DOCSLIB.ORG

Granites of the Front Range, Colorado: the Indian Creek Plutons

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Granites of the Front Range, Colorado: the Indian Creek Plutons BULLETIN OF THE GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA GRANITES OF THE FRONT RANGE, COLORADO: THE INDIAN CREEK PLUTONS BY MARGARET FULLER BOOS AND ESTHER ABERDEEN CONTENTS Page Abstract...................................................................................................................................... 696 Introduction.............................................................................................................................. 697 Location of the area........................................................................................................ 697 Field work and acknowledgments................................................................................ 697 General geology of the area................................................................................................... 697 Granitic rocks................................................................................................................... 697 Quartz monzonite-Mt. Evans batholith............................................................. 697 Pikes Peak granite-Rosalie lobe of Pikes Peak batholith............................... 699 Indian Creek granite-Indian Creek plutons....................................................... 699 Metamorphic rocks......................................................................................................... 699 Idaho Springs formation........................................................................................ 699 Relationships of granite and metamorphic rocks.................................................... 699 Indian Creek plutons............................................................................................................... 702 Geomorphology................................................................................................................ 702 Number and arrangement............................................................................................. 703 Types.................................................................................................................................. 705 General statement................................................................................................... 705 Uninuclear................................................................................................................. 705 Complex..................................................................................................................... 712 Compound................................................................................................................ 714 Features common to the plutons................................................................................. 718 General statement................................................................................................... 718 Distribution.............................................................................................................. 718 Size............................................................................................................................. 718 Shape.......................................................................................................................... 718 Orientation................................................................................................................ 719 Primary structures.................................................................................................. 719 Secondary structures.............................................................................................. 721 Mode of intrusion of the plutons................................................................................. 723 y Conclusions................................................................................................................................ 728 Works to which reference is made....................................................................................... 729 ILLUSTRATIONS Figure Page 1. Front Range batholiths in Colorado........................................................................... 698 2. Structural and topographic features ofthe Berrian-Doublehead pluton.............. 703 3. Diagrammatic representation of a pluton showing the axial plane and the axial trend...................................................................................................................... 704 (695) Downloaded from http://pubs.geoscienceworld.org/gsa/gsabulletin/article-pdf/51/5/695/3415851/BUL51_5-0695.pdf by guest on 26 September 2021 696 BOOS AND ABERDEEN---- GRANITES OF THE FRONT RANGE Figure Page 4. Swirl pattern of long tabular feldspar (microcline) crystals.................................... 706 5. Orientation of tabular feldspar crystals on weathered surface of spiny granite knob on the core of the Berrian-Doublehead pluton......................................... 707 6. Sections across the Berrian-Doublehead pluton........................................................ 708 7. Tectonic map of the Berrian-Doublehead pluton..................................................... 710 8. Structural and topographic features of the Elephant Butte-Troutdale pluton. 712 9. Tectonic map of the Elephant Butte-Troutdale pluton area................................. 713 10. Structural and topographic features of the Kinney-Marshdale pluton............... 715 11. Tectonic map of the Kinney-Marshdale pluton area.............................................. 716 12. Sections across the Kinney-Marshdale pluton........................................................... 717 13. Sketch map and sections of the upper part of the Kinney-Marshdale pluton east of the center of action near Marshdale......................................................... 