Rocky Mountain National Park Research Articles

Postwar play and petroleum: tourism and energy abundance in Rocky Mountain National Park

ABSTRACTFew historians have focused on the centrality of petroleum to tourism in the post-Second World War United States. We argue that oil, as a source of motive power that facilitated a certain style of travel and consumption, has been central to the cultural and physical construction of tourist spaces, especially national parks. We use Rocky Mountain National Park (RMNP) as our case study, analysing automobile tourism, urbanisation, and globalised mass consumerism, highlighted by its former ski resort and the array of petroleum byproducts consumed there. We examine the ways in which petro-fuelled cultures have been inscribed upon the park’s landscape, becoming central to its history as a tourist destination. We suggest that rethinking tourism and protected areas within a world of fossil fuel-induced climate change necessitates an intimate understanding of how places like RMNP were made through oil abundance.

Comparative ozone responses of cutleaf coneflowers (Rudbeckia laciniata var. digitata, var. ampla) from Rocky Mountain and Great Smoky Mountains National Parks, USA

Cutleaf coneflower (Rudbeckia laciniata L. var. digitata) is native to Great Smoky Mountains National Park (GRSM) and an ozone bioindicator species. Variety ampla, whose ozone sensitivity is less well known, is native to Rocky Mountain National Park (ROMO). In the early 2000s, researchers found putative ozone symptoms on var. ampla and rhizomes were sent to Appalachian State University to verify that the symptoms were the result of ozone exposure. In 2011, potted plants were exposed to ambient ozone from May to August. These same plants were grown in open-top chambers (OTCs) in 2012 and 2013, and exposed to charcoal-filtered (CF), non-filtered (NF), elevated ozone (EO), NF+50ppb in 2012 for 47days and NF+30/NF+50ppb ozone in 2013 for 36 and 36days, respectively. Ozone symptoms similar to those found in ROMO (blue-black adaxial stippling) were reproduced both in ambient air and in the OTCs. Both varieties exhibited foliar injury in the OTCs in an exposure-dependent manner, verifying that symptoms resulted from ozone exposure. In two of the three study years, var. digitata appeared more sensitive than var. ampla. Exposure to EO caused reductions in ambient photosynthetic rate (A) and stomatal conductance (gs) for both varieties. Light response curves indicated that ozone reduced A, gs, and the apparent quantum yield while it increased the light compensation point. In CF air, var. ampla had higher light saturated A (18.2±1.04 vs 11.6±0.37μmolm−2s−1), higher light saturation (1833±166.7 vs 1108±141.7μmolm−2s−1), and lower Ci/Ca ratio (0.67±0.01 vs 0.77±0.01) than var. digitata. Coneflowers in both Parks are adversely affected by exposure to ambient ozone and if ozone concentrations increase in the Rocky Mountains, greater amounts of injury on var. ampla can be expected.

Thomas G. Andrews. Coyote Valley: Deep History in the High Rockies.

Following up on his Bancroft Prize–winning Killing for Coal: America’s Deadliest Labor War (2008), Thomas G. Andrews brings us Coyote Valley: Deep History in the High Rockies, an environmental history of the Kawuneeche (Nuche for Coyote) Valley, located next to the source of the Colorado River in the western zone of Rocky Mountain National Park. Following the approach prescribed by Donald Worster in The Wealth of Nature: Environmental History and The Ecological Imagination (1993), Andrews opens with the geological and natural history of the region. He then proceeds chronologically through Native culture and land use, Nuche responses to ecological change and conquest, settler land use practices, recreational use, the creation of a national park, and later efforts to improve or restore ecosystems. Scholarship in recent years detailing Native responses to the arrival of the horse, particularly in works such as Pekka Hämäläinen’s The Comanche Empire (2008) and Elliott West’s The Contested Plains: Indians, Goldseekers, and the Rush to Colorado (1998), emphasizes how the Comanche, Cheyenne, Sioux, and others embraced specialization, becoming overly dependent on horses and bison. In telling the story of the Nuche, Andrews shows a people choosing a more traditional path and persisting longer than those who embraced radical change. While adopting the horse for trade and hunting bison, Nuche retained their historical use of the variety of resources available throughout their range. This commitment to the varied use of a complex landscape allowed them to remain in the Kawuneeche into the 1870s. In the end, their pragmatic adjustments could not protect them; they were forcibly removed to make way for settlers.

