Brief by Central Staff
Drought – December 2002 – Colorado Central Magazine
We’re all pretty familiar with the effects of the drought on our valleys and hillsides — dry streambeds, ailing trees, brown fields, shrinking reservoirs, empty ditches, watering restrictions, etc.
But what about the highest country, up above timberline? Except for the absence of summer snowbanks, it looked about the same as ever last summer.
However, there were some differences, according to Robin Bay, restoration manager for the Colorado Fourteener Initiative, a non-profit group which works to prevent our highest peaks from suffering from too much visitation.
Alpine plants are already adapted to drought, because that’s what they endure every winter. There’s no liquid water at those altitudes, and the wind carries moisture away quickly.
Once the snow melts in the spring, they have only a few weeks to grow, flower, and seed before the ground freezes again. The snow melted early this year, which gave them more time. But the summer rains didn’t come, so the soil was dry and the plants wilted; many aborted their seeds. And if the plants died, then their roots can no longer stabilize the soil.
“Even under normal conditions,” Bay wrote, “these plants grow very slowly; a summer drought could have long term effects. Soils may continue to erode until the plants’ root structures are able to stabilize them once more. Some plants may not have the energy reserves to produce seeds next year.”
But on the bright side, “Alpine plants are tough; if we’re careful, they will recover.”
In the summer, CFI operates field camps to rebuild trails on 14ers — the idea being that if there’s a good trail, people won’t be trampling the tundra. If you’re interested in volunteering, you can contact CFI at 303-278-7525, or www.14ers.org.
And if you’re interested in working above timberline for no pay and then writing an article about your adventures, contact us — we’d like someone to tell us what it’s like.