722 14. Thrust plane contact between the Pikes Peak and the Indian Creek granites on east flank of Black Mountain.............................................................................. 724 15. Sections across the Yankee Creek pluton area.......................................................... 725 Plate Page 1. Pre-Cambrian geology of Denver Mountain Parks area, Front Range, Colorado. 700 2. Geographic distribution of the Indian Creek plutons and their axial trends. .. 702 3. Fault and dike structures in the Indian Creek plutons area.................................. 704 4. Topographic details of southern ends of two plutons.............................................. 706 5. Berrian-Doublehead pluton............................................................................................ 707 6. Topographic details of core area of Berrian-Doublehead pluton.......................... 712 7. Outcrops of Indian Creek granite on the Elephant Butte-Troutdale pluton.. 713 8. Normal faults in granite outcrops on Cub Creek road............................................ 720 9. Textural features of Indian Creek granite................................................................. 721 ABSTRACT The Indian Creek plutons crop out around the northern and northeastern margin of the Rosalie lobe of the Pikes Peak batholith, west of Denver, Colorado. The granite is Silver Plume type and is the youngest pre-Cambrian intrusion of the Denver Mountain Parks region. The granite appears to have come up along the edge of the mostly consolidated Pikes Peak mass and to have spread in a series of plutons and sills, the mode of intrusion being largely governed by the rock invaded. To the west and northwest, the magma spread a tongue of granite which wedged between quartz monzonite of the Mt. Evans region and its overlying schist. The magma flowed from the south and the southeast to the north and northwest. Erosion has since stripped off most of the schist above and has cut windows through the Indian Creek granite into the quartz monzonite below. East of this wedge-like tongue, the granite worked its way up lit-par-lit into the Idaho Springs beds, boiled up locally in a series of stocklike centers or plutons, along concentric fracture zones, and spread between beds of schist and across them at low angles. The plutons and their major sills and dikes have a strikingly constant trend from northwest to southeast and lie in four sets, roughly parallel to the northeastern margin of the Rosalie lobe of the Pikes Peak batholith. Early egress of Indian Creek magma probably followed concentric cracks developed during the earlier intrusion of the Pikes Peak granite, and later intrusions followed fractures developed by the collapse of the Rosalie lobe. When nearly crystallized, shear zones opened, northeast to southwest, in the Indian Creek plutons and permitted a little regenerated Pikes Peak magma to fill the frac­ tures and to crystallize there, with its characteristic pasty textures. Downloaded from http://pubs.geoscienceworld.org/gsa/gsabulletin/article-pdf/51/5/695/3415851/BUL51_5-0695.pdf by guest on 26 September 2021 INTRODUCTION 697 INTRODUCTION LOCATION OF THE AREA The Indian Creek plutons and the interpluton and peripheral formations crop out on more than 200 square miles of the eastern slope of the Front Range, west of Denver, Colorado (Fig. 1). The topography is shown on the Denver Mountain Parks quadrangle of the United States Geological Survey, and a small part, at the south, on the Platte Canyon quadrangle. FIELD WORK AND ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The Indian Creek plutons constitute one of the six areas of younger pre-Cambrian granite in the Front Range (Boos, 1936). A reconnaissance field study was made in August 1935.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • PEAK to PRAIRIE: BOTANICAL LANDSCAPES of the PIKES PEAK REGION Tass Kelso Dept of Biology Colorado College 2012
    !"#$%&'%!(#)()"*%+'&#,)-#.%.#,/0-#!"0%'1%&2"%!)$"0% !"#$%("3)',% &455%$6758% /69:%8;%+<878=>% -878?4@8%-8776=6% ABCA% Kelso-Peak to Prairie Biodiversity and Place: Landscape’s Coat of Many Colors Mountain peaks often capture our imaginations, spark our instincts to explore and conquer, or heighten our artistic senses. Mt. Olympus, mythological home of the Greek gods, Yosemite’s Half Dome, the ever-classic Matterhorn, Alaska’s Denali, and Colorado’s Pikes Peak all share the quality of compelling attraction that a charismatic alpine profile evokes. At the base of our peak along the confluence of two small, nondescript streams, Native Americans gathered thousands of years ago. Explorers, immigrants, city-visionaries and fortune-seekers arrived successively, all shaping in turn the region and communities that today spread from the flanks of Pikes Peak. From any vantage point along the Interstate 25 corridor, the Colorado plains, or the Arkansas River Valley escarpments, Pikes Peak looms as the dominant feature of a diverse “bioregion”, a geographical area with a distinct flora and fauna, that stretches from alpine tundra to desert grasslands. “Biodiversity” is shorthand for biological diversity: a term covering a broad array of contexts from the genetics of individual organisms to ecosystem interactions. The news tells us daily of ongoing threats from the loss of biodiversity on global and regional levels as humans extend their influence across the face of the earth and into its sustaining processes. On a regional level, biologists look for measures of biodiversity, celebrate when they find sites where those measures are high and mourn when they diminish; conservation organizations and in some cases, legal statutes, try to protect biodiversity, and communities often struggle to balance human needs for social infrastructure with desirable elements of the natural landscape.
