COME TO LIFE / 5 Ways to Watch Wildlife 1 GO SPOTTIN’ Spy our official state creatures as you travel around: STATE ANIMAL: bighorn sheep. Found in high-moun-tain terrain. Good oppor-tunities include a Browns Canyon National Monument rafting trip near Buena Vista; Guanella Pass Scenic & Historic Byway near Georgetown; a hike through Beaver Creek State Wildlife Area near Penrose. STATE REPTILE: painted turtle. Found close to the shoreline of ponds, marshes and small lakes. Good op-portunities include Jackson Lake State Park near Orchard, St. Vrain State Park near Firestone and Two Ponds National Wildlife Refuge near Arvada. STATE FISH: greenback cutthroat trout. Found in mountain lakes and clear, cold, gravelly, high-altitude streams. Good opportunities include Bear Creek Regional Park west of Colorado Springs, Bellvue-Watson Fish Hatchery in Bellvue, Ouzel Creek in Rocky Mountain National Park. STATE BIRD: lark bunting. Found on the eastern plains and up to 8,000 feet in elevation. Good opportunities include the shade trees in town in Kit Carson as well as from the Big Sandy Creek bridge, Terry Ranch north of La Junta, Pawnee National Grassland near Grover. NATIONAL MAMMAL: American bison. The continent’s largest mammal is an important part of Colorado’s tribal and frontier past. Op-portunities include: Denver’s Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge, Genesee Park right off I-70 outside Golden, Soapstone Prairie Natural Area (March–November) near Fort Collins. 3 Something to See, From Corner to Corner Few places in North America offer such a bounty of wildlife-watching opportunities as Colorado. Who in your group will win the eagle-eye award by spotting some of our most majestic residents — state mammal bighorn sheep, bald eagles, mountain goats, moose, elk, pronghorn? 5 WAYS TO WATCH WILDLIFE ATTEND A WILDLIFE FESTIVAL Nearly 30 festivals are held each year to cel-ebrate the state’s furry and feathery friends, from Cedaredge’s Grand Mesa Moose Day (July), Estes Park’s Elk Fest (October), Lamar’s High Plains Snow Goose Festival (February) to Gunnison’s Sage-Grouse Festival (April) and many more. COLORADO.com/Events 4 FIND A FRIENDLY RANGER With eight National Wildlife Refuges, four national parks, eight national monuments, five wilderness areas, 42 state parks and nearly 350 state wildlife areas, you’re bound to find a friendly ranger or guide ready to lead you through Colorado’s wildlife-friendly areas no matter where your trip takes you. 5 JUST KEEP YOUR EYES OPEN! Left your hiking boots at home? Don’t worry, there’s no need to hit the trails to see Colo-rado’s wildlife in its natural habitat. Hundreds of scenic roads lead safely past elk, bighorn sheep, moose, bison, bald eagles and other watchable wildlife. With a pair of binoculars, you won’t even have to unbuckle your seatbelt. COLORADO.com/WildlifeDrives COLORADO WILDLIFE FROM A TO Z Scan with your Layar app to get to know some of Colorado’s nonhuman inhabitants. See full instructions on page 4. DON’T FORGET! RESOURCES Colorado Parks & Wildlife: cpw.state.co.us ILLUSTRATIONS, CHRIS GREGORI; BINOCULARS, ISTOCKPHOTO. It’s important to always keep a safe distance from the animals. Remembering never to feed, pet, chase or harass them will ensure you and the wildlife stay safe and healthy. 2 FOLLOW A COLORADO BIRDING TRAIL Colorado is home to more than 450 different avian species, many of which are found in the diverse ecosystems east of the Rockies. Here, lone falcons share the sky with droves of tiny white-throated swifts, owls snooze inside hollowed trees and prairie chickens strut through vast stretches of golden shortgrass. coloradobirdingtrail.com National Park Service: nps.gov/Colorado U.S. Forest Service: fs.usda.gov/main/r2/home Bureau of Land Management: blm.gov/co/st/en.html WANT MORE? COLORADO.COM/WILDLIFE 58 / COLORADO.COM
Colorado Official State Vacation Guide 2017: Page 58
