Colorado Plateau Shrublands and Arizona Mountain Forests, Part II

Dramatic escarpments characterize the public lands managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and other agencies on the Colorado Plateau.  The San Rafael Swell in Utah rises 2,000 feet, as do the Grand Wash Cliffs on the western Colorado Plateau on the Nevada-Arizona border.  Fossil Creek, now a wild and scenic river, originally was part of a hydroelectric development that has now been decommissioned.  Designated wilderness areas preserve canyons to the south and west of Flagstaff, including Sycamore Canyon in a wilderness of the same name and West Fork Oak Creek (Red Rock-Secret Mountain Wilderness).  Also, volcanoes that are part of the San Francisco Peaks area such as Kendrick Mountain and Strawberry Crater, as well as Humphreys Peak itself, are included in wilderness areas.

Continue reading