Developing Coordinated Science Activities in Support of Land Management in the
Mancos Shale Badlands of the Gunnison Gorge National Conservation Area (NCA)
| BLM Project Officer: Karen Tucker, Manager Gunnison Gorge NCA 2505 S. Townsend Avenue Montrose, Colorado, 81401 Voice: 970-240-5309 Fax: 970-240-5367 karen_tucker@co.blm.gov |
| USGS Contact: Paul von Guerard Western Slope Subdistrict Chief USGS-WRD 764 Horizon Drive Grand Junction, Colorado 81506 Voice: 970-245-5257 ext 14 Fax: 970-245-1026 pbvongue@usgs.gov |
Problem Statement and Implications: How can BLM best manage 17,000 acres of Mancos shale badlands on the western portion of the Gunnison Gorge NCA? What practices are compatible with the restoration/rehabilitation of Mancos shale areas and promote sustainability of human uses (such as grazing, off-highway vehicles, dispersed recreation, etc.), reduction of erosion and associated salinity and selenium loading, preservation and restoration of threatened and endangered plants and natural community processes (aquatic and terrestrial wildlife)?
Mancos shale badlands comprise approximately 30 percent of the NCA. The current management plan for the area designates these lands as “open,” meaning cross-country travel by any kind of vehicle or method is allowed. The lands have historically been used for intensive sheep grazing, National Guard tank maneuvers, illegal trash dumping, utility corridors, and other high-impact and erosive uses. The area is currently receiving high levels of use and impacts from off-highway vehicles (OHVs), including motorcycles, all-terrain vehicles, and four-wheel drive vehicles, as well as continued impacts from winter/spring sheep grazing. In some areas, all surface vegetation has been removed while other high-use areas are deeply trenched with sheep and vehicle routes and invaded with cheatgrass and other noxious and invasive weeds.
Another issue related to Mancos shale is the effect of erosion from outcrops in the Gunnison Gorge NCA on aquatic habitat and fish. For example, fish kills have been observed after rainfall events in the Gunnison Gorge downstream from Mancos outcrops. An ecological assessment in the Gunnison Gorge needs to include an analysis of how Mancos shale relates to instream flows. The BLM needs to be able to convey to stakeholders and the public a defensible, science-based rationale for land management decisions on the NCA.
Objectives: The objectives of this proposal are the following:
- Initiate a process for USGS scientists to work side-by-side with BLM NCA staff to develop a coordinated science strategy to support on-the-ground management. It is proposed that science planning become part of the management plan developed for the NCA. Scientific support and recommendations will come from a team of USGS scientists representing disciplines such as surface- and ground-water hydrology, geomorphology and erosion, and biology and ecology. This team will assist the BLM NCA staff in identifying relevant natural resource characteristics and processes. The team also will provide review of the BLM NCA land-use management strategy. Support by USGS scientists would be provided through real-time consulting with BLM staff on science issues related to land management. This would be accomplished by USGS scientists participating in the BLM planning process. In FY 2002, the USGS scientists will identify specific research objectives and areas within the NCA to conduct research. The goal will be to identify data and interpretations to support an integrated assessment of the NCA related to reduction of erosion, associated salinity and selenium loading, and preservation and restoration of threatened and endangered plants and natural community processes (terrestrial and aquatic wildlife). This research would focus on problems specific to the NCA that have transferability to other BLM lands.
- Collect reconnaissance level information to identify specific research site locations and to begin describing the spatial variability within the NCA of erosion rates, bedrock composition, and water-rock interactions related to the release of trace elements and salts. Reconnaissance of biotic components (plants, invertebrates, fish, and possibly animals) will be coordinated with sampling of water, rock, soil, and sediment. This biotic sampling will aid in describing the spatial variability within the NCA and relate directly to the efforts describing the variability of abiotic components (water, rock, soil, and sediment). Linkages between biological resources (plants, invertebrates, fish, and possibly animals) and physical habitat (e.g., streamside soils and adjacent upland habitats, sediments, and surface waters) are needed to give BLM managers a holistic view of their biotic and abiotic resources. These reconnaissance level collections of biotic and abiotic samples would subsequently guide field reconnaissance surveys focused on fish (e.g., endangered native species), terrestrial wildlife (e.g., threatened, endangered, or other critical species) and the habitats within the Mancos shale badlands on which these biological resources depend. These data would be used to develop an approach for using visualization technology to manipulate environmental conditions under various land management practices.
Methods and Study Area:
- Identify individuals to represent the science disciplines needed to participate with BLM/NCA staff to develop a coordinated science strategy to support on-the-ground management. This team of USGS scientists should be limited to three or four people who can serve as liaison with BLM staff in the planning process. An initial scoping and planning meeting will be held in Montrose at which time plans for completing objectives 1 and 2 will be developed. Plans for communication on specific science needs will be developed between BLM and USGS personnel working on a specific issue.
- Reconnaissance-level data collection will include identification and, if possible, compilation of historical information including data sets, maps, photos, GIS coverages, and history of the area. The USGS team and the BLM NCA staff will work together using historical data and physiographic information to screen available information to determine where specific research activities are to be done within the NCA. Geomorphic analysis will include outcrop mapping, rill and gully mapping, drainage-network mapping, and quantification of hillslope characteristics such as hillslope gradient, hillslope length, aspect, convexity/concavity, and soil depth. More complex geomorphic analyses could include infiltration measurements and sediment runoff trapping. Rock and soil samples will be collected from different geomorphologic and stratigraphic settings in order to test for differences in element concentrations and to delineate sites appropriate for detailed investigation of controls on trace element residence and availability for mechanical and chemical migration into the hydro-, bio-, and atmospheres. Biotic components (plants, invertebrates, fish, and possibly animals) will be collected in coordination with abiotic sampling efforts. These data will be used to begin development of an approach for the use of visualization techniques. Specific study areas within the NCA will be identified based on results of the planning and reconnaissance done in Objectives 1 and 2.
Project Duration:
Project will begin in the second quarter of FY 2002 through September 30, 2002. Work identified in the planning process will be summarized and budget needs identified for FY 2003 and beyond.
Priority:
Need number 7 from BLM needs list; not sure if this indicates actual BLM priority.
Products and Schedule:
Development of a coordinated science strategy to support on-the-ground management will be one of the products of this effort. In addition, current data will be summarized and data needs identified for developing the integrated science-planning process. Reconnaissance level data collection will be done in FY 2002. These activities will culminate in a planning document developed by the USGS and BLM NCA staff that outlines science needs, plans for meeting these needs, and a scope of work for each research need identified in the planning process.
