Scientific Basis for Wilderness in Colorado

In God's wildness lies the hope of the world: the great, fresh, unblighted, unredeemed wilderness. The galling harness of civilization drops off, and wounds heal ere we are aware.
--John Muir, John of the Mountains

The Science of Wilderness Protection

The Central Colorado Wilderness Coalition (CCWC) relies on solid science in order to back up our vision and proposals. Specifically, the Southern Rockies Ecosystem Project (SREP) supports us with the detailed scientific data and background information essential in creating a viable and effective proposal. SREP, founded in 1992, is a non-profit conservation biology organization working to protect and restore large, continuous networks of land in the Southern Rockies ecoregion of Colorado, Wyoming and New Mexico. SREP has generously provided scientific and mapping expertise not only to CCWC but to other local, regional and national conservation groups and governmental agencies.

For over a decade, SREP in collaboration with the Wildlands Project and Denver Zoo has labored to complete a detailed analysis of the ecological status of the Southern Rockies, including such major factors as land use history, social and economic issues, the status of native species and the conditions of both land and water ecosystems. SREP published their findings in the “State of the Southern Rockies Ecosystem Report” (2000) which then became the foundation for a detailed, proactive and achievable blueprint for protecting and restoring the Southern Rockies ecoregion. This blueprint, “The Southern Rockies Wildlands Network Vision“ (2003) utilizes complex computer modeling, expert opinions and plant and key species habitat suitability analysis in order to define specific areas with a corresponding optimal management classification recommendation so that wild nature and humans can coexist.

CCWC’s proposals are deeply rooted in SREP’s scientific Vision. All of CCWC’s currently proposed Wild-10 areas are identified as Core Wilderness Areas (CWA’s) in SREP’s Wildlands Network Vision. For more detail or to download the reports, please visit SREP’s website.

Another science-based organization, The Wildlands Project, promotes an even broader wildlands network vision across North America. The Spine of the Continent envisions a series of overlapping wildlands designs from the Yukon in the far north to Sonora in Mexico. SREP’s vision for the Southern Rockies is an integral part of this mega-linkage. Please visit The Wildlands Project.