    [Show full text]
  • Denudation History and Internal Structure of the Front Range and Wet Mountains, Colorado, Based on Apatite-Fission-Track Thermoc
    NEW MEXICO BUREAU OF GEOLOGY & MINERAL RESOURCES, BULLETIN 160, 2004 41 Denudation history and internal structure of the Front Range and Wet Mountains, Colorado, based on apatite­fission­track thermochronology 1 2 1Department of Earth and Environmental Science, New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology, Socorro, NM 87801Shari A. Kelley and Charles E. Chapin 2New Mexico Bureau of Geology and Mineral Resources, New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology, Socorro, NM 87801 Abstract An apatite fission­track (AFT) partial annealing zone (PAZ) that developed during Late Cretaceous time provides a structural datum for addressing questions concerning the timing and magnitude of denudation, as well as the structural style of Laramide deformation, in the Front Range and Wet Mountains of Colorado. AFT cooling ages are also used to estimate the magnitude and sense of dis­ placement across faults and to differentiate between exhumation and fault­generated topography. AFT ages at low elevationX along the eastern margin of the southern Front Range between Golden and Colorado Springs are from 100 to 270 Ma, and the mean track lengths are short (10–12.5 µm). Old AFT ages (> 100 Ma) are also found along the western margin of the Front Range along the Elkhorn thrust fault. In contrast AFT ages of 45–75 Ma and relatively long mean track lengths (12.5–14 µm) are common in the interior of the range. The AFT ages generally decrease across northwest­trending faults toward the center of the range. The base of a fossil PAZ, which separates AFT cooling ages of 45– 70 Ma at low elevations from AFT ages > 100 Ma at higher elevations, is exposed on the south side of Pikes Peak, on Mt.
    [Show full text]
  • Colorado Fourteeners Checklist
    Colorado Fourteeners Checklist Rank Mountain Peak Mountain Range Elevation Date Climbed 1 Mount Elbert Sawatch Range 14,440 ft 2 Mount Massive Sawatch Range 14,428 ft 3 Mount Harvard Sawatch Range 14,421 ft 4 Blanca Peak Sangre de Cristo Range 14,351 ft 5 La Plata Peak Sawatch Range 14,343 ft 6 Uncompahgre Peak San Juan Mountains 14,321 ft 7 Crestone Peak Sangre de Cristo Range 14,300 ft 8 Mount Lincoln Mosquito Range 14,293 ft 9 Castle Peak Elk Mountains 14,279 ft 10 Grays Peak Front Range 14,278 ft 11 Mount Antero Sawatch Range 14,276 ft 12 Torreys Peak Front Range 14,275 ft 13 Quandary Peak Mosquito Range 14,271 ft 14 Mount Evans Front Range 14,271 ft 15 Longs Peak Front Range 14,259 ft 16 Mount Wilson San Miguel Mountains 14,252 ft 17 Mount Shavano Sawatch Range 14,231 ft 18 Mount Princeton Sawatch Range 14,204 ft 19 Mount Belford Sawatch Range 14,203 ft 20 Crestone Needle Sangre de Cristo Range 14,203 ft 21 Mount Yale Sawatch Range 14,200 ft 22 Mount Bross Mosquito Range 14,178 ft 23 Kit Carson Mountain Sangre de Cristo Range 14,171 ft 24 Maroon Peak Elk Mountains 14,163 ft 25 Tabeguache Peak Sawatch Range 14,162 ft 26 Mount Oxford Collegiate Peaks 14,160 ft 27 Mount Sneffels Sneffels Range 14,158 ft 28 Mount Democrat Mosquito Range 14,155 ft 29 Capitol Peak Elk Mountains 14,137 ft 30 Pikes Peak Front Range 14,115 ft 31 Snowmass Mountain Elk Mountains 14,099 ft 32 Windom Peak Needle Mountains 14,093 ft 33 Mount Eolus San Juan Mountains 14,090 ft 34 Challenger Point Sangre de Cristo Range 14,087 ft 35 Mount Columbia Sawatch Range
