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NATURALIST'S GUIDE TO THE AMERICAS 



Portions of the area are accessible by 

 auto from Boulder, Loveland, Long- 

 mont, Lyons, Ft. Collins and other 

 R. R. points. The NW. portion may 

 be approached via mail stage from 

 Laramie, Wyo. (U. P. R. R.) to Glen- 

 devey P. O., 55 mi., thence about 10 

 miles to Refuge. Rangers at Boulder, 

 Bellvue (near Ft. Collins) and 2 miles 

 from Glendevey. At west edge of 

 Refuge in Boulder district are Arapaho, 

 Isabel and St. Vrain glaciers. 



Trail End. A licensed game preserve 

 of 200 acres for the propogation of west- 

 ern animals. Reached by auto from 

 Ft. Collins, 43 mi., or Tie Siding Wyo. 

 (U. P. R. R.) 33 mi. 



West Lakes. A reserve of 2560 acres 

 containing lakes which are used by State 

 for trout-spawning purposes. Reached 

 via stage from Ft. Collins to Log Cabin, 

 thence 7 mi. west. 



Proposed Red Rock Lake botanical 

 area, of about 20 acres, should be fenced 

 to exclude stock and perpetuate the 

 great variety of plants to be found in a 

 restricted area. Reached by auto stage, 

 Boulder to Ward, thence distant 1\ mi. 



Grand Mesa National Forest (Colorado) 



Grand Mesa, which forms the main 

 unit of the Forest, is a table-like moun- 

 tain with a top area of 53 sq. mi. and a 

 perimeter of 60 mi . The sides are abrupt 

 and rise over 6000 ft. above the floor of 

 the valley, the top being comparatively 

 level meadow-land interspersed with 

 groves of spruce and fir. The moun- 

 tain owes its existence to a huge lava 

 flow which capped the soft sedimentary 

 formations. Erosion has exposed large 

 cross-sections of the underlying strata, 

 making over 100 lakes just under the 

 volcanic rim or on top of the mesa. 



The flora and fauna characteristic 

 of the altitudinal zones can be very 

 conveniently studied as good roads 

 have been built from the floor of the 

 Colorado and Gunnison Rivers to the 

 top of Grand Mesa, and a range in 

 altitude from 4500 ft. to 10,500 can be 

 traversed in less than three hours. The 

 characteristic vegetation of the desert 



extends to the base of the Grand Mesa; 

 from there up timber is present from the 

 pinyon type up through the oak and 

 aspen to the spruce-balsam. The aspen 

 and spruce belts are rich in plant growth 

 and elk, deer and bear are plentiful, 

 besides a variety of smaller mammals. 

 Beaver are found in every stream upon 

 the Mesa; bird life is abundant; the 

 lily-pad lakes furnish nesting places 

 for waterfowl. 



Forty lakes have been made accessible 

 to automobiles. 



Hotels have been built at three prin- 

 cipal groups. Horses, boats and private 

 cabins are available. Grand Mesa 

 reached by 25-mi. stage from Delta, 

 56 mi. from Grand Junction and 28 

 mi. from Debeque. (All on D. & R. 

 G. W. R. R.) 



Gunnison National Forest (Colorado) 



The forest consists of 43% productive 

 timberland, 19% woodland, chiefly as- 

 pen, 6% brushland, 14% grass or sage- 

 brush, 1% burn not restocking, 17% 

 barren and above timber-line. It is 

 further characterized by extensive burns 

 and large areas of lodgepole pine. 



Crater Lake, an unstocked fresh- 

 water lake lies near the summit of Mt. 

 Gunnison at an elevation of approxi- 

 mately 10,500 ft. Area 40 acres. Sur- 

 rounded on the east, south and west by 

 dense stands of Engelmann spruce and 

 alpine fir. Approached by saddle and 

 pack 17 mi. from Paonia, Colo. (D. & 

 R. G. W. R. R. from Delta) where are 

 good accommodations and ranger. Four 

 miles from end of pack trip to Lake. 



Storm Range Game Refuge is an area 

 of 21 sq. mi. from which grazing is 

 excluded by Forest Service policy. 

 Mostly barren of timber, on a high mesa, 

 bounded on three sides by high cliffs. 

 Forage on the mesa is of alpine type. 

 Reached by horse or on foot, 6 mi. 

 from Baldwin, Colo. (C. & S. R. R. 

 from Gunnison) where there is a 

 ranger. 



Gunnison State Game Refuge (1923) 

 a large area to the north of Sapinero 

 and west of Crested Butte, may be 