Temporal and spatial variability of ammonia in urban and agricultural regions of northern Colorado, United States

Abstract. Concentrated agricultural activities and animal feeding operations in the northeastern plains of Colorado represent an important source of atmospheric ammonia (NH3). The NH3 from these sources contributes to regional fine particle formation and to nitrogen deposition to sensitive ecosystems in Rocky Mountain National Park (RMNP), located ∼ 80 km to the west. In order to better understand temporal and spatial differences in NH3 concentrations in this source region, weekly concentrations of NH3 were measured at 14 locations during the summers of 2010 to 2015 using Radiello passive NH3 samplers. Weekly (biweekly in 2015) average NH3 concentrations ranged from 2.66 to 42.7 µg m−3, with the highest concentrations near large concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs). The annual summertime mean NH3 concentrations were stable in this region from 2010 to 2015, providing a baseline against which concentration changes associated with future changes in regional NH3 emissions can be assessed. Vertical profiles of NH3 were also measured on the 300 m Boulder Atmospheric Observatory (BAO) tower throughout 2012. The highest NH3 concentration along the vertical profile was always observed at the 10 m height (annual average concentration of 4.63 µg m−3), decreasing toward the surface (4.35 µg m−3) and toward higher altitudes (1.93 µg m−3). The NH3 spatial distributions measured using the passive samplers are compared with NH3 columns retrieved by the Infrared Atmospheric Sounding Interferometer (IASI) satellite and concentrations simulated by the Comprehensive Air Quality Model with Extensions (CAMx). The satellite comparison adds to a growing body of evidence that IASI column retrievals of NH3 provide very useful insight into regional variability in atmospheric NH3, in this case even in a region with strong local sources and sharp spatial gradients. The CAMx comparison indicates that the model does a reasonable job simulating NH3 concentrations near sources but tends to underpredict concentrations at locations farther downwind. Excess NH3 deposition by the model is hypothesized as a possible explanation for this trend.

Geophysical Agency in the Anthropocene: Engineering a Road and River to Rocky Mountain National Park

Proponents of the Anthropocene epoch posit that human activities now powerfully influence the Earth’s governing systems. Many environmental scholars have offered alternative concepts for this new geologic epoch to challenge its outward anthropocentrism and tendency to flatten the diversity of the world’s people into a single planetary humanity. But in doing so, these critiques distort a more distributive and systemic understanding of agency. This article suggests that geophysical agency offers historians a more useful and precise conceptual term for interpreting connections among human ideas and actions, material systems, and geologic change. One way that human undertakings have functioned geologically has been by moving earth and inscribing asphalt over an extended chronology of the Great Acceleration. Examining 1930s highway construction in Colorado’s Big Thompson Canyon offers a window into some of the historical processes that have defined geophysical agency.

Ammonium uptake kinetics and nitrification in mountain streams

Human activities have increased the availability and distribution of dissolved inorganic N (DIN) in the biosphere. Streams can remove some of this excess DIN, but in-stream uptake pathways of NO3− and NH4+ can be sensitive to the concentration of DIN. DIN uptake kinetics (i.e., changes in uptake in response to changes in concentration) are used to predict how streams will respond to increased DIN. This concentration–uptake relationship is unclear for NH4+ because of complex interactions governing uptake, including the influence of dissimilatory processes (i.e., nitrification) on total uptake. We used sequential pulse additions of NO3− and NH4+ to investigate DIN uptake in 3 subalpine streams in Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado, USA. Mass removal rates (U; µg m–2 min–1) of NO3− were higher than NH4+, but NH4+ had greater uptake rate relative to concentration (vf; mm/min). We used a new method of estimating nitrification that accounts for concomitant NH4+ uptake and found that 7 to 19% of the NH4+ added was nitrified immediately. We used the Tracer Additions for Spiraling Curve Characterization (TASCC) method to quantify ambient spiraling parameters and to parameterize kinetic models for NH4+ by following changes in whole-reach uptake in response to short-term NH4+ additions. Relationships between NH4+ concentration and vf were consistent within, but not among, streams. The relationship between vf and NH4+ concentration followed an efficiency-loss model for 2 streams, in which vf decreased exponentially with NH4+ concentration. vf increased with NH4+ concentration in 1 stream on 2 separate occasions. Different NH4+ uptake kinetics across streams indicate site-specific variation in processes controlling uptake and that some streams may accommodate increasing NH4+ concentrations by increasing uptake.

