Wildlife losing ground in Rockies

The Rocky Mountains were once home to some of America's most diverse wildlife, but human population growth could be squeezing many species out of existence. That's one of the key findings of the 2009 State of the Rockies Report Card, an annual report published by Colorado College students and researchers on the social, economic and environmental health of the Rocky Mountain region. The report will be the subject of a three-day public symposium starting Sunday. "We think of wildlife as pretty abundant in the Rockies," said Liz Kolbe, program coordinator for the State of the Rockies. "But as people have spread west, (wildlife species) have been extirpated from most of their habitat, so we're pretty lucky to still have them where we do." This year's report focused on wildlife and rivers, as well as demographic changes affecting the eight Rocky Mountain states - Colorado, Wyoming, Nevada, Idaho, Montana, Utah, Arizona and New Mexico. In the past 150 years, elk have lost 74 percent of their range, and cougars have lost 36 percent. At the same time, coyote range has increased 40 percent. Animal-vehicle collisions increased 50 percent from 1990 to 2004. The authors point to growing cities, more roads and increased energy production in the Rocky Mountain states. Only 6.8 percent of residents hunt, down from a high of 17.7 percent 36 years ago. In the Wyoming town of Pinedale, where energy companies are drilling into the nation's second-largest natural gas field, the mule deer population declined 46 percent from 2000 to 2004. "Wildlife is being constricted into smaller habitat areas and populations face non-endemic diseases, climate change, introduced species and other human impacts," the report states. Much of the growth has occurred in six "megapolitans," including Colorado's Front Range. The report says 82.5 percent of the population in the Rocky Mountain states lives in urban areas, compared with the national average of 79 percent. Outside of major population centers, life in small communities is dominated by recreation and service economies, while mining makes up just 19 percent of rural jobs. The Rockies region continues to grow at a faster pace than the rest of the nation, 18 percent from 2000 to 2007, compared with 7 percent nationwide. Median home values are higher here, $225,000 versus $194,300, and average rent is lower. The median age is 35, two years below the national average. The median household income is $50,918. Colorado has the highest in the region, $55,212, which is a 3 percent decrease from 2000, the only state to see a drop. "We are diverse, well-educated and earn more money than we used to. Our homes are worth more, our rent is cheaper and we continue to see strong job growth. Perhaps the most critical indicator of all, the region's population is still growing swiftly, at 2.6 times faster than the U.S. population," the report states. A copy of the report will be posted at www.stateoftherockies.com in the coming days.