Allerlei - Echo Canyon & the Stream Orchid
Echo Canyon is located in western Colorado. It's intermittent drainage flows generally northwards and eventually joins another intermittent stream in No Thoroughfare Canyon. The subject of this webpage is the small portion of the one-half mile long segment of Echo Canyon in the Colorado National Monument that is home to the endemic Stream Orchid, Epipactis gigantea.
The following excerpt is from: Epipactis gigantea Dougl. ex Hook.(stream orchid):A Technical Conservation Assessment, prepared for the USDA Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Region, Species Conservation Project, March 20, 2006, by Joe Rocchio, Maggie March, and David G. Anderson. Colorado Natural Heritage Program, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO:
"Epipactis gigantea (stream orchid) is a sensitive species in the Rocky Mountain Region (Region 2) of the USDA Forest Service; it is not designated sensitive by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) in Colorado or Wyoming. NatureServe ranks this species as globally vulnerable to apparently globally secure (G3G4). The state heritage ranks in Region 2 range from critically imperiled (S1) in Wyoming and South Dakota to imperiled (S2) in Colorado.
The global distribution of Epipactis gigantea extends from southern British Columbia through the western United States, reaching inland as far as Texas, with one collection from central Mexico. Throughout its wide range, it occurs infrequently but can be locally abundant. Epipactis gigantea occupies a variety of habitats; because it requires a constant supply of water, suitable habitats include seeps, springs, and perennial streams.
Forty-one occurrences of Epipactis gigantea are known from Region 2; the majority of these occurrences (32) and much of the species' habitat are on public lands. Fifteen occurrences are on land managed by the BLM, and 13 occurrences are on National Park Service land. Only two occurrences are on NFS lands: one on the Black Hills National Forest and one on the San Juan National Forest. Six occurrences are under unknown management, three are on private land, one occurrence is on land managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and one occurs on the Ute Mountain Ute Reservation.
Estimates of abundance of these occurrences vary from a few to thousands of plants. These estimates represent the number of aboveground stems (ramets) as opposed to number of individual plants. NatureServe estimates that the actual number of genets (genetic individuals) is low, but there are many thousands of ramets of Epipactis gigantea across its range."
Here is the link to the full paper: Orchid Assessment PDF Download
The preceding photo, and all the rest on this page, were taken by myself, Jim Fuchs. The 1993 photos were taken in late May. The 1994 and 2006 photos are from early June. Dated notes are from my field observations. My background includes a lifelong interest in the natural world, a degree in forestry, and work as a professional soil scientist.
Photos: 1993 (left). A few hundred feet downstream from the orchids. 2006 (right).
Photos: 1993 (left). At a seep. Left photo is mostly bare rock. Note the soil deposition by 2006 (right).
The stream bottom in 2006 was 30 - 40 inches higher up the rock wall than in 1993!
Photo: June 2007. At seep. Filling up! Stream bottom a few inches higher than last year.
1993
Mid-May: 7 plants at seep blooming (seep extends left of photo). There are about 700 plants (above ground stems) in the immediate area.
June 19: Seep orchids done blooming. Others are in full bloom.
Photos: 1994 Cow pie and grazed orchids at the 'alcove'.
1994
May 6: Cattle tracks seen at orchid site. I brought this to the Park Service's attention. They said that someone will check on it.
June 2: Only a handful of orchids of any size and only a few are blooming.
June 3: Took photos. Orchids near the spring were OK a few weeks ago. Now they have been grazed down to only a few inches
so there won't be any flowers there this year. Only 6 orchids blooming in all areas. A Park Service ranger said he would check on things.
Photos: 1993 (left). The orchids at the seep. Grazed heavily in 1994 (right). The tall plant is not an orchid. The angle in the rock in 1993 photo is at the top edge of the 1994 photo.
August 20: Official Park Service letter quoted below:
"Dear Mr. Fuchs:
We received your written notification of a cattle grazing encroachment and the subsequent destruction of several orchid plants into Echo Canyon of the Colorado National Monument. A recent field inspection conducted by myself, the monument's Facility Manager, Resource Management Staff, and several park ranger and maintenance employees revealed that such an encroachment did indeed occur. It was discovered that in the canyon drainage, water flow had destroyed our boundary fence for some time now. Without there being any similar fence barrier on the adjacent BLM land, nothing prevented these cattle from entering onto the monument.
The State of Colorado, however, does not require adjoining ranchers to be responsible for fencing their cattle off neighboring lands, and as such, neighboring landowners are responsible for constructing barriers to keep cattle off their land. In our case, it is the responsibility of the BLM and the monument to fence these cattle out. We can therefore place no liability on the cattle owner for this encroachment.
