Mesa Verde Administrative History

Mesa Verde is not rich in flora and fauna. A combination of desert types from the lower arid country and mountain types, usually associated with regions of higher rainfall, occur in the park. The desert types are highly specialized to cope with their environment, particularly the plants and smaller animal life. Among the animals seen by visitors or park employees during the early years of administration were black-tail deer, hares, plenty of coyotes, few wildcats, mountain lions, foxes, badgers, a wolf occasionally, ring-tails, porcupines, wild horses, cattle and burros, chipmunks, and squirrels. The first elk was seen in 1921, at the head of Navajo Canyon, the first bear in 1925, and one wild turkey in 1929.

Deer were seen more often than any other animals, but their number varied greatly according to season. Mountain lions preyed upon the deer and annually took a heavy toll from them. After 1918 it became necessary to initiate a program of predator control to protect the deer from the mountain lion, and sometimes against the coyotes and wildcats. Deer had to be protected also from the Southern Ute Indians who lived close to the park and killed them in and out of season without regard to game laws.

Game birds were represented by the dusky and scaled quail, both desert types.

Among the most interesting residents of the park were the lizards. Some of them were the horned lizards, the western spotted or earless lizards, the collared lizards, the striped race-runners, utas, rock swifts, and sagebrush swifts. [1]

By contrast with Rocky Mountain National Park, the deer at Mesa Verde were unusually scarce. Only some few were year-around residents because of unfavorable water conditions. Besides they had no protection when they moved south to Indian lands. [2]

An animal that did not need protection was the porcupine. In the early 1930's control measures were established because of the damage they were causing to the trees of the park. There was no effective control of this species and there was no desire to eliminate it, but the number of porcupines had to be held in check for the good of the wildlife habitat, as well as protection for a few ruin sites. [3]

A program for the protection of the wildlife of the park was worked out in 1934 by the Wildlife Division of the National Park Service. It involved the acquisition of the privately owned lands in the park, with development of water supply and restocking of the park lands with the wild turkey and bighorn sheep that were former residents of the park. It also involved additions to the park area so that there would be natural boundaries in order to insure the park deer winter and summer ranges. This was necessary if they were to be given proper protection. [4]

Water was a limiting factor affecting the fauna of the park. Many seeps had dried up since the prehistoric dwellers lived in Mesa Verde. It was desirable to construct other reservoirs to take the place of those which had disappeared, to make possible re-introduction and maintenance, particularly of wild turkeys, and to increase grouse and deer populations.

The most desirable site for the re-introduction of Merrian's turkey within the park was at Morfield Canyon, which was privately owned and grazed. According to the program, the park was too small for a safe re-introduction of the Mexican bighorn, which would in all probability inhabit the canyon sides and cliffs of the park, drifting down out of the park toward the Mancos River Canyon in winter. In order to protect completely the wildlife of Mesa Verde, therefore, it was necessary to acquire the lands north and west of the Mancos Canyon. [5]

In all national parks there was always some trespassing and Mesa Verde was no exception. Enforcement of the game laws was complicated since the rugged section of the mountain region was under three administrations: the state and its local law enforcing bodies which seemed to be lax in game law enforcement; the National Park Service at park headquarters, remote from the area; and the Indian Service at Ignacio, even farther away. [6]

In January and March of 1943, the Colorado Game and Fish Commission released a total of ten wild Merrian turkeys in a branch of Prater Canyon, where water, ground cover, forest and food conditions appeared especially favorable. The turkeys were trapped at the state's game refuge at Pine River.

Three years later the Game and Fish Commission released 14 head of Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep near park headquarters. This species of bighorn was an important element of the prehistoric wildlife of Mesa Verde, but was completely exterminated in the early 1900s.

Both experiments in restoration of extirpated species were successful. [7]