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At least 253 records · Page 14Linked to original sources
USGS2004

Summary of available state ambient stream-water-quality data, 1990-98, and limitations for national assessment

The investigation described in this report summarized data from State ambient stream-water-quality monitoring sites for 10 water-quality constituents or measurements (suspended solids, fecal coliform bacteria, ammonia as nitrogen, nitrite plus nitrate as nitrogen, total phosphorus, total arsenic, dissolved solids, chloride, sulfate, and pH). These 10 water-quality constituents or measurements commonly are listed nationally as major contributors to degradation of surface water. Water-quality data were limited to that electronically accessible from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Storage and Retrieval System (STORET), the U.S. Geological Survey National Water Information System (NWIS), or individual State databases. Forty-two States had ambient stream-water-quality data electronically accessible for some or all of the constituents or measurements summarized during this investigation. Ambient in this report refers to data collected for the purpose of evaluating stream ecosystems in relation to human health, environmental and ecological conditions, and designated uses. Generally, data were from monitoring sites assessed for State 305(b) reports. Comparisons of monitoring data among States are problematic for several reasons, including differences in the basic spatial design of monitoring networks; water-quality constituents for which samples are analyzed; water-quality criteria to which constituent concentrations are compared; quantity and comprehensiveness of water-quality data; sample collection, processing, and handling; analytical methods; temporal variability in sample collection; and quality-assurance practices. Large differences among the States in number of monitoring sites precluded a general assumption that statewide water-quality conditions were represented by data from these sites. Furthermore, data from individual monitoring sites may not represent water-quality conditions at the sites because sampling conditions and protocols are unknown. Because of these factors, a high level of uncertainty exists in a national assessment of water quality. The purpose of this report is to present a summary of electronically available State ambient stream-water-quality data for 10 selected constituents and measurements from monitoring sites with nine or more analyses for 199098 and to discuss limitations for use of the data for national assessment. These analyses were statistiscally summarized by monitoring site and State, and the results presented in tabular format. Most of the selected constituents or measurements have U.S. Environmental Protection Agency criteria or guidelines for aquatic-life or drinking-water purposes. A significant finding of this investigation is that for a large percentage of monitoring sites in the Nation, there are insufficient data to meet U.S. Environmental Protection Agency recommendations for determining if water-quality conditions are degraded and for making informed decisions regarding total maximum daily loads.

Water-Resources Investigations Report↗
USGS2024

Rowing in the same direction using MIX— A tool to initiate the melding of individual disciplinary experts into an integrated interdisciplinary team

A common problem for interdisciplinary sustainability research is that scientists trained in different disciplines are often not rowing their boat effectively in the same direction. Sustainability tools can aid the implementation of this team-melding process. Here, our purpose is to illustrate our M ulti-step I ntegrated graphical and structured discussion e X ercise ( MIX ) tool that transforms diverse disciplinary experts into an interdisciplinary team. We use a visual puzzle-solving approach based on the blind men and the elephant metaphor (BMEM) because this story illustrates the shortcomings of siloed viewpoints and the need to integrate multiple perspectives. Our six-step MIX tool provides step-specific objectives, group activities, discussion questions, and learning outcomes. Activities promote experiential learning for team problem solving. The step-specific structured discussions are designed to get each individual to change their focus from their own discipline (i.e., an elephant trunk, tail, leg, or other isolated pieces of the whole animal) to the team’s interdisciplinary goal (i.e., the whole elephant or the entire multi-faceted problem). In our example proof of concept, we show that a narrow focus on only economic yield (trunk), ecological conservation (legs), or human values (tail) misrepresents the biologically involved sustainability problem (elephant) and blocks innovative solutions.

Sustainability↗
USGS2006

Albatross species demonstrate regional differences in North Pacific marine contamination

Recent concern about negative effects on human health from elevated organochlorine and mercury concentrations in marine foods has highlighted the need to understand temporal and spatial patterns of marine pollution. Seabirds, long-lived pelagic predators with wide foraging ranges, can be used as indicators of regional contaminant patterns across large temporal and spatial scales. Here we evaluate contaminant levels, carbon and nitrogen stable isotope ratios, and satellite telemetry data from two sympatrically breeding North Pacific albatross species to demonstrate that (1) organochlorine and mercury contaminant levels are significantly higher in the California Current compared to levels in the high-latitude North Pacific and (2) levels of organochlorine contaminants in the North Paci.c are increasing over time. Black-footed Albatrosses (Phoebastria nigripes) had 370-460% higher organochlorine (polychlorinated biphenyls [PCBs], dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethanes [DDTs]) and mercury body burdens than a closely related species, the Laysan Albatross (P. immutabilis), primarily due to regional segregation of their North Pacific foraging areas. PCBs (the sum of the individual PCB congeners analyzed) and DDE concentrations in both albatross species were 130-360% higher than concentrations measured a decade ago. Our results demonstrate dramatically high and increasing contaminant concentrations in the eastern North Pacific Ocean, a finding relevant to other marine predators, including humans. ?? 2006 by the Ecological Society of America.

