National Park Service U.S. Department of the Interior State of the Park Report Rocky Mountain National Park Colorado December 2017 National Park Service. 2017. State of the Park Report for Rocky Mountain National Park. State of the Park Series No. 50. National Park Service, Washington, DC. On the cover: Hallett Peak reflected in Dream Lake. NPS Photo. Disclaimer. This State of the Park report summarizes the current condition of park resources, visitor experience, and park infrastructure as assessed by a combination of available factual information and the expert opinion and professional judgment of park staff and subject matter experts. The internet version of this report provides additional details and sources of information about the findings summarized in the report, including references, accounts on the origin and quality of the data, and the methods and analytic approaches used in data collection and assessments of condition. This report provides evaluations of status and trends based on interpretation by NPS scientists and managers of both quantitative and non-quantitative assessments and observations. Future condition ratings may differ from findings in this report as new data and knowledge become available. The park superintendent approved the publication of this report. Executive Summary The mission of the National Park Service is to preserve unimpaired the natural and cultural resources and values of national parks for the enjoyment, education, and inspiration of this and future generations. NPS Management Policies (2006) state that “The Service will also strive to ensure that park resources and values are passed on to future generations in a condition that is as good as, or better than, the conditions that exist today.” As part of the stewardship of national parks for the American people, the NPS has begun to develop State of the Park reports to assess the overall status and trends of each park’s resources. The NPS will use this information to improve park priority setting and to synthesize and communicate complex park condition information to the public in a clear and simple way. The purpose of this State of the Park report is to: • Provide to visitors and the American public a snapshot of the status and trend in the condition of a park’s priority resources and values; • Summarize and communicate complex scientific, scholarly, and park operations factual information and expert opinion using non- technical language and a visual format; • Highlight park stewardship activities and accomplishments to maintain or improve the State of the Park; • Identify key issues and challenges facing the park to help inform park management planning. The purpose of Rocky Mountain National Park (ROMO) is to preserve the high-elevation ecosystems and wilderness character of the southern Rocky Mountains within its borders and to provide the freest recreational use of and access to the park’s scenic beauties, wildlife, natural features and processes, and cultural objects. Significance statements express why the park’s resources and values are important enough to warrant national park unit designation. Rocky Mountain National Park is significant because: • Rocky Mountain National Park provides exceptional access to wild places for visitors to recreate and experience solitude and outstanding scenic beauty. Trail Ridge Road, the highest continuous paved road in the United States, and the extensive trail system bring visitors to the doorstep of a variety of wilderness-based recreational opportunities. • Fragile alpine tundra encompasses one-third of Rocky Mountain National Park, one of the largest examples of alpine tundra ecosystems protected in the contiguous United States. • Glaciers and flowing fresh water carved the landscapes of Rocky Mountain National Park.The park is the source of several river systems, including the Colorado River and the Cache la Poudre, Colorado’s first and only designated wild and scenic river. • The dramatic elevation range within the park boundary, which spans from 7,600 feet to 14,259 feet and straddles the Continental Divide, allows for diverse terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems, varied plant and animal communities and a variety of ecological processes. The park is designated as a United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural (UNESCO) international biosphere reserve and globally important bird area, with portions of the park’s montane, subalpine, and alpine ecosystems managed as research natural areas for scientific and educational purposes. • The mountainous landscape of Rocky Mountain National Park has drawn people to the area for thousands of years. Visitors can see remnants of the different ways people have used this land over time, ranging from prehistoric big game drives to dude ranching to recreational tourism. The summary table, below, and the supporting information that follows, provide an overall assessment of the condition of priority resources and values at Rocky Mountain National Park based on scientific and scholarly studies and expert opinion.The internet version of this report, available at https://www.nps.gov/stateoftheparks/romo/, provides additional detail and sources of information about the resources summarized in this report, including references, accounts on the origin and quality of the data, and the methods and analytical approaches used in the assessments. Reference conditions that represent “healthy” ecosystem parameters, and regulatory standards (such as those related to air or water quality) provide the rationale to describe current resource status. In coming years, rapidly evolving information regarding climate change and associated effects will inform our goals for managing park resources, and may alter how we measure the trend in condition of park resources. Thus, reference conditions, regulatory standards, and/or our judgment about resource status or trend may evolve as the rate of climate change accelerates and we respond to novel conditions. In this context, the status and trends documented here provide a useful point-in-time baseline to inform our understanding of emerging change, as well as a synthesis to share as we build broader climate change response strategies with partners. The status and trend symbols used in the summary table below and throughout this report are summarized in the following key. The background color represents the current condition status, the direction of the arrow summarizes the trend in condition, and the State of the Park Report iii Rocky Mountain National Park Executive Summary thickness of the outside line represents the degree of confidence in the assessment. In some cases, the arrow is omitted because data are not sufficient for calculating a trend (e.g., data from a one-time inventory or insufficient sample size). Condition Status Trend in Condition Confidence in Assessment Warrants Significant Condition is Improving High Concern Warrants Moderate Condition is Unchanging Medium Concern Resource is in Good Condition is Deteriorating Low Condition State of the Park Summary Table Condition Priority Resource or Value Rationale Status/Trend Natural Resources web Rocky Mountain National Park is designated a Class I area by the Clean Air Act Amendment of 1977, providing special protection for air quality, sensitive ecosystems, and clean, clear views. Despite these protections, overall air quality in the park warrants significant concern. Scenic views are sometimes obscured by air pollution-caused haze. The park area east of the Continental Divide falls within an area designated by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as nonattainment Air Quality (not meeting) for the ground-level ozone standard. Ozone often reaches levels that can make breathing difficult for sensitive groups and can cause injury to ozone-sensitive plants. Some park vegetation communities and surface waters are susceptible to nutrient enrichment and acidification effects of excess nitrogen and sulfur deposition. Airborne toxics, including mercury and pesticides, dissolved in rain or snow accumulate in park wildlife, resulting in reduced foraging efficiency, survival, and reproductive success. Understanding the relationships between geologic and biological components of park ecosystems is vital to understanding, managing, and protecting natural Geology and Soils resources and ecosystems. The park collects data and develops maps of geologic and soil inventories, to help manage risk from hazards such as landslides. The status of geologic and soil data, information, and knowledge at the park is good. Water quality in the park has been degraded by contaminants and warming temperatures. High-elevation waters are degraded by nitrogen deposition and pollution from pesticides and other airborne contaminants. Rapid climate change is affecting the precipitation regime, which in turn affects the atmospheric deposition and concentration of pollutants. Water temperature, which affects aquatic species such as cutthroat trout, has warmed above state water quality criteria for cold water Water Quantity and Quality fisheries in many stream reaches. The geomorphic character of park waterways has been altered by extreme flood events, damage to riparian vegetation from overbrowsing, and the loss of beaver, among other factors. The extent of glaciers is expected to decline with warming temperatures. State of the Park Report iv Rocky Mountain National Park Executive Summary Condition Priority Resource or Value Rationale Status/Trend Historical records suggest that most, if not all of