a Forest Service U.S. Department of Agriculture In Partnership with Western Colorado University Indigenous Fish and Wildlife Management Strategy Fossil Ridge Wilderness, Gunnison National Forest “Like winds and sunsets, wild things were taken for granted until progress began to do away with them. Now we face the question whether a still higher ‘standard of living’ is worth its cost in things natural, wild, and free.” – Aldo Leopold Indigenous Fish and Wildlife Management Strategy Fossil Ridge Wilderness, Gunnison National Forest Tobias Nickel Wilderness Fellow Master in Environmental Management (MEM) Candidate [email protected] October 2020 Grand Mesa, Uncompahgre, and Gunnison National Forests Gunnison Ranger District 216 N. Colorado St. Gunnison, CO 81230 Western Colorado University The Center for Public Lands 1 Western Way Gunnison, CO 81231 ON THE FRONT COVER Top: Henry Mountain, the highest point in the wilderness at 13,254 feet, as seen from an expansive, subalpine grassland meadow along the Van Tuyl Trail (Tobias Nickel, July 4, 2020) Middle left: Bighorn ram (CPW) Middle right: Southern white-tailed ptarmigan in fall plumage (Shawn Conner, BIO-Logic, Inc.) Bottom left: Colorado River cutthroat trout (Photo © Alyssa Anduiza, courtesy of Aspiring Wild) Bottom right: Adult boreal toad (Brad Lambert, CNHP) ON THE BACK COVER The shores of Henry Lake in the heart of the Fossil Ridge Wilderness. Rising to over 13,000 feet, the granite peaks of the Fossil Ridge tower in the background (Tobias Nickel, June 16, 2020) ii iii Dedication This publication is dedicated to all past, present, and future defenders of wilderness. Your efforts safeguard the Earth’s wild treasures from our species’ most destructive tendencies and demonstrate that humility and restraint are possible in an age of overconsumption and unfettered development. I also dedicate it to all those who venture responsibly into the Fossil Ridge Wilderness – may you find the inspiration, solitude, and tranquility that you seek. “When despair grows in me and I wake in the night at the least sound in fear of what my life and my children's lives may be, I go and lie down where the wood drake rests in his beauty on the water, and the great heron feeds. I come into the peace of wild things who do not tax their lives with forethought of grief. I come into the presence of still water. And I feel above me the day-blind stars waiting for their light. For a time I rest in the grace of the world, and am free.” – Wendell Berry, The Peace of Wild Things iv Contents Page Figures .................................................................................................................................................viii Tables ..................................................................................................................................................viii Appendices ............................................................................................................................................ ix Executive Summary ............................................................................................................................... 1 Acknowledgments .................................................................................................................................. 2 Introduction ............................................................................................................................................ 4 Purpose and Need for Action ......................................................................................................... 4 Scope .............................................................................................................................................. 5 Brief Description of the Fossil Ridge Wilderness .......................................................................... 6 Overview of Wilderness Character ...................................................................................................... 10 Defining Wilderness Character .................................................................................................... 10 Fish and Wildlife Management from the Perspective of Wilderness Character .......................... 12 Balancing the Natural and Untrammeled Qualities of Wilderness Character .............................. 13 Wilderness-Wildlife Interrelationships ................................................................................................ 16 Fish and Wildlife as a Measure of Wilderness Character ............................................................ 16 A Wilderness Role in Fish and Wildlife Conservation ................................................................ 17 Managing Fish and Wildlife in Designated Wilderness ...................................................................... 18 Laws, Policies, and Forest Planning ............................................................................................. 18 Concurrent Jurisdiction between State and Federal Agencies ...................................................... 20 Cooperation between State and Federal Agencies: Memoranda of Understanding ..................... 21 Minimum Requirements Analysis ................................................................................................ 22 A Framework for Evaluating Proposals for Ecological Intervention in Wilderness .................... 23 Priority Species for the Fossil Ridge Wilderness ................................................................................. 25 Defining Priority Species ............................................................................................................. 25 Process Used for Identifying Priority Species .............................................................................. 25 List of Priority Species and Rationales for Selection ................................................................... 27 v Wilderness Management Strategy – Rocky Mountain Bighorn Sheep ................................................ 30 Introduction .................................................................................................................................. 30 Current Status in the Fossil Ridge Wilderness ............................................................................. 33 Management Objectives ............................................................................................................... 35 Management Recommendations .................................................................................................. 36 Adaptive Management and Contingency Planning ...................................................................... 43 Wilderness Stewardship Considerations ...................................................................................... 46 Effectiveness Monitoring ............................................................................................................. 48 Wilderness Management Strategy – Southern White-tailed Ptarmigan ............................................... 50 Introduction .................................................................................................................................. 50 Current Status in the Fossil Ridge Wilderness ............................................................................. 53 Management Objectives ............................................................................................................... 59 Management Recommendations .................................................................................................. 60 Adaptive Management and Contingency Planning ...................................................................... 64 Wilderness Stewardship Considerations ...................................................................................... 65 Effectiveness Monitoring ............................................................................................................. 66 Wilderness Management Strategy – Colorado River Cutthroat Trout ................................................. 67 Introduction .................................................................................................................................. 67 Current Status in the Fossil Ridge Wilderness ............................................................................. 71 Management Objectives ............................................................................................................... 73 Management Recommendations .................................................................................................. 74 Adaptive Management and Contingency Planning ...................................................................... 79 Wilderness Stewardship Considerations ...................................................................................... 82 Effectiveness Monitoring ............................................................................................................. 86 Wilderness Management Strategy – Boreal Toad ................................................................................ 88 Introduction .................................................................................................................................. 88 Current Status in the Fossil Ridge Wilderness ............................................................................. 90 Management Objectives ..............................................................................................................