Emotional processing as an important part of the wildlife viewing experience

Visitors to parks, protected areas and other natural settings are commonly awed by big mountains, beautiful waterfalls, and turquoise green lakes, yet often it is the chance sighting of a wild animal that ignites a feeling of excitement and passion. This research examined wildlife viewing experiences in the Canadian Rocky Mountain National Parks to identify which factors contribute to a meaningful wildlife viewing experience and to explore the value and meaning of that experience. Using a qualitative research approach designed to elicit rich descriptions of wildlife viewing experiences, key factors such as proximity and species emerged as important aspects which contribute to meaningful wildlife experiences and which are consistent with previous research. More importantly, however, was that making meaningful experiences appears to be a result of the emotional connections that are associated with a wildlife encounter and the emotional processing of that experience. This finding suggests that truly meaningful wildlife experiences may be developed through a series of stages from pre-encounter, to the actual encounter, to post-encounter and finally, longer-term reflection. Consequently, managers of parks and protected areas may choose to pay greater attention to visitors’ emotional connections with wildlife and use these relationships to facilitate more meaningful visitor experiences. Management implications1.The information obtained in this study demonstrates that visitor interactions with wildlife are important in creating meaningful nature experiences.2.If park and protected area managers can encourage and enhance such types of experiences, several positive benefits may include such as increased visitation, positive economic impacts, and increased awareness, concern and efforts towards education and conservation.3.Potential strategies include encouraging visitors to make an emotional connection with the wildlife they encounter and developing ways in which they can reflect on those experiences.4.Additionally, managers can aid visitors in continuing to process their experiences after they occur.

A PCB Sensor Suite for Monitoring the Effects of Annual Variations in Precipitation Rates on Alpine Lakes in Rocky Mountain National Park

Alpine Lakes are fragile ecosystems of immense beauty and value. They occur in high elevations and are often subjected to wide variations in annual precipitation rates. As such, their electrochemistry is affected by these annual variations in precipitation rates, which in turn, affects the entire ecosystem. Low-cost sensors for monitoring these changes will help in improving the management of these ecosystems. Low-cost Printed Circuit Board (PCB) sensors are being applied to many useful environmental and agricultural applications, including measuring soil moisture content, detecting pollution, monitoring drought conditions in estuaries, and monitoring for saltwater intrusion into coastal freshwater bodies. These sensors consist of a low-cost PCB with patterned Cu electrodes designed so that the circuit board electromagnetically interacts with the surrounding media, where its electrochemistry affects the measurable electrical impedance of the patterned traces. Exposed electrodes can be used to measure ion content in aqueous solutions from dissolved ionic compounds. Insulated electrodes can be used to measure moisture content of object and materials, or to identify dissolved ions in aqueous solution by searching for their relaxation frequency. In this multiyear study, a 2-layer PCB sensor suite consisting of a Au coated dual exposed electrode sensor on one side and a solder mask insulated interdigitated fringing field sensor on the opposite side is used. SMA connectors are attached to the opposite end of the sensor board for easy connection too instrumentation. The resistance of the exposed electrode sensor is measured using an Agilent 4192A LF Impedance Analyzer. The complex impedance of the fringing field sensor is measured using an Agilent E5061B Network Analyzer. For this study, PCB sensor technology is being investigated for monitoring the electrochemical properties of water samples from four alpine lake ecosystems in the Loch Vale Drainage at Rocky Mountain National Park. These alpine lakes are The Loch, Sky Pond, Andrews Tarn and Lake of Glass. Water samples were collected from these ecosystems in August of 2016, taken into the laboratory and tested with the PCB sensor suite to determine a baseline for the five year study.