    [Show full text]
  • Geologic Section of the Black Range at Kingston, New Mexico
    BULLETIN 33 Geologic Section of the Black Range at Kingston, New Mexico BY FREDERICK J. KUELLMER Structure and stratigraphy of the Black Range, detailed petrology of igneous rocks, and general guides to ore exploration 1954 STATE BUREAU OF MINES AND MINERAL RESOURCES NEW MEXICO INSTITUTE OF MINING & TECHNOLOGY CAMPUS STATION SOCORRO, NEW MEXICO NEW MEXICO INSTITUTE OF MINING & TECHNOLOGY E. J. Workman, President STATE BUREAU OF MINES AND MINERAL RESOURCES Eugene Callaghan, Director THE REGENTS MEMBERS EX OFFICIO The Honorable Edwin L. Mechem ..............................Governor of New Mexico Tom Wiley ................................................ Superintendent of Public Instruction APPOINTED MEMBERS Robert W. Botts .............................................................................. Albuquerque Holm O. Bursum, Jr ................................................................................ Socorro Thomas M. Cramer ...............................................................................Carlsbad Frank C. DiLuzio .............................................................................Los Alamos A. A. Kemnitz ...........................................................................................Hobbs Contents Page ABSTRACT ......................................................... …………………………………… 1 INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................3 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS .............................................................................................4
    [Show full text]
  • To Download Elementary School Geology Packet
    Garden of the Gods Park Contact: Bowen Gillings City of Colorado Springs Parks, Recreation & Cultural Services Email: [email protected] P: (719) 219-0108 Program updates can be found at: https://gardenofgods.com/educational/edu- 1/school-field-trips Land Use Acknowledgement: We gratefully acknowledge the native peoples on whose ancestral homeland we gather, as well as the diverse and vibrant Native communities of Colorado today. Geology of the Park Program Welcome! We look forward to sharing the geological story of Garden of the Gods with your students. We align with current Colorado Academic Standards for K-5 Earth and Space Science. Goals: Students recognize the exceptional geological wonder of the Garden of the Gods. Students gain a broad understanding of the geological events that shaped the Pikes Peak region Students gain a broad understanding of and appreciation for the science of geology. Students identify the three rock types and the three geological processes. Students recognize the geological formations in the Park, their ages, and composition. 1 Teacher Reference Guide: Basic Geology of Garden of the Gods The Pike’s Peak region has been shaped by millions of years of mountain building and erosion. There have been three different mountain building events in the geological history of this area: 1. The Ancestral Rockies (320-310 million years ago). The erosion of these first Rocky Mountains formed the sedimentary Fountain Formation and the Lyons Sandstone layers. 2. The Laramide Orogeny (70-65 million years ago). This process uplifted the Front Range. The layers seen in the Garden were forced upright as the land broke along the Rampart Range Fault.
