Dinosaur National Monument unites CSU’s ‘range’ of expertise

Antler sheds in DINO rangeland.

Photo by Ryan Schroeder

By Karina Puikkonen
Colorado State University, SOURCE News

In addition to its wealth of namesake fossils, Dinosaur National Monument also contains more than 200,000 acres of rangeland ecosystems that surround canyons carved by the Yampa and Green Rivers. Successful stewardship of the park’s entire ecosystem – fossils, rangelands and more – is less complicated because of a partnership between the National Park Service and Colorado State University.

“Assessing ecological health across entire ecosystems is really complex, almost beyond human understanding,” said CSU forest and rangeland scientist Kevin Jablonski. “We need to integrate a lot of different knowledge, scientific expertise and perspectives.”

The NPS/CSU partnership involves a team of CSU alumni, faculty, researchers and students. Over the past few years, the university’s collective expertise in applied management, rangeland assessment and soil science has evaluated Dinosaur National Monument’s rangeland health to create a snapshot of current land conditions. This will help NPS staff consider future management of grazing allotments within the monument and provide a model assessment for future National Park units.

To read more about this project, read the full article.

January 2020