Ecological Applications↗
USGS2002

Ecological resource management: A call to arms

As the human population enlarges, it becomes increasingly difficult to sus tain valued ecological resources. Hu man use of resources, whether it is t h e harvest of ocean fisheries, logging of forests, or farming of arable lands, has resulted in significant population de clines i n many wildlife species. The growth of urban areas and the exp ansion of impermeable surfaces alter landscape diversity and modify hydro logic patterns in ways that decrease habitat quality for many desired plant, fish, and wildlife species. Impaired wa ter, air, and soil quality related to in dustrial, municipal, and agricultural ac tivities have altered the composition of aquatic and terrestrial communities.

Ecological Society Bulletin↗
USGS2014

Preliminary testing of flow-ecology hypotheses developed for the GCP LCC region

The Ecological Limits of Hydrological Alteration (ELOHA) framework calls for the development of flow-ecology hypotheses to support protection of the flow regime from ecologically harmful alteration due to human activities. As part of a larger instream flow project for the Gulf Coast Prairie Landscape Conservation Cooperative (GCP LCC), regional flow-ecology hypotheses were developed for fish, mussels, birds, and riparian vegetation (Davis and Brewer 20141 ). The objective of this study was to assess the usefulness of existing ecological and hydrological data to test these hypotheses or others that may be developed in the future. Several databases related to biological collections and hydrologic data from Oklahoma, Texas, and Louisiana were compiled. State fish-community data from Oklahoma and Louisiana were summarized and paired with existing USGS gage data having at least a 40-year period of record that could be separated into reference and current conditions for comparison. The objective of this study was not to conduct exhaustive analyses of these data, the hypotheses, or analyses interpretation, but rather to use these data to determine if existing data were adequate to statistically test the regional flow-ecology hypotheses. The regional flow-ecology hypotheses were developed for the GCP LCC by a committee chaired by Shannon Brewer and Mary Davis (Davis and Brewer 2014). Existing data were useful for informing the hypotheses and suggest support for some hypotheses, but also highlight the need for additional testing and development as some results contradicted hypotheses. Results presented here suggest existing data are adequate to support some flow-ecology hypotheses; however, lack of sampling effort reported with the fish collections and the need for ecoregion-specific analyses suggest more data would be beneficial to analyses in some ecoregions. Additional fish sampling data from Texas and Louisiana will be available for future analyses and may ameliorate some of the data concerns and improve hypothesis interpretation. If the regional hydrologic model currently under development by the U.S. Geological Survey for the South-Central Climate Science Center is improved to produce daily hydrographs, it will enable use of fish data at ungaged locations. In future efforts, exhaustive analyses using these data, in addition to the development of more complex multivariate hypotheses, would be beneficial to understanding data gaps, particularly as relevant to species of conservation concern.

Cooperator Science Series↗
USGS2019

Spatio-temporal variability of human-fire interactions on the Navajo Nation

Unraveling the effects of climate and land-use on historical fire regimes provides important insights into broader human-fire-climate dynamics, which are necessary for ecologically-based forest management. We developed a spatial human land-use model for Navajo Nation forests across which we sampled a network of tree-ring fire history sites to reflect contrasting historical land-use intensity: high human use, primarily in the Chuska Mountains, and low human use, primarily on the central Defiance Plateau. We tested for and compared human- and climate-driven changes in the fire regimes by applying change point detection, regression, and superposed epoch analyses. The historical fire regimes and fire-climate relationships reflect those of similar forests regionally, and are similar between the two Navajo landscapes until the early 1800s. We then determined that a previously identified, localized, early (1830s) decline in fire activity was geographically widespread across higher human use sites. In contrast, fires continued to burn uninterrupted through this period at the lower use sites. Though the 1830s included significantly wet and cold periods that could have contributed to fire regime decline, human factors pose a more spatio-temporally consistent explanation. A rise in Navajo pastoralism in the 1820s-1830s was concentrated seasonally in the heavy use sites. By the 1880s, livestock numbers more than doubled, grazing became far more spatially widespread, and frequent fire regimes of Navajo forests collapsed. The last widespread fire recorded on either landscape was in 1886. In the Chuska Mountains, livestock and fire co-existed for over 50 years between the initial 1832 fire decline and the end of frequent fires after 1886, an exceptional pattern in the western US. Though unique in its timing, character, and spatial dynamics, the collapse of historical fire regimes in Navajo forests contributed to now over a century without frequent surface fire, leaving Navajo forests at risk for large, uncharacteristic high-severity fires.

