Published: 2019
The Smuggler Mountain Open Space Property (SMOS) encompasses diverse and important wildlife habitat, supports native plant communities and provides habitat for plant species of special concern. This report documents the baseline wildlife and vegetation surveys conducted at SMOS in 2018 in support of the Pitkin County Open Space and Trails forthcoming management plan revision. This report relies heavily on the previous Biological Resources & Baseline Report (2008 Baseline Report) by Colorado Wildlife Science, LLC and WP Natural Resource Consulting, Inc. (CWS & WPNRC 2008) as well as the Smuggler Forest Management Plan (Webster 2011). However, the Hunter Creek Smuggler Mountain Vegetation Management Assessment (Dahl 2009) and the 2008 Smuggler Mountain Open Space Management Plan (PCOST 2008) were also reviewed for this report. This study documents changes in wildlife and vegetation over the past decade and evaluates the efficacy of past forestry management that may influence future management decisions.