response Program, Inventory and Monitoring Division, Mediterranean Coast Inventory & Monitoring Network, more »
When the climate changes enough, the vegetation communities growing in any given place will also change. Under an expanded bimodal climate zone, some plant communities in western national parks are more likely to change than others. National Park Service ecologists and partners investigated the future conditions that may force some of this change. Having this information can help park managers decide whether to resist, direct, or accept the change.
- Locations: Arches National Park, Black Canyon Of The Gunnison National Park, Bryce Canyon National Park, Canyonlands National Park, Capitol Reef National Park, more »
- Offices: Inventory and Monitoring Division, Natural Resource Stewardship and Science Directorate, Northern Colorado Plateau Inventory & Monitoring Network
Because birds can be sensitive to habitat change, they are good indicators of ecosystem integrity. The Northern Colorado Plateau Network partners with the University of Delaware to assess breeding-bird species trends in three different habitats: low-elevation riparian, pinyon-juniper, and sage shrubland. Find out which species were increasing and declining at network parks as of 2022.
- Locations: Arches National Park, Black Canyon Of The Gunnison National Park, Bryce Canyon National Park, Canyonlands National Park, Capitol Reef National Park, more »
- Offices: Inventory and Monitoring Division, Natural Resource Stewardship and Science Directorate, Northern Colorado Plateau Inventory & Monitoring Network
Because birds can be sensitive to habitat change, they are good indicators of ecosystem integrity. The Northern Colorado Plateau Network partners with the University of Delaware to assess breeding-bird species trends in three different habitats: low-elevation riparian, pinyon-juniper, and sage shrubland. Find out which species were increasing and declining at network parks as of 2021.
- Locations: Alibates Flint Quarries National Monument, Amistad National Recreation Area, Arches National Park, Aztec Ruins National Monument, Bandelier National Monument, more »
- Offices: Chihuahuan Desert Inventory & Monitoring Network, Greater Yellowstone Inventory & Monitoring Network, Inventory and Monitoring Division, Natural Resource Stewardship and Science Directorate, Northern Colorado Plateau Inventory & Monitoring Network, more »
Across the Intermountain Region, Inventory & Monitoring Division ecologists are helping to track the effects of climate change, provide baseline information for resource management, evaluate new technologies, and inspire the next generation of park stewards. This article highlights accomplishments achieved during fiscal year 2021.
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Publications
Source: Data Store Saved Search 3759. To search for additional information, visit the Data Store.
Source: Data Store Saved Search 3760. To search for additional information, visit the Data Store.
Last updated: October 31, 2020