    [Show full text]
  • PIKES PEAK CYCLING HILL CLIMB COMPETITIVE HILL CLIMB RACE Saturday, August 7, 2021 USA Cycling Hill Climb Race Club: Colorado Springs Sports Corporation
    PIKES PEAK CYCLING HILL CLIMB COMPETITIVE HILL CLIMB RACE Saturday, August 7, 2021 USA Cycling Hill Climb Race Club: Colorado Springs Sports Corporation Event Website: PikesPeakCyclingHillClimb.org COVID MITIGATION DETAILS: PPCHC - COVID-19 MITIGATION.pdf REGISTRATION: ALL CYCLISTS MUST PRE-REGISTER FOR THIS EVENT! NO DAY OF REGISTRATION. • Early Registration: March 2-April 30 – Fee is $70 ($40 for Juniors U19); Competitive E-Bike Fee $65 • Standard Registration: May 1-August 3 – Fee is $75 ($45 for Juniors U19); Competitive E-Bike Fee $70 • Packet Pickup Registration: August 6 & 7 – Fee is $85 ($55 for Juniors U19); Competitive E-Bike Fee $75 COMPETITIVE RACE INFO: All USAC rules apply. USAC waiver must be signed by all racers or parent/guardian for anyone 18 years or younger. BRAC membership required for Colorado USAC members. The Broadmoor Pikes Peak Cycling Hill Climb Gran Fondo will be taking place in conjunction with the Competitive Hill Climb race. Please keep in mind you are sharing the course. Be courteous and aware during your race, communicate clearly as you overtake other cyclists, and use the Yellow Line Rule at all times. For the Competitive E-Bike category, all e-bikes must meet the definition of a Class 1 e- bike (maximum motor size of 750 watts, no throttle, and maximum pedal assisted speed of 20 mph). REQUIRED LICENSE USAC 1-Day Beginner license: $10 (only for Cat 5 Men/Women and Juniors who have never previously held a USAC license with a higher category); Experienced license: $25, only available to former USAC members Cat 1/2/3/4.
    [Show full text]
  • Awesome Infographic
    [ ALIVE [ Article MOST LIKELY TO HAVE A HIGHWArticleAY TO THEALIVE TOP TALLEST Pikes Peak (near Colorado Springs) and Mt. Evans A FEW INTERESTING (near Idaho Springs) both have incredibly scenic Mt. Elbert at 14,440 and winding roads that go to the tippy top. WHAT IS A OURTEENER? southwest of Leadville MOST POSTCARDED A peak that rises 14,000 feet or more above sea level. Colorado is PEAKS AMONG THE home to more of these than any other state. (Alaska has 22; California Thousands k eep them clean sum e one on pr that Bef VE NO TRACEafter has 12; Washington has 1) xtr CROWD staying epa WHO DO the subject, r eme or SHORTEST Sunshine Peak at 14,001 LEA wildlife. mit y c ou ra limbinge you go skip you gr ar and Mt.Mar Snef tion. near Lake City aphed epeaks likely in bef ha climb weather, oon P ve on by or Pick See e the these Mt. Bierstadt near Idaho packing EASIEST TO HIKE designated eak near our the most photo a esear and fternoon lev up YOU THINK Springs is often recognized as the perfect lnt.org fels near head ping up a mountainside, el peaks fourteener ch yourone starter fourteener, followed by Grays Peak in tact for of out the state. Aspen up fitness to tackle,of and Torreys Peak near lightning c for Our an tr anything earl the Keystone. r ails - oute and mak ay be -HAVE ITEMS more s y plentiful MUST those NUMBER OF FOURTEENERS Several vie for each and — danger HARDEST Layers of clothing storms this title — Capitol and YOU inf you r who Peak, Little Bear, ormation.especting year guide ous pr Hiking shoes be re pack epa e sur Mt.
