This post was originally published on YVSC’s Substack newsletter, Climate Corner, and is a collaboration with the Creative Climate Action Substack by Jill Bergman. Subscribe here to get future stories like this one sent right to your email inbox.
Missy Dressen, right, works with a group of volunteers on a one rock dam in California Park as part of a Yampa Valley Sustainability Council restoration project.
The wide variety of life on earth is described by the term “biodiversity,” a contraction of the words biological and diversity that was first used in the 1980s.
Biodiversity covers all species and how they work together, from the largest plants and animals down to fungi and bacteria. Living beings are interconnected and dependent on each other in a variety of different ways.
Unfortunately, many species and ecosystems are struggling. According to Nature Serve’s report, Biodiversity in Focus, “34% of plants and 40% of animals are at risk of extinction, and 41% of ecosystems are at risk of range-wide collapse.” Northwest Colorado is also experiencing these challenges.
Threats to biodiversity and extinctions of species are not just concerning for those studying the natural world. Our food, water, medicine, and building materials come from our planet’s resources, so biodiversity is of importance to all people.
A Columbian sharp-tailed grouse, a Species of Special Concern in Colorado, photo by Jeremiah Psiropoulos.
The World Wildlife Fund’s 2024 Living Planet Report states that the average size of the 5,000 global wildlife populations they measured between 1970 and 2020 have fallen by 73% in those 50 years.
Loss of habitat from land conversion to agriculture is currently the biggest driver of biodiversity loss worldwide. Climate change has also altered ecosystems on land and water, and is expected to take the lead as the reason for the largest losses in the future.
Colorado Parks and Wildlife has information specific to Colorado wildlife on the Threatened or Endangered Species List, or about the State’s conservation and reintroduction efforts.
“When we remove one aspect of a living system, we can disrupt the balance,” said Steamboat Springs Wildlife Biologist Missy Dressen. “Scientists have identified over 1.6 million species on earth; however, conservation biologists estimate there are 7 million species yet to be identified. We are quickly losing species before we can identify them.”
An unassuming evergreen now saves lives
It might be common knowledge that biodiversity is important for healthy ecosystems; what might be lesser known is that undiscovered species are also key to scientific advancements like creating new medicines.
“The Pacific yew tree is one that often comes to mind,” Dressen said. “The bark of the yew tree was discovered to have anti-cancer properties and developed to be known as the drug Taxol. Now, synthetic versions of Taxol are one of the most common drugs prescribed for fighting cancer.”
The slow growing Pacific yew tree doesn’t stand alone. It is part of a food web that is integral to its old growth forest ecosystem and a host to specific moths and beetles. Even when there isn’t a direct link from nature to a human benefit like in the case of Taxol, species have important connections to each other and their own inherent value.
For the love of nature
Some of our Colorado animals are loved because of their wild beauty. Living in this western Rocky Mountain state, we appreciate wildlife and understand that this is also their home. Our culture has shifted over the last century from wanting to eliminate most predators, to respecting their right to be on the landscape, their benefit to the ecosystem, and their need to be protected from extinction.
Lynx, linocut with gouache by Jill Bergman.
The Canada lynx is an example of a threatened species now found in mountain ranges in southern Colorado. Lynx had disappeared from the state by the mid 1970s because of trapping, poisoning and loss of habitat, but were reintroduced starting in 1999, according to Colorado Parks and Wildlife. The population is now stable at around 75 to 100 animals in the core area of the San Juan Mountains.
The main prey for lynx are snowshoe hares, so forest managers are keeping the hare’s preferences for low vegetation and young evergreens in mind. Maintaining a healthy snowshoe hare population supports lynx.
“The lynx is elusive, often hunting at night, and thus rarely seen,” Dressen said. “With its distinctive tufted ears, thick fur, and large feet, this wild cat is perfectly adapted to thrive in cold, winter climates with deep fluffy snow for extended periods of time.”
Having the lynx back living in our Colorado mountains doesn’t directly benefit people, but having this native animal on the landscape does help bring balance. Fighting climate change to maintain our winters will help the lynx, and our local skiers and riders enjoy the deep snow that winter can bring.
