Reintroduced Canada lynx. Photo © Colorado DNR.
Saving Endangered Species
Our most fundamental commitment is simply this: prevent extinction. Unfortunately, there are many species in our region currently facing a very real risk of extinction in the near future. Oil and gas drilling threatens to destroy what little habitat remains for native wildflowers like the Parachute penstemon and Pariette cactus. Development, drought, and overgrazing have caused the Gunnison sage-grouse to decline to perilous levels. Without an uncompromising voice, these native species are almost certainly doomed.
We provide that voice. We seek solutions with the biologists and landowners. We utilize the latest in GIS mapping technologies and analysis tools to better understand and provide solutions to complex land-use issues. We monitor the government agencies charged with conserving these species. We pursue Endangered Species Act protection and other protective designations. And, when left with no other choice, we go to court in defense of these imperiled species and their habitat.
Vermillion Basin. Photo © Sam Cox
Preserving Western Landscapes
We also focus on protecting ecological communities across the region. Colorado’s Vermillion Basin and Dolores River watershed, and the Uinta Basin of Utah are among those iconic western landscapes that we work to preserve. We build coalitions around saving these special places, and look for creative ways to protect both ecological values and human communities.
For example, we banded together with a conservation partners and local landowners to preserve the unique Wacker Ranch, in the Adobe Hills outside of Montrose, Colorado. When residents Harold and Kathleen Wacker decided to sell their ranch after 40 years, they wanted to ensure the survival of the rare native plants found there, including the endangered clay-loving wild buckwheat, a tiny pink-and-white wildflower found only in the Adobe Hills. Center for Native Ecosystems was already advocating for enhanced protection of this wildflower on federal lands, and our efforts to raise funds for the purchase of this other essential habitat drew much-needed attention to this overlooked native wildflower. Now the Wacker Ranch preserve serves as a permanently protected site for conservation and research and is Colorado’s newest designated Natural Area.