We are in full agreement with your comments, that this as a serious problem that must be addressed as soon as possible. Unfortunately, the National Park Service has not the funds to budget fence construction and maintenance for the monument on a continual yearly basis. As for now, neither do we have any additional funds for this project. It is our understanding that the cattle will not be in our vicinity until next spring, and as such, we do not anticipate any immediate threat of the cattle returning any time soon. One alternative which we will propose the BLM, is a joint project of cost sharing. Hopefully with their funds, and our maintenance crew, a fence will be constructed on the adjoining BLM land. This should not only immediately prevent cattle form encroaching, but because of its more suitable construction site, will also provide a more enduring barrier from the forces of gushing stream currents.
We are optimistic that the BLM will go along with our proposal. In any event, we are very concerned with the protection of Echo Canyon, and regardless of any arrangement or not, we intend to see that such an encroachment does not occur again.
You are to be applauded for your vigilant concern, and for bringing this matter to our attention with such detailed factual information, Our Chief of Resource Management is very interested in any before and after photographs that you may have, and at no expense to you, may wish to have them reproduced for a record file. Please feel free to contact Patrick Perrotti at 858-3617. He will be more that (sic) glad to answer any further questions you may have regarding this encroachment; and if you desire, will keep you abreast of any measures taken as they occur.
Again, please let us express our deep appreciation and thanks for your written concerns. Good neighbors of the Colorado National Monument like you are the greatest asset for the lasting protection of this most valuable and beautiful resource.
Sincerely,
Judith Cordava Superintendent"
September 18: Maximum height of orchids this year was 4 inches (regrowth after grazing).
Photos: 1994 (left). Alcove is in the middle of the photo. 2006 (right).
1995
January 14: No fence in place. Colorado National Monument said that they were trying to get volunteer help.
February 26: San Juan Chapter of the Colorado Native Plant Society told me I should go through the Colorado National Monument channels.
February 27: Colorado National Monument said they would put up a fence in the spring.
March 5: Not much orchid activity yet.
March 27: About 30 orchids in loose clusters coming up, 1/2" - 1" tall. Colorado National Monument said that nothing was started on the fence but they were talking about it.
April 4: Colorado National Monument said that the fence was now considered a maintenance project. The adjacent land is private (not BLM) so the BLM will not fund a fence.
April 14: Lots of cattle tracks at the orchid site.
April 17: A member of the board of directors of the Colorado National Monument Association said that she would check on it but it was really not their job (the CNMA is a private entity).
A Colorado National Monument staff member said that -
1) He cares but that budget cuts came to 60%. There was little money for anything except law enforcement. (Here is a quote from the 1994 Colorado National Monument letter that was sent to me, "As I'm sure you area aware, grazing of any kind is strictly prohibited within the boundaries of Colorado National Monument." - so much for law enforcement!)
2) The regional director knows of the situation
3) Their was nothing he could do, but he would not arrest me if I put up a fence myself!
4) I should write to my elected officials.
April 23: Abundant cattle tracks. So far the orchids are OK but some have been grazed.
April 26: The Colorado National Monument said they would string up some barbed wire on the 28th.
April 30: No fence.
May 1: Fence is up!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
May 14: Fence is intact. No cattle.
June 5: Fence is intact. No cattle but lots of human tracks.
1996
May 4: Orchids 4"-6" tall. Fence has been destroyed by hikers so that they would not have to climb over it. No cattle. Two people are tent camping immediately downstream from the orchids.
1997
March 17: Fence is useless. Highly vandalized. No orchids up yet.
Photos: Grazed in 1994 (left)but there were still many hundreds of orchids on the floor of the alcove. No orchids in the 2006 (right) photo except for a few at the stream bank.
1998
June 8: Colorado National Monument has put up trail signs to Echo Canyon. No cattle evident. There are about 60 orchids in the alcove upstream from the spring, a few years ago there were many hundreds of orchids there. Only a few orchids are tall enough to bloom. They are being choked out by yellow clover, alfalfa, and grasses, that were brought in by the cattle. There are still orchids a little downstream along the creek bank and at the seep.
1999 - 2000
No notes.
2001
April 26: 50 orchids over a large area and another 50 in a cluster along the creek bank. There are NO orchids at the alcove. None at all. They went from many hundreds to zero at the alcove in 8 years! Very thick grass at the old orchid locations.
June 5: Total of 140 orchids in Echo Canyon, 75 in bloom. They are scattered along the creek bank and there are no large concentrations of them anymore. Some cattails have moved into the the lower creek section. Not as much yellow clover and alfalfa as in the previous years after the cattle introduced them. About one year ago the Mesa County Conservancy Association got an easement across private land into Echo Canyon. Lots more people in the canyon now but fortunately no cattle.
2002
No notes.
2003
April 30: Only saw 7 orchids, none at the 'alcove'. Stream seems to be silting up this year.
2004
May 26: Only 5 orchids seen.
2005
No notes.
2006
May 26: Only 20 orchids (But this was a count by flashlight as I was in Echo at night to tape frog and toad calls).
