About Us - Colorado Natural Heritage Program

Colorado shortgrass prairie under an open sky — Central Shortgrass Prairie at the Pawnee National Grassland, CO. Photo by Michael Menefee.

Shrubland valley with red rock canyon and mesa — Southeastern Colorado Canyons along the Purgatoire River Watershed

CNHP field staff surveying plants in a meadow — CNHP and BLM Ecologists test preliminary wetland monitoring methods.

Landownership	Area (km2)	Percent (%)
Private	63,447	65.4
Federal	14,021	14.5
State	9,347	9.6
Indigenous lands	7,779	8.0
NGO/private conservation	2,250	2.3
Local/Regional	100	0.1
Total	96,944	100

Overlap of top 10% high conservation potential areas with land ownership types

State	Area (km2)	Percent (%)
Colorado	24,084	24.8
Montana	19,401	20.0
South Dakota	19,331	19.9
Wyoming	18,947	19.5
New Mexico	7,082	7.3
Nebraska	2,525	2.6
Arizona	1,845	1.9
Texas	1,552	1.6
Oklahoma	1,059	1.1
North Dakota	699	0.7
Kansas	420	0.4
Total	96,944	100

Lands with high conservation potential (Top 10%) for the prairie dog ecosystem, by state.