Archeologists working on
federal land in Southwest Colorado have recently confirmed the oldest human
settlement in the Americas, almost 35,000 years old, which blows out of
the water the traditional idea that humans only came to the Americas about
14,000 years ago, or less. The federal government has acted quickly,
deciding to add the site and thousands of surrounding acres to the National
Park System.
The park sits between 4000
and 6000 feet in elevation, sloping from NW to SE. It receives approximately
18 inches of rain per year, more in the NW, less toward the SE, making
it semi-arid. The vegetation is dominated by pinon pine in the NW,
through scrubby bushes in the central part of the park, to predominantly
grassland in the SE. The most prominent landform is a heavily weathered
volcanic mountain just NW of the center of the park. There are no
known economically feasible mineral deposits in the park, but there is
significant groundwater in the NW portion of the park. Other notable
features are listed below:
1 - This is the site that was mentioned above. It is only partially excavated, and research work is ongoing.
2 - This is the habitat of an endangered bird that is only found here.
3 - This is the only riparian (riverside) habitat in the park, so it is frequented by many animals such as antelope, deer, coyotes, rabbits, etc.
4 - This is an old mining village consisting of some rotting/rusting buildings and one collapsed shaft into the mountain.
5 - This is an area used by ORVs and motorcycles (informal, no permits).
6 - This is the pinon woodland, many deer and other small animals here.
7 - Here is a cliff that is home to a small ecosystem of birds, rodents, etc.
8 - This is where a fire has recently gone through, leaving shrubs and grass blackened.
Your job is to use the Natural Resource Management guide I gave you to come up with a skeleton of a plan, including an introduction to the park. Focus on the areas that I highlighted. You can also use your imagination to come up with others if you wish. Length - 5 pages.