Florissant Valley Today

Open stands of ponderosa pine, Douglas fir, and quaking aspen now dominate the slopes of the Florissant valley. The ecosystem has changed since the days of the dense redwood forests. There are more open grasslands and the cold temperate forest is less diverse, with fewer broad-leaved plants. Where there once was a lake and forested valley bottom, a flower-filled meadow now blooms in the summer. Plants and animals found here today thrive in a cold, dry climate.

Plants and Animals of the Florissant Valley , The grasslands and open forests of today's Montane ecosystem support a variety of wildlife. Abert's squirrels, with their distinctive tasseled ears, depend upon ponderosa pines for food and shelter. Northern flickers chip new nests into the pines each year, leaving their old homes for other birds to occupy. From the sky, golden eagles scan the meadows for their ground squirrel prey.

The meadow wildflowers attract pollinators like hummingbirds. Fairy trumpet is designed for these birds' long tongue and attraction to red. Wapiti hide in the woods but graze the meadow grasses. They keep a keen watch for stalking mountain lions. Modern ecological niches parallel those of the Eocene, but a top predator has yet to be found in the fossil record.

[Marker Key] , 1 Ponderosa Pine . Pinus ponderosa

2 Mountain Lion . Puma oncolor

3 Fairy Trumpet . Ipomopsis aggregata

4 Rufous Hummingbird . Selasphorus rufus

5 Wapiti (Elk) . Cervus elaphus

6 Golden Eagle . Aquila chrysaetos

7 Brush-footed Butterfly . Poladryas arachne

8 One-sided Penstemon . Penstemon virgatus

9 Mountain Muhly . Muhlenbergia montana

10 Quaking Aspen . Populus tremuloides

11 Douglas Fir . Psuedotsuga menziesii

12 Abert's Squirrel . Sciurus aberti

13 Northern Flicker . Colaptes auratus

14 Richardson's Ground Squirrel . Spermophilus richardsonii

15 Longhorn Beetle . Monochamus sp.

. This historical marker was erected by National Park Service. It is Near Florissant in Teller County Colorado