Arizona, New Mexico↗
USGS2020

Unfamiliar territory: Emerging themes for ecological drought research and management

Novel forms of drought are emerging globally, due to climate change, shifting teleconnection patterns, expanding human water use, and a history of human influence on the environment that increases the probability of transformational ecological impacts. These costly ecological impacts cascade to human communities, and understanding this changing drought landscape is one of today’s grand challenges. By using a modified horizon-scanning approach that integrated scientists, managers, and decision-makers, we identified the emerging issues in ecological drought that represent key challenges to timely and effective responses. Here we review the themes that most urgently need attention, including novel drought conditions, the potential for transformational drought impacts, and the need for anticipatory drought management. This horizon scan and review provides a roadmap to facilitate the research and management innovations that will support forward-looking, co-developed approaches to reduce the risk of drought to our socio-ecological systems during the 21 st century.

One Earth↗
USGS2014

Predictive Management of Asian Carps in the Upper Mississippi River System

Prolific non-native organisms pose serious threats to ecosystems and economies worldwide. Nonnative bighead carp ( Hypophthalmichthys nobilis ) and silver carp ( H. molitrix ), collectively referred to as Asian carps, continue to colonize aquatic ecosystems throughout the central United States. These species are r-selected, exhibiting iteroparous spawning, rapid growth, broad environmental tolerance, high density, and long-distance movement. Hydrological, thermal, and physicochemical conditions are favorable for establishment beyond the current range, rendering containment and control imperative. Ecological approaches to confine Asian carp populations and prevent colonization characterize contemporary management in the United States. Foraging and reproduction of Asian carps govern habitat selection and movement, providing valuable insight for predictive control. Current management approaches are progressive and often anticipatory but deficient in human dimensions. We define predictive management of Asian carps as synthesis of ecology and human dimensions at regional and local scales to develop strategies for containment and control. We illustrate predictive management in the Upper Mississippi River System and suggest resource managers integrate predictive models, containment paradigms, and human dimensions to design effective, socially acceptable management strategies. Through continued research, university-agency collaboration, and public engagement, predictive management of Asian carps is an auspicious paradigm for preventing and alleviating consequences of colonization in the United States.

Reviews in Fisheries Science & Aquaculture↗
USGS2024

Large-scale dam removal and ecosystem restoration

Rivers underpin vital ecosystems that support aquatic and terrestrial biodiversity and many ecosystem services, including food, water, culture, and recreation ( Dudgeon et al. 2006 ). After centuries of building dams on rivers across the world, river restoration via dam removal is receiving increased public attention, financial investment, and scientific study because of various issues of regarding dam infrastructure, such as obsolescence, sedimentation, and ecosystem degradation ( Duda and Bellmore, 2022 ; East and Grant, 2023 ). Most dam removal projects to date have focused on smaller structures, but larger structures > 10 m tall have also started to be removed in increasing numbers. Recent estimates suggest that only a small fraction of all dam removals have been scientifically studied, with most focused on small dams and short time scales ( Bellmore et al., 2016 ). Understanding the outcomes of large dam removal, where case studies are much more limited, depends on sustained research and monitoring efforts aimed at understanding restoration processes over large spatial and temporal scales ( Figure 1 ). The ecological and socio-ecological study of large dam removal represents a new frontier in dam removal research: projects are larger, more recent, and provide an opportunity to understand the complex ecological changes and impacts to humans that occur with these transformative restoration projects.

Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution↗
USGS1998

Evaluating landscape health: Integrating societal goals and biophysical process

Evaluating landscape change requires the integration of the social and natural sciences. The social sciences contribute to articulating societal values that govern landscape change, while the natural sciences contribute to understanding the biophysical processes that are influenced by human activity and result in ecological change. Building upon Aldo Leopold's criteria for landscape health, the roles of societal values and biophysical processes in shaping the landscape are explored. A framework is developed for indicators of landscape health and integrity. Indicators of integrity are useful in measuring biological condition relative to the condition in landscapes largely unaffected by human activity, while indicators of health are useful in evaluating changes in highly modified landscapes. Integrating societal goals and biophysical processes requires identification of ecological services to be sustained within a given landscape. It also requires the proper choice of temporal and spatial scales. Societal values are based upon inter-generational concerns at regional scales (e.g. soil and ground water quality). Assessing the health and integrity of the environment at the landscape scale over a period of decades best integrates societal values with underlying biophysical processes. These principles are illustrated in two contrasting case studies: (1) the South Platte River study demonstrates the role of complex biophysical processes acting at a distance; and (2) the Kissimmee River study illustrates the critical importance of social, cultural and economic concerns in the design of remedial action plans. In both studies, however, interactions between the social and the biophysical governed the landscape outcomes. The legacy of evolution and the legacy of culture requires integration for the purpose of effectively coping with environmental change.

Journal of Environmental Management↗
USGS2012

Latitudinal species diversity gradient of marine zooplankton for the last three million years

High tropical and low polar biodiversity is one of the most fundamental patterns characterising marine ecosystems, and the influence of temperature on such marine latitudinal diversity gradients is increasingly well documented. However, the temporal stability of quantitative relationships among diversity, latitude and temperature is largely unknown. Herein we document marine zooplankton species diversity patterns at four time slices [modern, Last Glacial Maximum (18 000 years ago), last interglacial (120 000 years ago), and Pliocene (~3.3–3.0 million years ago)] and show that, although the diversity-latitude relationship has been dynamic, diversity-temperature relationships are remarkably constant over the past three million years. These results suggest that species diversity is rapidly reorganised as species' ranges respond to temperature change on ecological time scales, and that the ecological impact of future human-induced temperature change may be partly predictable from fossil and paleoclimatological records.

Ecology Letters↗
USGS2013

LANDFIRE 2010 - updated data to support wildfire and ecological management

Wildfire is a global phenomenon that affects human populations and ecosystems. Wildfire effects occur at local to global scales impacting many people in different ways (Figure 1). Ecological concerns due to land use, fragmentation, and climate change impact natural resource use, allocation, and conservation. Access to consistent and current environmental data is a constant challenge, yet necessary for understanding the complexities of wildfire and ecological management. Data products and tools from the LANDFIRE Program help decision-makers to clarify problems and identify possible solutions when managing fires and natural resources. LANDFIRE supports the reduction of risk from wildfire to human lives and property, monitoring of fire danger, prediction of fire behavior on active incidents, and assessment of fire severity and impacts on natural systems [1] [2] [3]. LANDFIRE products are unique in that they are nationally consistent and provide the only complete geospatial dataset describing vegetation and wildland fuel information for the entire U.S. As such, LANDFIRE data are useful for many ecological applications [3]. For example, LANDFIRE data were recently integrated into a decision-support system for resource management and conservation decision-making along the Appalachian Trail. LANDFIRE is a joint effort between the U.S. Department of the Interior Office of Wildland Fire, U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service Fire & Aviation Management, and The Nature Conservancy. To date, seven versions of LANDFIRE data have been released, with each successive version improving the quality of the data, adding additional features, and/or updating the time period represented by the data. The latest version, LANDFIRE 2010 (LF 2010), released mid-2013, represents circa 2010 landscape conditions and succeeds LANDFIRE 2008 (LF 2008), which represented circa 2008 landscape conditions. LF 2010 used many of the same processes developed for the LF 2008 effort [3]. Ongoing refinement of the LANDFIRE vegetation and fuel data is necessary to improve the quality and usability of the data and to capture landscape disturbance. LANDFIRE relies on Landsat multi-spectral imagery to produce and update vegetation and fuel data. The deep Landsat archive provides data needed for vegetation classification, change analysis, and historical disturbance characterization, for which LANDFIRE has used more than 24,000 image scenes since the program’s inception. In addition, LF 2010 used airborne and spaceborne lidar, and spaceborne synthetic aperture radar (SAR) to map vegetation structure in areas where ground-based field information was lacking, including Alaska and U.S.-affiliated islands in the Caribbean and the Pacific. The mapping of insular areas is new for the 2010 data release; previous versions of LANDFIRE were limited to the conterminous U.S., Alaska, and Hawaii.

