The State of Colorado's Biodiversity
In order to assist the Colorado office of The Nature Conservancy with their “Measures of Success” program,
and to provide biodiversity status information to the residents of Colorado, the Colorado Natural
Heritage Program has developed a prototype analysis of the status of Colorado’s biodiversity, using a
“scorecard” approach. Following the three-part model of “effective conservation” developed by The Nature
Conservancy, our scorecard evaluated the status of ecological systems, animals, and rare plants under
three broad categories.
- Biodiversity status (size, quality and landscape integrity)
- Threat status (both current and potential future impacts)
- Protection status
The State of Colorado's Biodiversity Cover
Plants, animals, and ecological systems can only be considered effectively conserved when their biodiversity status is viable, threats have been abated, and land management/ protection is sufficient to ensure the long-term persistence of the element.
The Landscape Disturbance Index developed as part of this project continues to be used in a variety of threat assessment projects.
Left-click to view, and right-click to download.
Below are links to Scorecard Reports
For information, contact
Lee Grunau.
