Dave Hallock, Eldora.  This summer saw the celebration of the conservation of Tolland Ranch, located along South Boulder Creek between Rollinsville and East Portal.   Tolland Ranch is to South Boulder Creek, what Arapaho Ranch is to Middle Boulder Creek, and Caribou Ranch is to North Boulder Creek. These are the montane parklands of the Boulder Creek watershed. They are places in the landscape that seem to have a competitive advantage and attract more animals than others.

Why are these parklands good wildlife habitat? Start with the fact that these sites are relatively flat. A large expanse of flat land is a unique thing within the Rocky Mountains. Most of the land has a tilt to it and you are either hiking up or down. Going up takes more energy, while heading down hill gives energy. Flat areas tend to slow things up that are coming down hill.

Montane parklands slowed glaciers, which flowed down the three river valleys, resulting in most of them stopping within or near the parkland. The valleys and adjacent hills are filled with rock left behind when the glaciers melted and receded. The spaces between the glacial rocks in the valley floor became filled with water, creating large underground aquifers. On the surface, some of this aquifer presents itself in the form of wetlands.

Rivers are also slowed by a flatter landscape. When moving water slows it loses its ability to hold sediment, which is then deposited. Montane parklands tend to have a greater amount of finer alluvial soils. Much of the soil was probably deposited when the glaciers were first receding. Finer soils favor grasslands over forests.

Therefore, the flatness of the land helped create two of the distinguishing habitat types found in montane parklands: grasslands and wetlands. Most of the surrounding landscape is covered with forests. The parklands are grassland and wetland islands within a sea of forest.

The flatness of the land is also very attractive to beaver, which play an important role of making wetlands larger. Beaver favor sites along rivers that are flat and wide. Their engineering works better where they can spread out the flow of water, and their dams and lodges last longer when off of the main stem of a major river. Beaver dams raise the water level, which can create new wetlands or expand existing ones. So montane parklands are prime sites for long-term beaver habitation, and they in turn enhance wetland habitat.  Keeping more water in the landscape can be good during times of drought.

What makes montane parklands good for wildlife is exceptional habitat diversity. Wetlands, meadows, and riparian forests along streams, combined with aspen, coniferous forests and woodlands, and rock outcrops on adjacent hillsides, create a mosaic of different habitat types. Size matters: these are some of the largest wetlands and meadows in the mountains.

Also, the location of the parklands at 8,300’ – 8,700’ places them at the upper end of the montane lifezone where elements of subalpine habitats begin to appear. This is near the upper extent of ponderosa pine and the lower extent of Engelmann spruce and subalpine fir. Throw in lodgepole pine, aspen, limber pine on exposed hillsides, Douglas-fir, and narrowleaf cottonwood and a few balsam poplars (relicts of the Ice Age) along the rivers.

Coming as no surprise we find high bird and small mammal diversities. Close to 100 species of birds will nest in the parklands. In terms of total numbers of breeding birds and small mammals, willow shrub wetlands have some of the highest densities in the mountains. And meadows are very rich sites for many types of small mammals. With all this diversity and density of small things the larger carnivores will come looking for abundant food.  Coyote, fox, weasel, and red-tailed hawk can make a good living in the parklands. All the plants and insects make a fine feast for a black bear. And the deer and elk that come to eat the grasses and shrubs provide dinner for mountain lions.

All of the montane parklands have a closely associated herd of elk. They generally leave lower elevation winter ranges in April or May for one of the montane parklands, often making a 10-15 mile movement in one or two nights. After making an energy consuming uphill migration, the elk find themselves at a large, flat expanse of grassland habitat, and may stay for several months. By June many of the pregnant cow elk will calve on or near the parklands, then head for higher ground in the Indian Peaks. They will return in fall, some for the rut, while others will rut higher and wait for deep snows to drive them down. Continued snow drives the elk to lower and milder habitat east of the Peak-to-Peak Highway. Some may stay on the ranches if the winter is mild.

In the last decade and a half, montane parklands have become concentration areas for moose.  The willow shrub wetlands are prime moose habitat as willows are one of their staple foods, particularly during winter.

People have utilized the rich plant and animal resources of the parklands for thousands of years. Prehistoric people found large and small game, as well as plants for food, clothing and tools. The parklands were some of the first places homesteaded in the 1860s. The settlers were attracted to the grass, water, and relatively good soils. They could grow some of their own food, but more importantly, they were able to irrigate and cut grass and sell it to others that needed food for their horses. Grass was the oil of the time.

We are fortunate that the parklands in the upper Boulder Creek watershed have remained as large ranches and were not subdivided and developed.  The owners took action to protect the lands so they continue to function as exceptional nodes of biodiversity.

Looking ahead, October nature happenings in the Nederland area include the continuance of elk mating. Black bears begin to find winter dens for hibernation.  This peaks in the third and fourth weeks of October for females and the second and third weeks of November for males. This is the peak of moose breeding season (mid-September to early November). Ground squirrels and chipmunks will go into hibernation.

The migrating flocks of birds have headed south, and we are left with the residents.  Many of them are forming into mixed species flocks of chickadees, nuthatches, creepers and woodpeckers.  Other species, such as robins, flickers and solitaires, may be present during nice weather, but will conduct a vertical migration and head lower into the foothills during bad weather.

A few butterflies will still be out in October.  You can find newly hatched commas (orange with black spots and angular wings), mourning cloaks (large, dark brown with yellow on the wing edges), and Milbert’s tortoiseshells (brown with orange and yellow markings); they look very fresh, almost wet.  These will be the individuals that will overwinter as adults and emerge from time to time if the weather is mild enough during winter; they will also be some of the first butterflies seen in the spring.