MLRA 69: Upper Arkansas Valley Rolling Plains
MLRA 69: Upper Arkansas Valley Rolling Plains is a visual representation of the effects of agriculture and rangeland management on the ecology of Colorado’s southeastern plains. Using the USDA Natural Resource Conservation Center’s major land resource site description for a specific geographical area and soil type found in the Upper Arkansas Valley, the artwork describes the grass, animal, and bird communities that are prevalent in this area at varying states of grassland health. The cutout symbols signify the various outside influences that have been exerted on different areas of the grass community (undergrazing, overgrazing, plowing, reseeding). The number of small cut out triangles located on each panel indicates the number of pounds of dry vegetation that can be produced by the land in that specific state of relative health or degradation. Finally the printed elements of the artwork indicate the plant, animal, and bird species that are associated with each of the grassland communities.
The USDA Natural Resource Conservation Service Ecological Site Description and related data for this area can be found at: https://esis.sc.egov.usda.gov/ESDReport/fsReport.aspx?approved=yes&repType=regular&id=R069XY006CO