The vast open areas and thousands of acres of land, rugged canyons and terrain, and the semi-arid climate that creates year-round access at Fort Carson make the Colorado installation an ideal training ground for U.S. Army readiness.
These same natural features also contain a blend of plants and animal species, and present unique challenges for the Fort Carson Natural Resources Program. To support the vital training mission, while taking into account the many and varied requirements that come with good land stewardship, Fort Carson’s NR team has put in place a number of habitat restoration and land management projects and has built a successful program.
In its roughly 28-square-mile footprint, Fort Carson contains military and impact training land, along with more than 90,000 acres of actively managed forests, and has several reservoirs, arroyos, creeks, and large expanses of shortgrass prairie. The installation, established during World War II and named for General Kit Carson, also has more than 300,000 acres of land available for public recreation.
“Supporting training while being good stewards of this diverse landscape provides both significant challenges and unique opportunities for the Fort Carson natural resources staff,” said Joe Wyka, the Director of Public Works. “Our goal as a team is to support military readiness through dynamic, integrated, innovative, and cost-effective habitat restoration and management projects.”
To manage this challenge effectively, the NR Branch is divided into teams that focus on core areas: wildlife, invasive species, wetlands, wildland fire and forestry.
Some of the accomplishments of the team in the past year have prevented invasive species growth, others preserved habitat or nurtured species populations. All were part of building a comprehensive understanding of the needs of the installation’s natural environment and the NR team of team’s role in managing it through an Integrated Natural Resources Management Plan.
In 2021, Fort Carson worked with the Center for Environmental Management of Military Lands to revise the integrated wildland fire management plan. The comprehensive plan ensures that prescribed burns and fuel reduction efforts support mission-sensitive species including Pinyon Jays and Monarchs, while still supporting military training objectives. These efforts are part of plans that will minimize damage to irreplaceable and expensive resources and improve safety and emergency response.
In response to increasing concerns about Monarch butterflies, Carson’s NR team adopted proactive measures to study and support this species. This included the creation of 10 acres of high-quality pollinator habitat, and planting of 28 pounds of native flower seeds. These dispersed habitat-island plots provide a variety of milkweeds (essential for Monarchs) and flowers that bloom throughout the season, which will benefit the Monarchs and other pollinators.
Fort Carson is home to 25 species of raptors; however, the shortgrass prairie has limited nesting opportunities for raptors. To support the installation’s raptor population (including the Ferruginous hawk, a species of special concern) biologists installed and actively monitor 34 nesting boxes for use and fledging success rates. Additionally, the team records the raptor’s nest box preferences to improve the success rates of future nests. During 2022, 17 of these nests were utilized, primarily by Ferruginous hawks. Fort Carson biologists are also conducting Pinyon Jay surveys to help preserve that species, which has been declining in recent years. The NR team is mapping their occurrence on the installation and collaborating with the Fort Carson Fire Department to create prescribed burn plans that protect and enhance Pinyon Jay habitat and reduce the chance of fire destroying pinyon-juniper habitat.
Fort Carson also provides a home to 15 species of bats, including the tri-colored bat (proposed endangered species), the little brown bat (under federal review), and Townsend’s big-eared bat (a species of special concern). The installation partnered with Arizona Fish and Game to conduct a full baseline survey, including installing acoustic monitoring equipment throughout the installation, performing numerous nights of mist netting surveys, and conducting exploratory canyon and mine surveys for maternity roosts and hibernacula.
The Colorado Checkered Whiptail is an endemic reptile species with significant populations on the installation. This all-female species could become federally listed in the foreseeable future, potentially impacting the availability of training lands. To be proactive and build a greater understanding, Fort Carson partnered with Utah State University, Colorado State University, and Colorado Natural Heritage Program researchers to examine the levels of stress hormones within the lizards when exposed to aviation noise. The data collected suggests that flyovers do not negatively impact the stress hormones CORT (corticosterone), and ROM (reactive oxygen metabolites) of the reptile. However, the lizards did display resiliency and spent less time moving but more time eating during flyovers. These data are being used to develop mitigation strategies in the lizard’s high density (core habitat) areas.
“The number of programs and projects our team engages in is truly impressive, and it takes this comprehensive approach, integration, collaboration and coordination to successfully meet the challenges we face,” said Tom Joyce, the Deputy Garrison Commander. “We thrive on enabling Army readiness and making a difference.”
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