Cover image: Jeremy Wade Shockley, the Southern Ute Drum
Colorado’s forested lands
Colorado’s lands are more than scenic landscapes – they’re places of cultural significance to Indigenous communities who have stewarded them for generations.
The land that is now Colorado was originally inhabited by Apache, Arapaho, Cheyenne, Comanche, Kiowa, Navajo, Pueblo, Shoshone and Ute peoples. Today, the two federally recognized tribes in Colorado are the Southern Ute Tribe and the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe, who own 402,303 acres of forestland, comprised mostly of ponderosa pine and piñon-juniper forests. The tribes also retain specific hunting rights on national forests throughout their traditional territory, with more than a dozen other tribes located outside Colorado maintaining tribal interests in Colorado’s national forests. To learn more, view the full CSU Land Acknowledgement.
Colorado’s forests are influenced by a mix of public and private landowners, with properties ranging from one acre to several million acres. Each landowner brings unique philosophies, guidelines and regulations that shape decisions on their own land and the options available to neighboring landowners. Private landowners own 30 percent of Colorado’s forested areas, while the rest is managed by tribal governments, municipalities, state agencies and other non-federal organizations.
Ute people
The Ute people are Indigenous to the lands now known as Utah, Colorado and New Mexico. The three federally recognized Ute tribes include the Southern Ute Indian Tribe and Ute Indian Tribe in Colorado, as well as the Ute Indian Tribe of the Uintah and Ouray Indian Reservation in Utah.
"The Utes were created by Sinawav (the Creator) and were placed in the mountains. The Sinawav told the people they would be few in number but, they would be strong warriors, and protectors of their lands. There is no migration story, we were placed here in the mountains, we have always been here, we will always be here."
The Ute people’s history describes how they lived in balance with the natural world, moving along well-established trails through Colorado’s mountain ranges where they developed a deep understanding of the landscape, plants and animals. Over time, the Utes formed a distinctive bond with the land, learning to both honor and benefit from natural resources.
The Ute Mountain Tribe consists of the Weenuche band of the Ute Nation and is headquartered in Towaoc, Colorado. Weenuche historic lands include Utah, Colorado, Arizona and New Mexico, areas north of the San Juan River and the San Miguel River and west of the Continental Divide. In 1879, the western portion of the reservation was established as the Ute Mountain Ute Reservation. The Southern Ute Tribe, today consisting of the Mouache and Caputa bands, is headquartered in Ignacio, Colorado. The reservation landscapes range from high elevation forests and plains, with seven rivers passing through the area. Learn more about the history of the Southern Ute Indian Tribe and the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe.
Pinecrest Ranch shared stewardship
The CSFS has 20 years of shared stewardship alongside the Ute Mountain Ute and Southern Ute Tribes, with one site being Pinecrest Ranch, a 19,000-acre Ute Mountain Ute property outside of Gunnison. The ranch is an essential resource for the tribe, used for grazing its entire cattle herd. CSFS Forester Ashley Baer is helping to update the existing 1998 management plan by assessing the 1,500 forested lands to provide up-to-date recommendations. The ranch features a mixed conifer forest, including large aspen stands, Douglas fir, blue spruce and Engelmann spruce.
This year, Baer has been mapping the property roads and conducting GIS stand mapping while identifying species, diameter at breast height (DBH) and tree height. With 215 plots completed, she’ll compile this data into the Forest Vegetation Simulator this winter. With an updated management plan, tribal leadership can determine forestry projects for the property, steered by the tribe’s natural resources director, ranch manager David Stoner and tribal volunteers.
Management goals will likely focus on improving tree health while managing the understory to facilitate cattle grazing. A significant presence of Douglas-fir bark beetle suggests insect mitigation efforts could be included in the plan. The tribe has received funding from the Natural Resources Conservation Service to fund this management plan, while forestry project funding options include the Regional Conservation Partnership Program or Forest Restoration and Wildfire Risk Mitigation program.
Tribal engagement at the state level
The Colorado Outdoor Strategy is a collaborative effort between Great Outdoors Colorado (GOCO), Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW), the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and the Governor’s Office to promote tribal and Indigenous engagement in conservation and climate resilience.
With input from the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe, the Southern Ute Indian Tribe, and Colorado’s Historic Tribes, the strategy includes a framework for respectful, culturally responsive engagement, endorsed by the tribes and the Colorado Commission of Indian Affairs. The framework serves as a guiding document for partnership but does not replace formal tribal consultation.
DNR aims to enhance government-to-government relationships, recognizing the unique demands on tribal resources from multiple agencies and the need for strategic outreach. This approach respects tribal sovereignty, acknowledging tribes as independent nations with deep ties to Colorado’s lands. DNR divisions, including the CSFS, are encouraged to align with tribal priorities, honoring Colorado’s tribal heritage and commitment to collaborative stewardship of culturally significant landscapes.
Culturally modified trees
Throughout Colorado, large bark scars on pine trees can be indicators of peeled bark, known as culturally modified trees. For generations, Indigenous peoples peeled bark on ponderosa pines for a variety of purposes, often harvesting the sugars contained in the inner bark to use for food and medicine in times of need.
Dating back to the 1800s, signs of these modifications are visible on trees throughout the state today, with many designated as culturally significant living artifacts. At Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve, a cluster of 500-year-old modified ponderosa pines known as Indian Grove has been added to the National Register of Historic Places. However, other trees have remained unprotected or unidentified.
Bent and twisted tree trunks have previously been thought to be signs of cultural modifications, made to mark directions or serve as landmarks. However, the Southern Ute and Ute Mountain Ute Tribes state that marking trees for this purpose is not part of their cultural tradition.
In recent years, CSFS staff identified a grove of culturally modified trees in the San Luis Valley during a management survey, then worked with tribal leadership, residents and History Colorado to install interpretive signage to preserve the area and educate visitors.
Forward-thinking resources
Dibaginjigaadeg Anishinaabe Ezhitwaad: A Tribal Climate Adaptation Menu
Climate change significantly affects Indigenous peoples’ culture and environments, and current climate adaptation tools often do not account for the unique needs and values of Indigenous communities. Representatives from tribal, academic and federal groups worked together to integrate Indigenous knowledge, culture, language and history into climate adaptation planning summarized in a comprehensive toolkit.
Key aspects of the menu
- Current climate adaptation tools often fall short for tribal communities and often lack an understanding of Indigenous peoples’ unique needs, values and knowledge systems.
- The menu provides a layered collection of climate adaptation strategies for forest planning and principles for working respectfully with tribal communities.
- It fosters mutual understanding as a resource for non-tribal individuals and organizations looking to understand Indigenous perspectives on climate adaptation.
The Tribal Climate Adaptation Menu helps promote inclusive and effective climate adaptation for tribal communities by centering Indigenous knowledge and values to empower tribes to create and apply strategies that safeguard their cultural heritage and natural resources within a changing climate. Learn more about the Tribal Climate Adaptation Menu through the Climate Change Response Framework.