    [Show full text]
  • 5B Part Two- MAY
    Pike National Historic Trail Association Newsletter May-B 2016 Vol. 10 No. 5B Part Two- MAY Celebrating 210 Years- The Santa Fe Trail Association (SFTA) celebrated the Bicentennial of Pike’s 1806-7 Southwest Expedition 10 years ago. One can use our website- zebulonpike.org to recall the many activities conducted during 2006. The Pike National Historic Trail Association became the child of the SFTA. It was formed by John Patrick Michael Murphy and our current President. SFTA donated its website and many of its leaders including Dr. Leo Oliva and Dr. Clive Siegle volunteered. Others from the Bicentennial Committee quickly joined the effort including Zebulon Montgomery Pike, Dorothy Urban, and Mike Bandera with Dr. Rev. Roy Escott Pike, Erwin Young, Patrick Surrena, Tom Rollings and Rex Rideout. Bicentennial Liberty Bell & Daffodil Pike’s Damn’d Rascals- 4 John Brown BOTH expeditions. Went with Pike, Robinson and Miller to climb Pikes Peak Tried for desertion August 2, 1809, at New Orleans. He had deserted Lt. Wilkinson at Fort Adams November 21, 1807, and had been absent until June 6, 1809, when he surrendered to Maj. Amos Stoddard at Natchitoches. His sentence of corporal punishment was remitted because of voluntary surrender. Brown lived in the Cold Water district of St. Louis County, Missouri, for 42 years. When he died at the age of 86 his obituary appeared in the Missouri Republican, August 21, 1840. He is believed to be the oldest rascal. January 24, 1807 Saturday- Pikes Journal … he [Brown] exclaimed, “that it was more than human nature could bear, to march three days without sustenance, through snows three feet deep, and carry burdens only fit for horses” &c.&c.” “Brown, you this day presumed to make use of language which was seditious and mutinous, … I will pardon, but be assured, should it ever be repeated, by instant death, I will revenge your ingratitude and punish your disobedience.” This was one of a very few instances where Pike had to discipline.
    [Show full text]
  • Oregon Geologic Digital Compilation Rules for Lithology Merge Information Entry
    State of Oregon Department of Geology and Mineral Industries Vicki S. McConnell, State Geologist OREGON GEOLOGIC DIGITAL COMPILATION RULES FOR LITHOLOGY MERGE INFORMATION ENTRY G E O L O G Y F A N O D T N M I E N M E T R R A A L P I E N D D U N S O T G R E I R E S O 1937 2006 Revisions: Feburary 2, 2005 January 1, 2006 NOTICE The Oregon Department of Geology and Mineral Industries is publishing this paper because the infor- mation furthers the mission of the Department. To facilitate timely distribution of the information, this report is published as received from the authors and has not been edited to our usual standards. Oregon Department of Geology and Mineral Industries Oregon Geologic Digital Compilation Published in conformance with ORS 516.030 For copies of this publication or other information about Oregon’s geology and natural resources, contact: Nature of the Northwest Information Center 800 NE Oregon Street #5 Portland, Oregon 97232 (971) 673-1555 http://www.naturenw.org Oregon Department of Geology and Mineral Industries - Oregon Geologic Digital Compilation i RULES FOR LITHOLOGY MERGE INFORMATION ENTRY The lithology merge unit contains 5 parts, separated by periods: Major characteristic.Lithology.Layering.Crystals/Grains.Engineering Lithology Merge Unit label (Lith_Mrg_U field in GIS polygon file): major_characteristic.LITHOLOGY.Layering.Crystals/Grains.Engineering major characteristic - lower case, places the unit into a general category .LITHOLOGY - in upper case, generally the compositional/common chemical lithologic name(s)
    [Show full text]
  • Persson Mines 0052N 11296.Pdf
    THE GEOCHEMICAL AND MINERALOGICAL EVOLUTION OF THE MOUNT ROSA COMPLEX, EL PASO COUNTY, COLORADO, USA by Philip Persson A thesis submitted to the Faculty and Board of Trustees of the Colorado School of Mines in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science (Geology). Golden, Colorado Date ________________ Signed: ________________________ Philip Persson Signed: ________________________ Dr. Katharina Pfaff Thesis Advisor Golden, Colorado Date ________________ Signed: ________________________ Dr. M. Stephen Enders Professor and Interim Head Department of Geology and Geological Engineering ii ABSTRACT The ~1.08 Ga Pikes Peak Batholith is a type example of an anorogenic (A)-type granite and hosts numerous late-stage sodic and potassic plutons, including the peraluminous to peralkaline Mount Rosa Complex (MRC), located ~15 km west of the City of Colorado Springs in Central Colorado. The MRC is composed of Pikes Peak biotite granite, fayalite-bearing quartz syenite, granitic dikes, Mount Rosa Na-Fe amphibole granite, mafic dikes ranging from diabase to diorite, and numerous rare earth (REE) and other high field strength element (HFSE; e.g. Th, Zr, Nb) rich Niobium-Yttrrium-Fluorine (NYF)-type pegmatites. The aim of this study is to trace the magmatic evolution of the Mount Rosa Complex in order to understand the relationship between peraluminous and peralkaline rock units and concomitant HFSE enrichment and mineralization processes. Field work, petrography, SEM-based methods, whole rock geochemistry, and electron probe micro-analysis (EPMA) of micas was performed on all rock units to determine their textural, mineralogical and geochemical characteristics. Early peraluminous units such as the Pikes Peak biotite granite and fayalite-bearing quartz syenite contain annite-siderophyllite micas with high Fe/(Fe + Mg) ratios, and show relatively minor enrichments in REE and other HFSE compared to primitive mantle.
