Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado 2001-2005 VEGETATION CLASSIFICATION AND MAPPING FINAL REPORT -- August, 2005 Technical Memorandum 8260-05-02 Remote Sensing and GIS Group Technical Service Center Bureau of Reclamation Denver, Colorado This report was prepared for the U.S. National Park Service and the U.S. Geological Survey’s Center for Biological Informatics by the Remote Sensing and Geographic Information Group of the Bureau of Reclamation’s Technical Service Center, Denver, Colorado in cooperation with Colorado Natural Heritage Program and NatureServe. Technical Memorandum No. 8260-05-0X. U.S. Department of the Interior Mission Statement The mission of the Department of the Interior is to protect and provide access to our Nation’s natural and cultural heritage and honor our trust responsibilities to tribes. Mission of U. S. Bureau of Reclamation The mission of the Bureau of Reclamation is to manage, develop, and protect water and related resources in an environmentally and economically sound manner in the interest of the American public. The Remote Sensing and Geographic Information Group, organized in 1975, provides assistance and advice regarding the application of remote sensing and geographic information systems (GIS) technologies to meet the spatial information needs of the Bureau of Reclamation and other governmental clients. ii USGS-NPS VEGETATION MAPPING PROGRAM Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado David Salas Physical Scientist Bureau of Reclamation Remote Sensing and GIS Group Denver, Colorado Joe Stevens Ecology Team Leader Colorado Natural Heritage Program Fort Collins, Colorado Keith Schulz Regional Vegetation Ecologist NatureServe Boulder, CO Report Produced by: Program Managed by: U.S. Bureau of Reclamation U.S. Geological Survey Technical Service Center Center for Biological Informatics Remote Sensing and GIS Group Denver Federal Center, Building 810 Mail Code D-8260 Denver Federal Room 8000, MS 302 Center Building 56 Denver, Colorado 80225-0046 Denver, Colorado 80225 Cooperation agencies and organizations: iii TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF TABLES........................................................................................................................................ VII LIST OF FIGURES.....................................................................................................................................VIII LIST OF CONTACTS AND CONTRIBUTORS......................................................................................IX ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS.........................................................................................................................XIII LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS ................................................................................. XV EXECUTIVE SUMMARY...............................................................................................................................1 INTRODUCTION .............................................................................................................................................3 BACKGROUND ....................................................................................................................................................3 USGS-NPS Park Vegetation Mapping Program.............................................................................................3 ROCKY MOUNTAIN NATIONAL PARK VEGETATION MAPPING PROJECT.................................................................4 PREVIOUS VEGETATION MAPS ............................................................................................................................5 SCOPE OF WORK.................................................................................................................................................6 INTRODUCTION TO THE NATIONAL VEGETATION CLASSIFICATION (NVC) AND SYSTEM (NVCS)...........................8 INTRODUCTION TO NATURAL HERITAGE PROGRAM METHODOLOGY AND ELEMENT RANKING ............................ 11 The Natural Heritage Ranking System ......................................................................................................... 11 Legal Designations for Rare Species............................................................................................................ 13 Element Occurrences and their Ranking ...................................................................................................... 13 PROJECT AREA............................................................................................................................................ 15 LOCATION AND REGIONAL SETTING.................................................................................................................. 15 CLIMATE AND WEATHER .................................................................................................................................. 18 TOPOGRAPHY ................................................................................................................................................... 18 GEOLOGY......................................................................................................................................................... 20 Precambrian.............................................................................................................................................................20 Paleozoic.................................................................................................................................................................21 Mesozoic.................................................................................................................................................................21 Cenozoic .................................................................................................................................................................21 Quaternary...............................................................................................................................................................21 SOILS ............................................................................................................................................................... 22 WILDLIFE......................................................................................................................................................... 23 HYDROLOGY .................................................................................................................................................... 23 VEGETATION .................................................................................................................................................... 25 Overview..................................................................................................................................................... 25 East/West Slope Effects ............................................................................................................................... 25 Alpine Zone................................................................................................................................................. 27 Subalpine Zone............................................................................................................................................ 28 Montane Zones............................................................................................................................................ 29 Wetland and Riparian.................................................................................................................................. 29 METHODS ....................................................................................................................................................... 31 PLANNING AND SCOPING .................................................................................................................................. 31 BOR Responsibilities and Deliverables:....................................................................................................... 31 NatureServe Responsibilities and Deliverables: ........................................................................................... 31 CNHP Responsibilities and Deliverables:.................................................................................................... 32 Scoping Meetings........................................................................................................................................ 32 Initial Planning Meetings: ........................................................................................................................................32 iv Gradsect Meeting:....................................................................................................................................................32 Field Preparation Meetings:......................................................................................................................................33 Interim Status Meeting:............................................................................................................................................33 Map Unit Meeting:...................................................................................................................................................33 Accuracy Assessment Meeting:................................................................................................................................33