Bobcat Ridge Management Plan - City of Fort Collins, CO

C. Grasslands and Croplands
Grasslands and croplands comprise
about 25% of the acreage at Bobcat Ridge
Natural Area. The valley portion of Bobcat
Ridge harbors a mix of native grassland
remnants and areas that have been
modified by agricultural practices. Alfalfa
(Medicago sativa) and wheat have been
actively cropped for decades; perhaps a
century or more. Today, many of the fields
are irrigated with NCWCD water allowing
the ranchers (who lease water rights) to
complete an average of two rotations of hay Figure 3.4. Montane grassland in Mahoney Park.
per year. Much of the grassland and
cropland area is threatened by undesirable species such as smooth brome (Bromus inermis), Canada
thistle (Cirsium canadensis) and cheatgrass.
Montane grasslands interspersed with ponderosa pine in the area of Mahoney Park were once in
crop production, which has reverted to cheatgrass and will require aggressive weed control
(Figure 3.4).
Foothills Grassland
The Foothills Grassland ecosystem
occupies the deeper soils over siltstone
and fine-grained sandstones in the valley
bottom of Bobcat Ridge Natural Area
(Figure 3.5). It is also found in Mahoney
Park. The Foothills Grassland is one of
the most severely altered ecosystems in
the Southern Rocky Mountains ecoregion
(Rondeau 2001). Prior to conversion to
agriculture and construction of the canal,
the valley was probably fully occupied
by a mix of mid- and tallgrass plants,
remnants of which are now relegated to
shrubland, mountain parks and edges of Figure 3.5. Foothills grassland in valley bottom.
the ponderosa pine forest. Patches of this
ecosystem still exist in the valley on rocky knolls that were likely too difficult to plow. The deeper
soils of the swales and rolling hills were plowed and planted in hay crops and pasture grasses like
crested wheatgrass (Agropyron cristatum), quackgrass (Elytrigia repens), and alfalfa. The remnant
patches of native species have a vastly different composition dominated by blue grama, needleand-thread
(Stipa comata), sand dropseed, and fringed sage. Other diverse forbs also occur. These
patches of native species are not without weeds like cheatgrass, but native species are dominant.
18 Vegetation