Examining crowding among winter recreationists in Rocky Mountain National Park

ABSTRACTCrowding in America’s national parks is a severe problem. Places like Arches National Park are witnessing such an influx of tourism that they are considering new management techniques. Understanding the social science of the situation through crowding studies assists park management in developing strategies for resource protection, recreation management, conflict prevention, and user satisfaction. The purpose of this research was to explore feelings and perceptions of crowding at the Bear Lake trailhead in Rocky Mountain National Park (RMNP). The main goals of the study were to obtain information about visitors of RMNP during the winter season while examining the type(s) of activities they were engaging in along with exploring any feelings of crowding they might have felt. There were 428 completed questionnaires for this study. Results showed fewer conditions of crowding compared to summer users at the park. However, the results of this study also show that some individuals did experience crowding and even conflict during their visit. Such results are valuable as a complementary source of information to the summer studies that have already been concluded. Photo elicitation methods also supported normative standards of low user encounters on the trail in order to deter greater feelings of crowding.

Wildfires and geochemical change in a subalpine forest over the past six millennia

The frequency of large wildfires in western North America has been increasing in recent decades, yet the geochemical impacts of these events are poorly understood. The multidecadal timescales of both disturbance-regime variability and ecosystem responses make it challenging to study the effects of fire on terrestrial nutrient cycling. Nonetheless, disturbance-mediated changes in nutrient concentrations could ultimately limit forest productivity over centennial to millennial time scales. Here, we use a novel approach that combines quantitative elemental analysis of lake sediments using x-ray fluorescence to assess the geochemical impacts of high-severity fires in a 6200 year long sedimentary record from a small subalpine lake in Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado, USA. Immediately after 17 high-severity fires, the sedimentary concentrations of five elements increased (Ti, Ca, K, Al, and P), but returned to pre-fire levels within three decades. Multivariate analyses indicate that erosion of weathered mineral material from the catchment is a primary mechanism though which high-severity fires impact element cycling. A longer-term trend in sediment geochemistry was also identified over millennial time scales. This decrease in the concentrations of six elements (Al, Si, K, Ti, Mn, and Fe) over the past 6200 years may have been due to a decreased rate of high-severity fires, long-term ecosystem development, or changes in precipitation regime. Our results indicate that high-severity fire events can determine elemental concentrations in subalpine forests. The degree of variability in geochemical response across time scales suggests that shifting rates of high-severity burning can cause significant changes in key rock-derived nutrients. To our knowledge, these results are the first to reveal repeated loss of rock-derived nutrients from the terrestrial ecosystem due to high-severity fires. Understanding the future of fire-prone coniferous forests requires further documentation and quantification of this important mechanism linking fire regimes and biogeochemical cycles.

Coyote Valley: Deep History in the High Rockies

Historians have rediscovered space and scale in their stories. Some advocate for big histories spanning centuries. Others call for local microhistories. In this smart and ambitious book, Thomas G. Andrews tries to reconcile large and small by focusing on the Kawuneeche Valley of Colorado (Coyote Valley, as translated from Arapaho), a part of Rocky Mountain National Park. Coyote Valley started as a contract report for the National Park Service but soon morphed into a larger meditation on deep environmental history. The many successes and occasional shortcomings of Andrews's efforts underscore the challenges of mastering space and scale. More important, this book is a model for breaking down needless barriers between public history and academic history. Coyote Valley unfolds in three parts. The first section focuses on indigenous history from the Pleistocene epoch through Colorado statehood. The most significant native group, the Nuche, or Ute, tailored their movements to the seasons and elevation. This environmental adaptability gave the Nuche access to many material benefits while limiting contact with European and American invaders. It also meant, according to Andrews, that unlike other regions in western North America, the Kawuneeche Valley was not as intensively reshaped as other indigenous locales.