Earthzine↗
USGS2014

Fishing for resilience

Management approaches that focus on social–ecological systems—systems comprised of ecosystems, landscapes, and humans—are needed to secure the sustainability of inland recreational fisheries without jeopardizing the integrity of the underlying social and ecological components. Resilience management can be useful because it focuses on providing recreational capacity for fishermen under a variety of conditions while assuring that the social–ecological system is not pushed to a critical threshold that would result in a new, undesired system regime. Resilience management is based on a system perspective that accounts for the possible regimes a system could manifest. It aims to enhance system properties that allow continued maintenance of the system in a desired regime in which multiple goods and services, including recreational capacity, are provided. In this forum paper, we provide an overview of the potential of a resilience approach to the management of recreational fisheries and highlight the scientific and administrative challenges to its successful implementation.

Transactions of the American Fisheries Society↗
USGS2017

The practice of prediction: What can ecologists learn from applied, ecology-related fields?

The pervasive influence of human induced global environmental change affects biodiversity across the globe, and there is great uncertainty as to how the biosphere will react on short and longer time scales. To adapt to what the future holds and to manage the impacts of global change, scientists need to predict the expected effects with some confidence and communicate these predictions to policy makers. However, recent reviews found that we currently lack a clear understanding of how predictable ecology is, with views seeing it as mostly unpredictable to potentially predictable, at least over short time frames. However, in applied, ecology-related fields predictions are more commonly formulated and reported, as well as evaluated in hindsight, potentially allowing one to define baselines of predictive proficiency in these fields. We searched the literature for representative case studies in these fields and collected information about modeling approaches, target variables of prediction, predictive proficiency achieved, as well as the availability of data to parameterize predictive models. We find that some fields such as epidemiology achieve high predictive proficiency, but even in the more predictive fields proficiency is evaluated in different ways. Both phenomenological and mechanistic approaches are used in most fields, but differences are often small, with no clear superiority of one approach over the other. Data availability is limiting in most fields, with long-term studies being rare and detailed data for parameterizing mechanistic models being in short supply. We suggest that ecologists adopt a more rigorous approach to report and assess predictive proficiency, and embrace the challenges of real world decision making to strengthen the practice of prediction in ecology.

Ecological Complexity↗
USGS2023

Marmots do not drink coffee: Human urine contributions to the nitrogen budget of a popular national park destination

Reactive nitrogen (Nr) concentrations are higher than expected for mountain lakes in Rocky Mountain National Park, and for many years, high Nr concentrations have been attributed to atmospheric Nr deposition from regional and more distant emission sources, including combustion of fossil fuels and agricultural activities. Here, we estimated the contribution from a very local source, that of human urine, related to intensive use by visitors in Loch Vale Watershed (LVWS). Not only does urine convey hormones, pharmaceuticals, antibiotic-resistant bacteria, and antibiotic-resistant genes to the environment, but it also contributes Nr, which contributes to loss of biodiversity and eutrophication. Using caffeine as a specific marker for human urine, we compared the calculated maximum potential input of urine with that from wet atmospheric Nr deposition. The maximum potential input is a worst-case scenario. Nearly 30,000 and 45,000 people hiked the 4.0 km to the Loch, the lowest lake in LVWS, in June–September 2019 and 2020, respectively. Informal trails and informal latrine sites were mapped, and the contribution of human urine was calculated based on several assumptions, including that each visitor voided their bladder on the ground once per visit somewhere in Loch Vale. The resulting Nr input from urine in Loch Vale for the summer months of June through September was 0.02 kg Nr ha −1 , and prorated to a full year, the 2019 potential contribution of human waste was 0.06 kg ha −1 year −1 . These values are compared with June–September 1.2 kg Nr ha −1 from wet atmospheric deposition or annual measured 2019 deposition of 2.5 kg Nr ha −1 year −1 , to indicate a contribution of 2% Nr to the waters of Loch Vale from local human urine. Most Nr in this alpine and subalpine watershed is still attributable to emissions and subsequent wet atmospheric deposition, but a 2% contribution from human waste is not insignificant. In the very broadest sense, our results document an ecological disturbance from an unprecedented level of human activity in a protected and designated wilderness area. Local solutions to this local problem could include greater outreach to visitors of public lands about the consequences of their activities and installation of latrines.

