Executive Summary Description - Central Colorado makes up the bulk of the Southern Rockies, which extend into northern New Mexico and southern Wyoming. Steep, rugged mountains cover this region, and vegetation varies greatly on the basis of elevation and aspect.
Alpine tundra gives way to various coniferous forests often with aspen intermixed.
Ponderosa pine is at lower elevations, pinyon-juniper below that, and grasslands in the lowest areas. Because of topography, weather, avalanches, fire, insect outbreaks, and disease, forests in the Southern Rocky Mountains tend to be patchier than in many other areas. The landscape is thus a complex mosaic of open meadows and forest stands of varying age and species composition. This subspecies is limited in distribution to this and the Colorado Plateau physiographic areas, and is likely to soon be designated as a separate species. The nominate subspecies also occurs in this physiographic area.