Using structural equation modeling to link human activities to wetland ecological integrity

AbstractThe integrity of wetlands is of global concern. A common approach to evaluating ecological integrity involves bioassessment procedures that quantify the degree to which communities deviate from historical norms. While helpful, bioassessment provides little information about how altered conditions connect to community response. More detailed information is needed for conservation and restoration. We have illustrated an approach to addressing this challenge using structural equation modeling (SEM) and long‐term monitoring data from Rocky Mountain National Park (RMNP). Wetlands in RMNP are threatened by a complex history of anthropogenic disturbance including direct alteration of hydrologic regimes; elimination of elk, wolves, and grizzly bears; reintroduction of elk (absent their primary predators); and the extirpation of beaver. More recently, nonnative moose were introduced to the region and have expanded into the park. Bioassessment suggests that up to half of the park's wetlands are not in reference condition. We developed and evaluated a general hypothesis about how human alterations influence wetland integrity and then develop a specific model using RMNP wetlands. Bioassessment revealed three bioindicators that appear to be highly sensitive to human disturbance (HD): (1) conservatism, (2) degree of invasion, and (3) cover of native forbs. SEM analyses suggest several ways human activities have impacted wetland integrity and the landscape of RMNP. First, degradation is highest where the combined effects of all types of direct HD have been the greatest (i.e., there is a general, overall effect). Second, specific HDs appear to create a “mixed‐bag” of complex indirect effects, including reduced invasion and increased conservatism, but also reduced native forb cover. Some of these effects are associated with alterations to hydrologic regimes, while others are associated with altered shrub production. Third, landscape features created by historical beaver activity continue to influence wetland integrity years after beavers have abandoned sites via persistent landforms and reduced biomass of tall shrubs. Our model provides a system‐level perspective on wetland integrity and provides a context for future evaluations and investigations. It also suggests scientifically supported natural resource management strategies that can assist in the National Park Service mission of maintaining or, when indicated, restoring ecological integrity “unimpaired for future generations.”

Field validation of an invasive species Maxent model

Accurate and reliable predictions of invasive species distributions are urgently needed by land managers for developing management plans and monitoring new potential areas of establishment. Presence-only species distribution models are commonly used in these evaluations, however they are rarely tested with independent data over time or compared with presence-absence models fit with the same presence data. Using Maxent, we developed a presence-only model of invasive cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum L.) distribution in Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado, USA in 2007 fit with limited data, and then tested the model with independent presence and absence data collected between 2008 and 2013. This model was verified using threshold dependent and threshold independent evaluation metrics. Next, we developed a Maxent model with cheatgrass presence data from 2007 through 2013 (i.e. Maxent 2013), and compared this model to a presence-absence method (i.e., generalized linear model; GLM 2013) using the same data. Threshold dependent and threshold independent evaluation metrics suggested Maxent 2013 outperformed GLM 2013, and a two-tailed Wilcoxon signed rank test indicated relative probability outputs were not significantly different between the models in geographic space. Based on known presences and absences of cheatgrass collected in the field, the Maxent 2013 and GLM 2013 relative probability outputs were highly correlated at absence locations but less correlated at presence locations. A Kappa comparison of Maxent 2007 and Maxent 2013 binary output provides evidence that Maxent is robust when fit with limited data. Our results indicate Maxent is an appropriate model for use when land management objectives are supported by limited resources and thus require a conservative, but highly accurate estimate of habitat suitability for invasive species on the landscape.

