Eco-Orientation

An Eco-orientation to Denver

Prepared by Biohabitats, Inc.

www.biohabitats.com 

Nature sets the ultimate framework for sustainability. Until we understand the ecology of a place, and how its living systems work together as a whole, we will never fully understand the impact of our own actions on that place. With that understanding, however, we can not only reduce our impacts, but improve our relationship with nature and regenerate healthy, natural systems and sustainable communities.

So, welcome to Denver, and allow us to introduce you to the ecology of this wonderful landscape! Denver sits on the western edge of the High Plains ecoregion, at the foot of the Southern Rocky Mountain ecoregion to the west. With fewer than 16 inches of annual rainfall, the climate is semi-arid. The city is located along the South Platte River, where alluvial creek deposits are underlain by Denver Basin sediments eroded from the nearby mountains.

The grasslands surrounding Denver, known as shortgrass prairie, evolved under a combination of natural wildfires and grazing by native mammals such as buffalo and pronghorn. While shrublands and ponderosa pine forests begin to appear in the foothills, the few trees found in the prairie landscape–such as plains cottonwood and peach leaf willow–historically grew only along the edges of streams. These ‘riparian,’ or streamside areas are relatively rare and precious in the semi-arid west. Although they comprise only a small percentage of the landscape, nearly 70% of all threatened and endangered vertebrate wildlife species in the arid western U.S. are dependent on these critical habitats at some point in their life cycle. Migratory birds flying the Central Flyway also depend on the streams and their riparian and wetland areas for water, food and cover during their stopovers on their journeys south.

In a nutshell, Denver’s story is one of rock and water. For centuries, native people, and then Euro-American settlers, have been drawn here for the water, food, and shelter. More recently the allure of geologic resources provided added appeal. Beaver trappers in the early 1800s were followed by gold and silver miners in the mid-800s, and soon other mineral explorations. Oil and gas production now occurs in more than half of the state’s counties, and over 700 kinds of minerals have been found here. With increasing settlement came the “plumbing” of the rivers to divert water from streams into ditches and agricultural fields to support growing populations. The network of reservoirs and ditches that evolved gave people greater control of the timing and location of water availability, but it also fundamentally changed ecosystems around Denver and throughout the state.

For over a century, Denver has remained at the center of Colorado’s numerous boom and bust cycles, making it a busy and changing landscape. The changes continue into the 21st century. The growing metropolitan Denver population-now about 2.5 million-is thirsty. Water in western Colorado that used to flow to the Pacific Ocean is now diverted across or under the Continental divide to support Denver’s water demands and meet continuing agricultural needs. Natural flooding which once carved the rivers, fed wetlands, and supported abundant wildlife has been greatly reduced in many river basins. Meanwhile, return flows from agriculture and urban stormwater runoff have created year-round streams that were previously dry later in the year.

So sustainability here means working within these novel ecosystems to recalibrate the ecological systems, to enable them to maintain natural processes and functions, and to sustain biodiversity and productivity over time. In a landscape as magnificent as the Rockies, sustainability and regenerative design strategies need to be combined with restoration of degraded systems; conservation of high-quality land and water; and stewardship projects that establish ongoing relationships of care.

Your campuses are also unique and wonderful places to build on this larger definition of sustainability. No matter where you are located, you live in an ecoregion with natural ecological processes that can be enhanced or degraded by our actions.

When considering campus sustainability, why not protect and regenerate nature’s living systems while also enhancing the sense of place which is becoming so important to retaining staff and students? Each of us can do this by beginning to look for all the ways to prioritize and integrate place-based stewardship practices into infrastructure improvement projects, stormwater and utilities, research activities, maintenance and food services, and general operations, administration, and education.

May you find inspiration in your stay here and take seeds of new ideas back home with you!