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Manitou Experimental Forest
The 6,758-ha Manitou Experimental Forest
straddles the watershed of Trout Creek, a
tributary of the South Platte River, about 48
km northwest of Colorado Springs, Colorado.
The Manitou Park area contained within the
forest was originally the property of Dr.
William Bell, an English physician and
Colorado pioneer who had established a
number of enterprises on the property,
including logging, ranching, resort hotels, and a
trout farm. He ultimately gave the remainder of
his holdings to Colorado College to establish a
school of forestry and be used as a forestry field
camp. The Manitou was established in 1936
from land donated to the Forest Service after Colorado
College closed its forestry school, from surrounding
National Forest System land, and from other purchased
properties. As a result, the Manitou contains more than
100 private holdings within its borders, including a
major subdivision occupying over 284 ha.
Climate
The climate is cool and dry with a 65-year average
rainfall of 398 mm/yr. Summer temperatures can reach
32 °C, but nights are cool. Elevation ranges from 2,286
to 2,835 m. Winter snowfall is typically light, without a
snowpack in many years. Although winter temperatures
can fall below -20 °C, midday January temperatures
often are as high as 10 °C. Summer thunderstorms can
be intense, with large amounts of rainfall and lightning.
Many trees are scarred by lightning.
Soils
Soils are derived from the weakly structured Pikes Peak
granite and are highly erodeable. Most soils are poorly
developed, with little organic matter except in riparian
areas.
Vegetation
The Manitou is representative of the Colorado Front
Range Montane ecosystem, containing extensive dry-site
ponderosa pine and Douglas-fir forests interspersed with
grassland parks and small aspen clones. Lodgepole pine
and Engelmann spruce occur at higher elevations, with
blue spruce, limber pine, and white fir in local areas.
Long-Term Data Bases
There are temperature and precipitation records for the
headquarters weather station since 1937. Continuous
hourly temperature, precipitation, and wind and soil
temperature data have been available in electronic format
since 1998. A National Atmospheric Deposition
Program collection site has been on the Manitou for
more than 20 years and a NOAA satellite weather station
has been located at headquarters for a number of years.
Streamflow and water-quality data for Trout Creek were
recorded and published for some years.
Long-term (30-year) growth records for ponderosa pine
plots thinned to various stocking levels are also available.
Seedfall records from shelterwood and seed-tree overstory
plots, natural seedling germination and survival, and
growth and survival data for planted trees are available
from 1981 to 2001 (Unfortunately, this study burned in
the Hayman Fire of June 2002.) A population of
flammulated owls has been monitored on the Manitou
since 1978.
Research, Past and Present
Early research at the Manitou focused on range
management, including revegetation of abandoned fields,
grazing management in native and seeded pastures, and
watershed management in gully control, stream
sedimentation, surface runoff, and infiltration.
Watershed management studies through the mid-1980s
centered on water quality and examined the effects of
cattle grazing and recreational and home development on
bacterial pollution in lakes and streams, and resulting
effects on aquatic biota. The water-quality research
program has been terminated.
Range management research conducted through the late
1970s included studies of rotational grazing systems,
seasons of use, and overstory/understory relationships.
The range research program has also been terminated.
In the 1980s, the research emphasis shifted to studies on
the growth and regeneration of ponderosa pine and on
wildlife habitat. Research centered on ponderosa pine
regeneration for both even- and uneven-age systems,
initial tree spacing and growth, provenance testing of
ponderosa pine, growth and yield in uneven-aged and
irregular stand structures in ponderosa pine, and oldgrowth
characteristics of Front Range ponderosa pine.
Other studies include dwarf mistletoe effects and control
in ponderosa pine, and studies of the habitat
requirements, habitat use, and population dynamics of
flammulated owls.
Today, research at Manitou has been broadened to gain a
better understanding of ponderosa pine ecosystems, the
disturbance regimes active within them, and ways to best
manage these urban-interface forests. Current studies
include assessment of silviculture techniques to restore
fire-dependent forests to a healthy condition, studies of
fire history, fuels assessment, quantifying soil heat fluxes
during prescribed burning under a spectrum of fuel
loadings, studies of insect and bird biology, an intensive
study of dwarf mistletoe ecology, and a major effort to
assess human values and preferences in urban-wildland
interface forests.
Major Research Accomplishments
and Effects on Management
Research at Manitou has made major contributions to
our understanding of ponderosa pine ecosystems.
Individual publications are too numerous to mention
here and are summarized on the forest's website.
Collaborators
Researchers from the USDI Geological Survey, Colorado
State University, University of Colorado, Colorado
School of Mines, University of California, Colorado
College, Denver Museum of Nature and Science, as well
as nonaffiliated, privately funded researchers have worked
on the Manitou.
Research Opportunities
The Manitou is uniquely situated for studies of wildlandurban
interface interactions, recreational values, and
land-management effects on water quality delivered to
urban areas. The forest is dissected by a major state
highway, is in close proximity to both Denver and
Colorado Springs metropolitan centers, and contains and
is adjacent to several picnic and campground facilities
administered by the Pikes Peak Ranger District of the
Pike and San Isbel National Forest. Collaborative
research opportunities that fit within the overall research
goals of the Rocky Mountain Research Station and are
compatible with other ongoing research at Manitou are
welcomed.
Facilities
The Manitou has excellent facilities. Most of the
buildings were constructed in the late 1930s by the
Works Progress Administration out of locally quarried
stone and are listed on the National (and Colorado)
Register of Historic Places. Buildings include a large
lodge for meetings and housing for research field crews
(available for a nominal fee), an office/laboratory,
manager's residence, and two large garages, one with a
shop. Also available are a small bunkhouse and a barn/
shed storage area. A concrete pad with RV hookup and
an officially designated helipad complete the
headquarters facilities.
Lat. 38°6'0" N, long. 105°5'30" W
Contact Information
Manitou Experimental Forest
US Forest Service
Rocky Mountain Research Station
240 West Prospect Street
Fort Collins, CO 80526
Tel: (970) 498-1259
Or
Resident Manager
Manitou Experimental Forest
232 County Road 79
Woodland Park, CO 80863
Tel: (719) 687-3034
Forest website
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