Informing management with monitoring data: the value of Bayesian forecasting

AbstractInventory and Monitoring Programs in the National Park Service (NPS) provide information needed to support wise planning, management, and decision making. Mathematical and statistical models play a critical role in this process by integrating data from multiple sources in a way that is honest about uncertainty. We show the utility of Bayesian hierarchical models for supporting decisions on managing natural resources of national parks. These models can assimilate monitoring data to provide true forecasts, resulting in probabilistic predictions of future states of park ecosystems accompanied by rigorous estimates of uncertainty. We discuss a novel approach for communicating these forecasts to decision makers who need to evaluate the probability that NPS goals will be met given different management actions, including the null model of no action. We illustrate how this approach has been used successfully to inform decisions on the elk (Cervus elaphus nelsoni) population management in Rocky Mountain National Park based on 47 yr of monitoring data. Forecasts from a discrete time, stage‐structured population model assimilated with annual census and sex and age classifications are being used annually to help park managers decide on actions needed to meet goals for elk and vegetation. In particular, park managers were able to determine the probability that the elk population would fall within a desired population range, which led to both population reduction actions and no action depending on the year of interest. Moreover, this approach allowed multiple survey methodologies from the last 47 years to be incorporated into a single model with associated estimates of uncertainty. Models like this one are especially useful for adaptive management where continuous improvement in models and data results in long‐term improvement in the wisdom of policy and management.

Aluminum Activity in Alpine Tundra Soil, Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado, U.S.A.

Shifts in seasonal aluminum (Al) activity and speciation in poorly buffered alpine tundra soil, attributable to atmospheric deposition of reactive nitrogen, can result in increased Al bioavailability, adversely impacting high-altitude plant and microbial communities. To evaluate seasonal changes in Al soil solution chemistry, intact soil column leaching studies were conducted to determine pore water Al speciation and transport under saturated spring melt-off conditions and unsaturated late summer conditions. These results were compared with aqueous Al speciation in surface and groundwater seep samples collected during the June to August growing season. Analysis of soil column leachates, surface and groundwater seep samples, indicated that Al activity was controlled by the aluminum hydroxyl sulfate suite of minerals, jurbanite, basaluminite, and alunite. Soil pore water collected from saturated soil cores consisted primarily of aluminum fluoride (Al-F) complexes for pore volumes (PV) < 5.0, with aluminum hydroxyl (Al-OH) complexation increasing with continued elution. Leachates collected from unsaturated soil cores exhibited Al-F transport only within the soil wetting front, PV < 1.0, after which, Al-OH complexes were predominant. The presence of fluoride (F−) in the soil pore water in the reactive solution front resulted in notable shifts between Al controlling solid phases and aqueous speciation. Similar shifts in Al speciation and controlling Al solid phases were observed in surface and groundwater seep samples, with sampling date and elevation. Results suggest that Al speciation and transport within alpine tundra soil may be seasonally influenced by soil moisture content and F− release from soil solid phases within the O/A1 soil horizons.

A systems-based approach to address unintended consequences of demand-driven transportation planning in national parks and public lands

ABSTRACTIn most cases, transportation planning in national parks and public lands might most appropriately be termed “demand-driven.” In this approach, rigorous analyses of park visitation, traffic, and parking data are used as a basis for transportation planning to accommodate current and projected future visitor demand, within financial constraints. Performance measures used to assess the quality of transportation systems in national parks are generally related to “moving people” efficiently. This approach is based on well-established principles for transportation planning in urban and rural communities. However, a demand-driven approach to transportation planning may not be suitable in national parks and public lands because it may enable levels of visitation that cause visitor crowding, resource impacts, and other unintended consequences. This paper introduces a more sustainable, systems-based transportation planning approach developed in the Rocky Mountain National Park (ROMO) to help the park operate its shuttle bus system efficiently and conveniently, and according to thresholds for visitor crowding and resource impacts at sites serviced by the shuttle system. The transportation planning approach developed in this study for ROMO is more suitable and sustainable for national parks and public lands than a demand-driven approach, and is readily adaptable to other locations. Correspondingly, the approach is now being applied in several other national parks and public lands recreation areas.

Environmental constraints on Didymosphenia geminata occurrence and bloom formation in Canadian Rocky Mountain lotic systems