Colorado↗
USGS2025

Forecasting sea otter recolonization: Insights from isotopic analysis of modern and zooarchaeological populations

Retrospective datasets offer essential context for conservation by revealing species’ ecological roles before industrial-era human impacts. We analysed isotopic compositions of pre-industrial and modern sea otters ( Enhydra lutris ) to reconstruct pre-extirpation ecology and offer insights for management. Our study focuses on southeast Alaska (SEAK), where sea otters are recolonizing, and northern Oregon, where translocations are being considered. We measured bulk bone collagen δ 13 C and δ 15 N values and essential amino acid δ 13 C values of extirpated sea otters from archaeological contexts, and bulk isotopic values from vibrissae of modern SEAK sea otters. We compare these results with published isotopic data of potential prey and additional archaeological datasets. In SEAK, our data show pre-industrial sea otter populations consumed infaunal bivalves and used soft-sediment (33%) and kelp forest habitats (67%), with sub-regional variation. We anticipate current populations will expand into this historical niche, and conflict with regional traditional/subsistence bivalve fisheries will persist. In northern Oregon, isotopic data from extirpated sea otters indicate past consumption of low trophic level invertebrates and a stronger reliance on kelp forests (88%) rather than soft-sediment habitats, highlighting the importance of kelp forests for future translocations. Our work exemplifies the value of historical ecology in informing conservation strategies for recovering species.

Alaska, Oregon↗
USGS2017

Optimization of human, animal, and environmental health by using the One Health approach

Emerging diseases are increasing burdens on public health, negatively affecting the world economy, causing extinction of species, and disrupting ecological integrity. One Health recognizes that human, domestic animal, and wildlife health are interconnected within ecosystem health and provides a framework for the development of multidisciplinary solutions to global health challenges. To date, most health-promoting interventions have focused largely on single-sector outcomes. For example, risk for transmission of zoonotic pathogens from bush-meat hunting is primarily focused on human hygiene and personal protection. However, bush-meat hunting is a complex issue promoting the need for holistic strategies to reduce transmission of zoonotic disease while addressing food security and wildlife conservation issues. Temporal and spatial separation of humans and wildlife, risk communication, and other preventative strategies should allow wildlife and humans to co-exist. Upstream surveillance, vaccination, and other tools to prevent pathogen spillover are also needed. Clear multi-sector outcomes should be defined, and a systems-based approach is needed to develop interventions that reduce risks and balance the needs of humans, wildlife, and the environment. The ultimate goal is long-term action to reduce forces driving emerging diseases and provide interdisciplinary scientific approaches to management of risks, thereby achieving optimal outcomes for human, animal, and environmental health.

Journal of Veterinary Science↗
USGS2002

Transforming the Rockies: Human forces, settlement patterns, and ecosystem effects

The current ecological condition of the Rocky Mountains can be viewed from two somewhat opposing perspectives. The first is that human occupation has had relatively little effect on the Rockies: large natural, if not pristine, areas remain, and the region's open spaces provide wildlife habitat, majestic scenery, and a sense of wildness. Unlike the situation in, say, the Swiss Alps, where even high-elevation meadows have been mown and grazed intensively for as long as 500 years and many large mammals have been extirpated, most elements of Rocky Mountain landscapes and biota are reasonably unaltered. Even the presumption that Native Americans changed regional landscapes with deliberately set fires has been challenged by Baker and Ehle (2001) and others who think that most fires were lightning-caused or accidental ignitions. The second view is that humans have dramatically transformed the Rockies, at least since Euro-American settlement in the mid- to late 1800s. The slaughter of vast buffalo herds, the clearing of timber for railroad ties, and even the removal of whole hillsides in hydraulic placer mining represented substantial transformation. Ranch, resort, and residential development marks the latest incarnation of this transformation. Numerous, complex layers of land use have left landscape legacies, some of which may be unrecognized or underappreciated in modern assessments (Wohl 2001). Here we consider both perspectives because we are impressed with both the many effects of human use of the Rockies and the region's remaining wild landscapes. Ironically, much of the recent population growth and development in the Rockies is driven by the region's wild landscapes, which make the present widespread transformation seem all the more significant. It is, of course, the rapid clip of current human transformation—high population growth rates, pervasive rural residential development, and landscape fragmentation (Baron, Theobald, and Fagre 2000)—that worries ecologists and others concerned with Rocky Mountain ecosystems. So although we offer an overview of historical changes in the Rockies, especially since the 1800s, much of our attention here is on land uses, economies, and settlement patterns since the 1970s and on their future trends.

Book chapter↗