Beavers building benefits
Supporting biodiversity isn’t just about reintroducing and protecting animals like lynx, but also includes learning about the connections between species and their habitat.
As Aldo Leopold says in his book “Round River,” “If the land mechanism as a whole is good, then every part is good, whether we understand it or not…To keep every cog and wheel is the first precaution of intelligent tinkering.”
Beavers were once abundant throughout North America, and then almost hunted to extinction for their fur. They can now be seen building their lodges and dams in many streams in Colorado.
Photo by Jeremiah Psiropoulos.
“Beavers create dams, flood wetlands, and in turn provide habitat for nesting birds, breeding habitat for fish and amphibians, and hold water for all wildlife,” said Dressen.
These ecosystem engineers show us how one species can affect landscape functions and increase the diversity of a variety of plants and animals in the area.
“We appreciate the benefit of beaver dams to hold water during drought periods. In the past, settlers perceived beavers as pests because they were holding water needed for livestock or agriculture,” said Dressen. “We now recognize that, if spread across a whole watershed, an appreciable amount can be retained to provide water later in the summer for wildlife, agriculture, and maintaining instream flows for recreational boating and angling.”
This year’s One Book Steamboat community read is “Eager: The Surprising, Secret Life of Beavers and Why They Matter,” by Ben Goldfarb. Visit the Bud Werner Memorial Library to learn more about the book and associated beaver events in Steamboat Springs.
A local species facing challenges
In her time in the Yampa Valley, Dressen has seen some species go locally extinct. In the past, “the boreal toad could be found in many locations, but I have witnessed the collapse of several breeding sites,” she said. “The impacts can be attributed to recreation, grazing, and climate change, but most likely chytrid fungus, a pathogen that is causing global declines of amphibians.”
Human activity has unintentionally spread this fungus around the world causing the decline or extinction of over 200 species of frogs and other amphibians, and is a concern locally.
Boreal Toad, linocut with gouache by Jill Bergman.
“Amphibians are an important indicator of ecosystem health,” said Dressen. “We look to amphibians to evaluate water quality, riparian habitat, pollution, and climate change due to their permeable skin and sensitivity to their environment.”
Because the boreal toads were listed as an endangered species in Colorado, they became part of a 20 year long conservation and reintroduction effort. Toads are making a comeback and starting to reproduce in the wild in some areas.
Humans helping habitat
By protecting or restoring habitat, people are able to help reduce the challenges and threats to wildlife. Ecosystems that function well are not only good homes for animals, but they also fight climate change by sequestering carbon through healthy vegetation and storing and filtering water.
Sandhill cranes enjoy an area of wet meadow recently restored in California Park. Photo by Ryan Messinger.
“Zeedyk structures, otherwise known as ‘one rock dams’ are a great example of mitigating, or fighting, climate change,” Dressen said. “Yampa Valley Sustainability Council (YVSC) has been an important partner to the U.S. Forest Service in building one rock dams in California Park.”
Since starting this work in California Park, YVSC has built 141 structures with volunteers, equating to 11.13 acres of wet meadow habitat restored.
Sign up for YVSC’s newsletter here to get notified about opportunities to help YVSC build one rock dams in California Park in northern Routt County.
“One rock dams can be built where erosion is occurring along waterways. This slows the movement of water down, holds it in intermittent streams longer, and increases riparian habitat,” said Dressen.
These small rock dams work on water the way beavers would if they were in the area, slowing streams into ponds, collecting sediment, and making a fertile place for plants and wildlife. This means more habitat for amphibians, ungulates like deer, elk, and pronghorn, and birds like sandhill cranes and Greater sage-grouse who hunt for insects to feed their chicks.
Protecting wildlife and conserving or restoring their habitat may not have a quick and obvious benefit to people in the area. But the biodiversity of plants, animals, and ecosystems are interconnected, and have their own inherent values and benefits to each other. Wetlands, meadows, and forests in our region, with a mix of native vegetation and wildlife, are working behind the scenes to lessen the impacts of drought and climate change to the benefit of all.
Jill Bergman, YVSC Creative Climate Communications Associate | 13 March 2025
