Colorado Statewide Forest Resource Assessment

of fragmentation to help forest managers identify landscapes in which priorityforest habitats are threatened by human development. 44 It is important to notethat while each habitat layer identifi es areas of importance for wildlife, neitherlayer, on its own, provides any information about the type or intensity ofmanagement activity that may be needed or appropriate for any given wildlifespecies. Those determinations should be made by land managers using moredetailed information about the specifi c needs of the target species.Habitat for Imperiled SpeciesThe fi rst wildlife habitat layer identifi es forest landscapes that represent orsignifi cantly contribute to viable habitats for focal conservation species (e.g.,Threatened and Endangered species, state species of concern or keystonespecies that are representative of a healthy ecosystem). Emphasis was onareas of high species richness or endemism, and areas that are essentialto the survival of a highly imperiled species. The key components 45 of theanalysis are Tier 1 and Tier 2 species from the Colorado Wildlife Action Planthat rely on forests for primary habitat.The Comprehensive Wildlife Conservation Strategy planning process resultedin a list of 210 Species of Greatest Conservation Need for Colorado. In orderto help direct the future conservation efforts of the Colorado Division ofWildlife and its partners, this list has been prioritized using a two-tier system.Eight criteria were used to draft the initial list of Tier I species.1. Knowledge of management techniques necessary for recovery2. Impacts on federal recovery3. Cost of recovery or management action implementation4. Direct cost of recovery action to others5. Public appeal or interest in the species6. Economic impacts of listing (cost incurred by listing)7. Importance to state biological diversity8. Multiple species benefi ts from management of target speciesFifty-two Species of Greatest Conservation Need were identifi ed as Tier1 species using these criteria. In addition, all federally listed species andspecies identifi ed by experts during the science forums as “of most concern”were added to the Tier 1 list for a total of 107 Tier 1 species. The remaining103 Species of Greatest Need were placed in Tier 2.What primarily separates Tier 1 from Tier 2 species is the species’ status ina declining trend as designated by federal or state listing designation, ourperceived ability to effectively implement conservation/recovery actions onthe ground, and our ability to contribute to a meaningful change in federalstatus through actions in Colorado. Tier 2 species remain important in lightof forestalling population trends or habitat conditions that may lead to aThreatened or Endangered listing status, but the urgency of such action in theface of limited personnel and funding was determined to be less signifi cant.When planning future conservation work, these tier rankings should beconsidered along with other important factors, including ability to impact,44This fragmentation analysis is partially based on a measure of the human modification of cover, which goes beyondthe change in housing density to include the general transportation and utility infrastructure necessary for residentialdevelopment. See Appendix B at http://csfs.colostate.edu/pages/statewide-forest-assessment.html for a moredetailed explanation of this analysis.45See Appendix B at http://csfs.colostate.edu/pages/statewide-forest-assessment.html for a complete listing ofthe species incorporated in this analysis.56