4B+Roan+Plateau

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**The Roan Plateau**

For the description of this wonderful ecosystem let’s start with the abiotic parts of it. The climate on the Roan Plateau is classified as mid-latitude winter- dry. This climate is characterized by strong seasonal variations in temperature and precipitation. Maritime tropical air masses in the summer cause convectional storms, while cold continental polar air masses in the winter bring snow. Typically, the summer and early fall are the wettest months and the winters are cold and dry. Precipitation averages 10.87 in. a year with 39% occurring from July to October. The climate is hot and dry in the summer and the plateau gets lots of sun. Now that we have that lets go on to the physical description of the area. The Roan Plateau is is an upland area characterized by steep cliffs on the southern and eastern edges and along Parachute Creek. The top of the plateau contains broad and interfluviall ridges and steep drainages that flow to the west into Parachute Creek or south into the Colorado River. The highest elevation on the plateau is 9,286 ft. at Anvil Point. Below the plateau rim the topography slopes to the south and east toward the Colorado River and Government Creek. The lowest elevation on the plateau is 5,060 ft. at the Colorado River near Parachute. Numerous streams are present on top of the Plateau. Now here's the discription of the biological parts of the ecosystem of the Roan Plateau. The Roan plateau is an extremely biodiverse area of Colorado. It even contains (among other rare plants and animals) the most genetically pure group of cutthroat trout on the planet. It is also home to many animals like elk, mule deer, moose, fish, owls, birds, wolves, lynx, and prairie dogs. The plants that the Roan Plateau contains include sagebrush, pinyon pine, juniper, broad leaf and narrow leaf cottonwood, and alder. Some of the small shrubbery that is found on the Plateau includes the Debeque Milkvetch, Parachute Penstemon. These are all very important to the ecosystem. The ecosystem on the Roan Plateau is one of the most biodiverse in Colorado. It contains many rare and genetically pure species such as the cutthroat trout. Since the cutthroat trout on the Roan Plateau have not bred with other types of fish, they are a rare sample of a species whose population is rapidly diminishing. Many other animals and plants call the Roan Plateau their home as well including many keystone species. That means that their extinction would result in widespread harm to many other species. For example, if the sun suddenly burned out, many species of plants would die off because they need the sun to live. Then the herbivores would starve to death, then the primary consumers would be without food and they would die also, and so on. Because of this it is imperative that we take action immediately to save this pristine area.
 * Description of ecosystem:**
 * The importance of the Roan Plateau**

**Threats to the Roan Plateau** The Bureau of Land Management recently made the decision to open most of the public lands on top of the Roan Plateau to oil and gas drilling companies. Initially, it looked like there would be no more than 200 wells drilled in the next 20 years and the Bureau ruled that this would not adversely affect the ecosystem on the Roan Plate​au. Unfortunately, recent information suggests that drilling companies plan to drill around 3000 wells in the next 20 years. This would cause irreparable harm to the ecosystem and is an eventuality that must be averted before it is too late.

**Conservation Plan** If the oil and gas companies are allowed unrestricted access to the Roan Plateau, they will irreparably damage the unique ecosystem of the Roan Plateau by drilling wells in this pristine environment. In order to save the Roan Plateau and ensure that this rare and diverse ecosystem is preserved it is imperative that we take action immediately. Due to recent data concerning the amount of wells that may be drilled on the Plateau, the BLM **must** rethink their decision to allow oil and gas companies to drill in that area. Although it is important that the people of the region get cheap energy, drilling on the Roan Plateau is not the way to do that. The natural gas there can be accessed in a variety of different ways. One of these is by drilling into the side of the plateau so that the top will not be disturbed. Oil drilling technology has advanced far enough to allow the oil in the Roan Plateau to be accessed without harming the ecosystem of the region. Even though it will cost the oil companies more to utilize this technology, it is a small price to pay to preserve such an ecologically diverse area.

Attributions:
Original image: ' [|Moose, Alaska] ' http://www.flickr.com/photos/85656602@N00/243708157 by: Zdenek Svoboda Original image: ' [|Wild Elk] ' http://www.flickr.com/photos/97553707@N00/3968110848 by: Pravesvuth Uparanukraw Original image: ' [|Lynx] ' http://www.flickr.com/photos/84567688@N00/2832292527 by: Nicole Marti Original image: ' [|lumikko 3] ' http://www.flickr.com/photos/21404006@N00/91761454 by: Marko Kivelä Original image: ' [|Who'll Never Outfox the Fox?!?] ' http://www.flickr.com/photos/52538087@N00/3467262965 by: John Morris Original image: ' [|The Barn Owl (Tyto Alba) - You Talkin' to me? - Flagstaff AZ Arboretum] ' http://www.flickr.com/photos/8989759@N06/4021917176 by: Axel Foley === Original image: ' [|Fat Boy] ' http://www.flickr.com/photos/66727626@N00/295343848 by: James Marvin Phelps === Original image: ' [|Spinifex Hopping Mouse] <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 7pt;">' http://www.flickr.com/photos/30265340@N00/213522849 by: Brian Yap ( 葉 <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 7pt;">) Original image: ' <span style="color: #629632; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 7pt; text-decoration: none; textunderline: none;">[|Compound Eyes of a Robber Fly - (Holcocephala fusca)] <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 7pt;">' http://www.flickr.com/photos/7539598@N04/3085177911 by: Thomas Shahan Original image: ' [|Wolf] ' http://www.flickr.com/photos/83049346@N00/476044637 by: Shawn Kinkade <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 7pt;">Original image: ' <span style="color: #629632; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 7pt; text-decoration: none; textunderline: none;">[|Acorns and caps on ground] <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 7pt;">' http://www.flickr.com/photos/32454422@N00/1633055250 by: Martin LaBar Original image: ' <span style="color: #629632; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 7pt; text-decoration: none; textunderline: none;">[|New grass] <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 7pt;">' http://www.flickr.com/photos/19564627@N00/2975496521 by: Original image: ' [|Prairie Dog] ' http://www.flickr.com/photos/19346234@N00/992616794 by: B.J. Bumgarner Original image: ' [|Peregrin Falcon] ' http://www.flickr.com/photos/46799225@N00/474167261 by: Don Ankney Original image: ' [|Acrobatics by Nature] ' http://www.flickr.com/photos/84493444@N00/3331944099 by: William Cho <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 7pt;">Original image: ' <span style="color: #629632; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 7pt; text-decoration: none; textunderline: none;">[|Patos Reais / Mallards] <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 7pt;">' http://www.flickr.com/photos/86585370@N00/442798893 by: Isidro Vila Verde Original image: ' <span style="color: #629632; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 7pt; text-decoration: none; textunderline: none;">[|squirrel 01] <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 7pt;">' http://www.flickr.com/photos/20484934@N00/331248393 by: Christopher Angell Original image: ' <span style="color: #629632; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 7pt; text-decoration: none; textunderline: none;">[|Fungi Costa Rica] <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 7pt;">' http://www.flickr.com/photos/24465777@N02/2427510369 by: Photos Original image: ' <span style="color: #629632; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 7pt; text-decoration: none; textunderline: none;">[|Fungi Costa Rica] <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 7pt;">' http://www.flickr.com/photos/24465777@N02/2427510369 by: Photos