    [Show full text]
  • Sangre De Cristo Salida and San Carlos Wet Mountains San Carlos Spanish Peaks San Carlos
    Wild Connections Conservation Plan for the Pike & San Isabel National Forests Chapter 5 – Complexes: Area-Specific Management Recommendations This section contains our detailed, area-specific proposal utilizing the theme based approach to land management. As an organizational tool, this proposal divides the Pike-San Isabel National Forest into eleven separate Complexes, based on geo-physical characteristics of the land such as mountain ranges, parklands, or canyon systems. Each complex narrative provides details and justifications for our management recommendations for specific areas. In order to emphasize the larger landscape and connectivity of these lands with the ecoregion, commentary on relationships to adjacent non-Forest lands are also included. Evaluations of ecological value across public and private lands are used throughout this chapter. The Colorado Natural Heritage Programs rates the biodiversity of Potential Conservation Areas (PCAs) as General Biodiversity, Moderate, High, Very High, and Outranking Significance. The Nature Conservancy assesses the conservation value of its Conservation Blueprint areas as Low, Moderately Low, Moderate, Moderately High and High. The Southern Rockies Ecosystem Project's Wildlands Network Vision recommends land use designations of Core Wilderness, Core Agency, Low and Moderate Compatible Use, and Wildlife Linkages. Detailed explanations are available from the respective organizations. Complexes – Summary List by Watershed Table 5.1: Summary of WCCP Complexes Watershed Complex Ranger District
    [Show full text]
  • Pikes Peak Massif
    Wild Connections Conservation Plan for the Pike & San Isabel National Forests Chapter 5 – Complexes: Area-Specific Management Recommendations This section contains our detailed, area-specific proposal utilizing the theme based approach to land management. As an organizational tool, this proposal divides the Pike-San Isabel National Forest into eleven separate Complexes, based on geo-physical characteristics of the land such as mountain ranges, parklands, or canyon systems. Each complex narrative provides details and justifications for our management recommendations for specific areas. In order to emphasize the larger landscape and connectivity of these lands with the ecoregion, commentary on relationships to adjacent non-Forest lands are also included. Evaluations of ecological value across public and private lands are used throughout this chapter. The Colorado Natural Heritage Programs rates the biodiversity of Potential Conservation Areas (PCAs) as General Biodiversity, Moderate, High, Very High, and Outranking Significance. The Nature Conservancy assesses the conservation value of its Conservation Blueprint areas as Low, Moderately Low, Moderate, Moderately High and High. The Southern Rockies Ecosystem Project's Wildlands Network Vision recommends land use designations of Core Wilderness, Core Agency, Low and Moderate Compatible Use, and Wildlife Linkages. Detailed explanations are available from the respective organizations. Complexes – Summary List by Watershed Table 5.1: Summary of WCCP Complexes Watershed Complex Ranger District
    [Show full text]