The first documented bloom of Didymosphenia geminata in Alberta occurred in 2003, and subsequent field investigations revealed that D. geminata was present in the periphyton of a number of lotic systems, yet did not always form blooms. We sampled 76 sites in Canadian Rocky Mountain National Parks, chosen to provide ranges in exposure to D. geminata propagules and environmental conditions thought to affect D. geminata growth and bloom formation. Generalized linear models were then used to determine environmental constraints on habitat suitability and requirements for blooming and nonblooming populations across the landscape. Didymosphenia geminata was detected at 88% of sites, and of those, 34% had blooms, defined as visible mats of D. geminata stalks. Didymosphenia geminata cell abundance was significantly negatively related to stream velocity, stream order, and total phosphorus concentration, yet there was no significant relationship between D. geminata blooms and any of environmental variables measured. There was a significant negative relationship between ash-free dry mass and temperature when cells were present but blooms absent and a positive relationship between temperature and stalk abundance when blooms were present. Total phosphorus, flow velocity, and temperature were significant environmental correlates of cell abundance, but we detected no thresholds related to D. geminata blooms. The widespread occurrence of D. geminata over 1000s of square kilmetres and close proximity of sites with and without blooms suggests that local rather than regional factors drive bloom development.

Coyote Valley: Deep History in the High Rockies. By Thomas G. Andrews

Coyote Valley: Deep History in the High Rockies . By Thomas G. Andrews. (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2015. xi + 331 pp. Illustrations, maps, notes, index. $29.95.) In Coyote Valley, Thomas G. Andrews seeks to explain broader patterns of human interaction with nature by delving deeply into the long history of Rocky Mountain National Park’s Kawuneeche, or Coyote, Valley. In doing so, he asserts that exploring the history of a single place over as long a time span as both scientific and historical evidence allow can provide useful and important lessons about the course of American environmental history that broader, more global approaches often overlook. Rather than “passe” or even “parochial,” small-scale investigations … westrec{at}gmail.com

Aerobic biodegradation potential of endocrine-disrupting chemicals in surface-water sediment at Rocky Mountain National Park, USA.

Endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) in surface water and bed sediment threaten the structure and function of aquatic ecosystems. In natural, remote, and protected surface-water environments where contaminant releases are sporadic, contaminant biodegradation is a fundamental driver of exposure concentration, timing, duration, and, thus, EDC ecological risk. Anthropogenic contaminants, including known and suspected EDCs, were detected in surface water and sediment collected from 2 streams and 2 lakes in Rocky Mountain National Park (Colorado, USA). The potential for aerobic EDC biodegradation was assessed in collected sediments using 6 (14) C-radiolabeled model compounds. Aerobic microbial mineralization of natural (estrone and 17β-estradiol) and synthetic (17α-ethinylestradiol) estrogen was significant at all sites. Bed sediment microbial communities in Rocky Mountain National Park also effectively degraded the xenoestrogens bisphenol-A and 4-nonylphenol. The same sediment samples exhibited little potential for aerobic biodegradation of triclocarban, however, illustrating the need to assess a wider range of contaminant compounds. The present study's results support recent concerns over the widespread environmental occurrence of carbanalide antibacterials, like triclocarban and triclosan, and suggest that backcountry use of products containing these compounds should be discouraged.

Forest composition change after a mountain pine beetle outbreak, Rocky Mountain National Park, CO, USA

Recent severe and extensive mountain pine beetle (Dendroctonus ponderosae; MPB) outbreaks have created novel conditions in Southern Rocky Mountain lodgepole pine forests which historically had disturbance regimes dominated by extensive, stand-replacing fires. The goal of this study is to investigate patterns of and potential mechanisms in post-outbreak forest change in order to better understand the ecological legacy of the recent outbreak in the context of its implications for resilience to future disturbances and adaptation to climate change. To this end, we collected field data on forest structure and species composition in 2012 in lodgepole pine dominant forests in Rocky Mountain National Park. We then used a combination of modeling and statistical methods to identify possible mechanisms in post-outbreak forest conditions and evaluate the effect of the MPB outbreak on forest heterogeneity. We found that the outbreak initiated a shift in forest structure from single-cohort lodgepole pine stands to stands with greater diversity in age classes and species composition. This increase in landscape asynchrony may increase resiliency to future disturbances. However, this heterogeneity is a result of more spruce and fir on the landscape, species which are less adapted to projected future climate conditions. Our results indicate that disturbances do not necessarily increase the rate at which vegetation adapts to a changing climate, and that it is essential to consider disturbance type and available seed sources when predicting future forest conditions.