June 6: A better count by daylight. 158 orchids in total. The orchids are scattered at seeps or along the east bank north of the alcove. There are 24 orchids south of the alcove which I had never seen before - these are scattered on each bank or near the cliff. There are no orchids at the alcove except for a few at its stream bank and a few at the very far northern edge. The majority of orchids are not blooming and many are quite small. Only saw, and destroyed, 3 yellow clover and 1 alfalfa plants, each less than 8 inches tall. Lots of clematis in the area.
June 23: I went back to record frogs and toads but did not hear any. Probably too late in the season. There are numerous small tadpoles. The orchids seem to be mostly done blooming but I did not check them closely. I did check more on the stream deposition from 1993 to 2006. I took some new photos and measured distances on the cliff wall and estimated that the deposition was about 30 - 40+ inches near the big seep! There is less deposition upstream but it still has affected the environs - a perennial spring (upstream from the seep) which used to flow down a short rocky slope before meeting with the stream now lies directly in the stream itself.
Graph of Orchid Abundance at Echo Canyon. Orchids were grazed in the Spring of 1994 and 1995. The 1995 tally is a guesstimate from my notes. The 1996 tally is from the aforementioned USDA Forest Service Paper (Rocchio, March, Anderson), p.17, record #8.
Autumn 2006: I met with the Park superintendent and other rangers. They expressed interest in the orchid decline. I will follow up with Park rangers in the Spring of 2007. If the alcove can not be rehabilitated in regards to orchids then perhaps at least some measure of protection can be afforded to the remaining plants located nearby.
2007
April 17: Walked to the orchid site with a Park ranger. Not much happening yet; too early in the year. A handful of orchids are up. At this point in time it seems that habitat change over the past few years is the primary obstacle to orchid restoration. It would seem impractical, and probably unwise, to attempt to influence the rapid erosion of the canyon walls and the subsequent deposition on the canyon floor.
June 19: Stream bed is a few inches higher than last year (see photo). More cattails, sedges, willows, and narrow leaf cottonwoods growing in the canyon. Only counted 50 orchids in all areas. A few are still blooming.
Photo: April 17, 2007 - view of the orchid site in Echo Canyon from about 200 feet high.
Discussion
In 1993 there were 700 orchids in the Echo Canyon habitat. That number was reduced to 100 by 1998 (Note: When I refer to a number of orchid plants it is really to the number of stems I counted. I made no studies to separate seed produced plants from ramet plants). What happened to all the missing plants? Well, they weren't exactly missing - they were dead. There have been many stream bank changes over the years and I would make the assumption that those environmental changes were most important in the decline of orchids along the stream bank.
There is a different story at the alcove. There was something like 400 orchids on the flat terrain at the alcove in 1993. The distance from the stream bank protected the alcove orchid colony from being affected by stream bank fluctuations. Their numbers were impacted however by cattle grazing in each of two consecutive Springs. The loss of orchids came perhaps not so much directly from grazing (though it did reduce flowering) as from the long term effects of invasive species introduction. There were incredible amounts of alfalfa, yellow clover, and grasses introduced by the cattle. These invaders choked off the orchids and dried out their habitat. The orchids died and have not been able to recover in the alcove. It is encouraging that there was almost no alfalfa or yellow clover found in 2006. I suppose that I have pulled out my share of those invaders but there are probably other reasons for their disappearance (perhaps through Colorado National Monument efforts). It is sad that this situation ever happened - all because some bozo decided that he wanted to be a Colorado cowboy and because the Colorado National Monument dragged their feet on building a fence. Maybe the orchids can stage a comeback but I am not sure how successful that can be without human intervention.
On a lighter note, it is encouraging that there are 24 orchids upstream from the alcove that I had not seen before. The orchids are spread out upstream and down a little farther than in the past. That alone may give the remaining Echo Canyon orchids some protection from extirpation. Also, as noted earlier on this page, the Stream Orchid is not in any immediate danger of becoming extinct in America. It is locally abundant at places throughout the western United States and British Columbia. But in my 'backyard' it is in real danger! I wish I could have enlisted more help and been more stubborn with the Park Service when I first noticed the cattle invasion. If I had, then perhaps the Echo Canyon orchids would be in a healthier state of affairs today.
If you have read this far you must have some interest in the orchids. Here is how I approach the site. I step on rocks and avoid leaving footprints. I avoid stepping in the stream. I never take guests unless they care about the welfare of the Echo Canyon habitat. I do not collect orchids or move them from where they are found.
The Colorado National Monument has signs leading to Echo Canyon and, as of June 2006, an REI site lists Echo Canyon as a great hike for kids. So, this webpage - good, bad, or of no consequence? Considering that cattle and natural habitat destruction were responsible for most of the orchid decline I hope that this site will not lead to further loss. With any luck more people will encourage the Colorado National Monument to protect this valuable resource.
Photos from Echo Canyon
Petroglyphs are not in Echo Canyon but are on the way to it. Some bozo used chalk on the petrogyphs, probably so they would show up in photos better. Please be nice to the petroglyphs!