Review by Ed Quillen
Colorado natural history – March 1996 – Colorado Central Magazine
Explore Colorado: A Naturalist’s Notebook
by Frances Alley Kruger and Carron A. Meany
photography by John Fielder
Published in 1995 by Denver Museum of Natural History and Westcliffe Publishers
ISBN 1-56579-124-X
Almost any conversation about public-lands management these days will produce not only the usual grumblings about “remote pencil-pushing bureaucrats,” but also the term “ecosystem.”
“Ecosystems” are related to the “lifezones” that we learned in school. But apparently these zones weren’t sufficiently precise for Colorado ecologists, who have devised as many as 34 distinct communities of plant and animal life. That’s too much for the BLM and the Colorado Division of Wildlife, and it’s even more cumbersome for the mere lay person who would like to know more about the outdoors.
The solution? Eight ecosystems for Colorado, mostly corresponding to elevation. Explore Colorado provides a brief look at each ecosystem, explaining its typical climate, foliage, and wildlife.
The only ecosystem not tied to elevation is Riparian — what thrives alongside streams and lakes. The others, all also found in Central Colorado, are Grassland (South Park), Semidesert Shrubland (northern San Luis Valley), Piñon-Juniper Woodland (lower Arkansas Hills), Montane Shrubland (Cotopaxi to Westcliffe), Montane Forest, Subalpine Forest, Treeline, and Tundra.
Each ecosystem gets about 10 pages, wherein we learn about typical foliage, climate and precipitation, what animals thrive there, and how they relate to each other. There are copious illustrations, along with a checklist, and you learn something new on just about every page.
For instance, the bright orange lichen in my favorite zone (Montane Shrubland) occurs on rocks near the dens of small mammals; their urine makes for a nitrogen-rich area that nourishes the lichen. Scrub oaks, under favorable conditions, can resemble mighty oaks. Mountain mahogany seeds work like little drills.
In ways, this book seems to be directed at children with its illustrations and checklists. But if that’s the case, then why no warnings about skunks and rattlesnakes?
If it’s for adults out on a trail, then why all the exquisite photos more suited for coffee-table volumes? And it’s not the right size for toting on a hike.
I couldn’t quite figure out the intended audience or use for Exploring Colorado. But it was pleasant and informative. Further, if this division of Colorado into eight ecosystems catches on, so that discussions about land and wildlife will be framed in those terms, Exploring Colorado provides an easy and readable introduction.
— E. Q.