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Wild Connections Conservation Plan
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The Wild Connections Conservation Plan (WCCP) was created by people who share a deep concern for the well-being of public lands spread across the Arkansas and South Platte headwaters basins. From hunters and hikers to biologists and volunteer mappers, they worked together to map the boundaries of 100 roadless areas, explore some of central Colorado’s wildest lands, and apply the science of conservation biology. Over a decade, they developed and refined a landscape wide vision of a network of protected core areas and wildlife linkages. The Wild Connections Conservation Plan describes how this vision can be a reality where it counts – in the everyday policies and management of the Pike-San Isabel National Forests, BLM and state lands.
The WCCP, published in 2006, will be reviewed prior to the next revision of the PSI Forest Plan which is unlikely to occur until several other forest plans are completed. While the original data is accurate to the best of our knowledge, conditions on the ground have changed. Please contact us if you have new information.
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- The WCCP is organized around major geographic features into 11 complexes: Arkansas Canyons, Mosquito Range, Mt. Evans (Mount Blue Sky*) High Peaks, Pikes Peak Massif, Rampart Range, Sangre de Cristo, Sawatch Range, South Paak, South Platte Canyons, Spanish Peaks and Wet Mountains. They encompass the Pike-San Isabel National Forest (PSI), but are spread across the entire geography which includes BLM, National Park Service, State, County and privately owned lands. Management recommendations are intended only for the PSI and BLM lands. WCCP outline
- Introduction and description of the Pike-San Isabel National Forests and Comanche National Grasslands and general threats to public lands.
- Wild Connections methodology includes the components of the core reserve system and the three-track approach to network design.
- Forest-wide management recommendations for broad categories such as grazing, fire management, invasive species, etc.
- Thematic planning framework for management emphases on specific parcels of land across the forest, for example Wilderness, quiet use areas, motorized recreation, etc.
- Geographic complexes descriptions with ecology, natural values and a summary of management.