BIG BEND The Impact of Human Use Upon the Chisos Basin and Adjacent Lands NPS Scientific Monograph No. 4

Cover

List of Figures

List of Tables

Preface

Chapter 1
EARLY MAN'S USE OF THE MOUNTAINS

Chapter 2
EUROPEAN MAN'S USE OF THE MOUNTAINS AND BASIN

Ranching
Prospecting and mining
Civilian Conservation Corps
Big Bend National Park

Chapter 3
GEOLOGICAL CONSIDERATIONS OF THE BASIN

Structure and topography
Soils

Chapter 4
CLIMATOLOGICAL CONSIDERATIONS OF THE BASIN

Long-range trend
Short cycles

Chapter 5
PRESENT VEGETATION OF THE BASIN

Methods
Evergreen Woodland Formation
Chaparral Formation
Chihuahuan Desert Formation
Summary and comparison

Chapter 6
HYPOTHETICAL VEGETATION OF THE BASIN

Chapter 7
PRESENT IMPACT UPON THE BASIN VEGETATION

Definition and ecology
Forms of present impact
   Roads
   Trails
   Chisos Remuda concession
   National Park Concessions, Inc.
   Ranger Station and personnel housing
   Campgrounds
   Sewage
   Pipelines
   Wells

Chapter 8
FUTURE VEGETATION ON THE BASIN

Chapter 9
BASIN IMPACT UPON OAK CREEK CANYON AND CATTAIL FALLS

Chapter 10
SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS

Denudation
Alteration
Creation
Introduction
Pollution
Destruction

Chapter 11
RECOMMENDATIONS

Basin
Basic rehabilitive revegetation program
Exotic and introduced species program
Chisos Remuda
National Park Concessions, Inc.
Trails
Campground
Ranger Station

Appendix

References

INDEX (omitted from the online edition)

1 Map of the Chisos Basin.

2 Map of soil collection and vegetation sampling sites: ors, old road scars; als, Aloysia lycioides site.

3 Map of present vegetation in the Chicos Basin.

4 Map of hypothetical vegetation in the Chisos Basin.

5 Importance percentage values for Juniper Flat vegetation with respective soil data.

1 Location and topographic characteristics of the sites sampled for soil and vegetation in the Chisos Basin.

2 Physical characteristics of soils sampled in the Chisos Basin.

3 Chemical characteristics of soils sampled in the Chisos Basin.

4 Summary of the dominant plants in the three formations in the Chisos Basin with their respective Importance Value. Generic names can be found in Table 6.

5 Comparison of tree and seedling counts in four Boot Canyon permanent plots after a 5-year duration.

6 Complete list of the plants encountered in the Chisos Basin study. The species, with common names, are grouped according to life-form and frequency in the formations (X, sighted or collected; XX, IV less than 40; XXX, IV greater than 40).

7 Important native invaders of disturbed areas in the Chisos Basin.

8 Importance percentages of the species in an old road scar in the Chisos Basin.

9 Importance percentages of the species in the two Laguna Meadow Trail transects.

10 Tree and seedling census along trail from water barrel to Juniper Flat.

11 Tree and seedling census along trail from corral to Campfire Creek.

12 Comparative census of trees and seedlings along new and old sections of trail.

13 Tree and seedling census of Juniper Flat comparing presently grazed and ungrazed portions.

14 Distribution of the cover components of a Main Basin Campground transect.

15 Tree and seedling census of the Main Basin Campground.

16 Tree and seedling census along trail from Juniper Flat to Laguna Meadow Trail.

17 Tree and seedling census along trail in circle at Boulder Meadow.

18 Tree and seedling census of several areas in the Chisos Basin.

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Gerald Ford
President of the United States

Rogers C. B. Morton, Secretary
U.S. Department of the Interior

Ronald H. Walker, Director
National Park Service

As the Nation's principal conservation agency, the Department of the Interior has basic responsibilities for water, fish, wildlife, mineral, land, park, and recreational resources. Indian and Territorial affairs are other major concerns of America's "Department of Natural Resources." The Department works to assure the wisest choice in managing all our resources so each will make its full contribution to a better United States—now and in the future.

This publication is one in a series of research studies devoted to special topics which have been explored in connection with the various areas in the National Park System.

Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data

Whitson, Paul D
The impact of human use upon the Chisos Basin and adjacent lands.
   (National Park Service scientific monograph series, no. 4)
   Supt. of Docs. no.: I 29.80:4
   Bibliography: p.
1. Botany—Texas—Chisos Basin—Ecology. 2. Man—Influence on nature—Chisos Basin, Tex. 3. Chisos Basin, Tex. I. Title. II. Series: United States. National Park Service. Scientific monograph series, no. 4 [DNLM: 1. Water pollution. WA689 W623i]

QK188.W484     581.5'09764'932     74-11116

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