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On average about 40 inches of rainfall per year

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Below freezing temperatures occur often

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11,500 ft to 13,000

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In the West, Colorado is known as a "headwaters" state because most of the region's biggest rivers begin in the Colorado Rocky Mountains.

The Colorado River. The Arkansas River. The Rio Grande. The San Juan River. The Platte River - North and South. Altogether, they provide 19 states with drinking and irrigation water, including the cities of Los Angeles, Phoenix and Denver, among many others.

Dust on the snowpack in Colorado's San Juan Mountains. The dust, blown from deserts west of the mountains, speeds the melting of snow.
Credit: Jeffrey Deems/University of Colorado.

All of the water in those rivers comes from one source: the Rocky Mountains' snowpack, which is expected to shrink as temperatures rise in a warming climate.

That's why a new report by Colorado's state water authorities showing how climate change will affect water supply there is so important. How much water is going to be coursing down these rivers in a warming world is highly uncertain, and that means the millions of people downstream of Colorado have a lot at stake.

"Already, snowmelt and runoff are shifting earlier, our soils are becoming drier, and the growing season has lengthened," Jeff Lukas, lead author of the report released by the Colorado Water Conservation Board and the Western Water Assessment, said in a statement. "Wildfires and heat waves have become more common, too. Climate projections suggest those trends - all of which can affect water supply and demand - will continue."

Here are three things you should know about what Colorado's new climate change report says about the future of where Westerners will get their water:
1. Nobo dy knows if it's going to get wetter, drier or stay the same in Colorado's mountains, but warming temperatures could mean that there will be less water available for people to use anyway.
Climate models generally agree that the Rocky Mountains are going to get between 2.5°F and 5°F warmer though 2050, the report says, with summers warming more than winters, but there isn't much agreement about whether they'll be wetter or drier as the climate changes.

The climate models show a wide range of possible precipitation scenarios in Colorado's mountains as temperatures rise, from a 5 percent decrease to an 8 percent increase in precipitation by 2050.

Regardless whether the mountains become wetter or drier, winter snowpack is likely to diminish as temperatures rise, and it could melt earlier. Mountain snow usually begins melting in early spring, peaking in June. But because of warmer temperatures, all that runoff could course through streams and rivers up to three weeks earlier by 2050, and it could melt much faster than normal.

Trail Ridge Road passes through Colorado's Rocky Mountain National Park in May 2012, when the snowpack had nearly disappeared at a time when it is usually many feet deep.
Credit: Bobby Magill

Warmer temperatures will mean plants will consume more water and the soil will be drier, reducing the amount of water that will run off the mountains and into streams.

Early runoff is a problem for water supplies because dams and reservoirs aren't designed to capture large amounts of water that tumbles off the mountains quickly, making less water available in the summer when demand is at its highest. It could force water managers to redesign how reservoirs and dams operate and strain farmers' irrigation water supply because it's less likely to be available in the summer when it's needed the most.
2. Desert dust blown on the snowpack is bad news for the West's water supplies.
If you fly over Colorado's mountains in the winter, there's a chance that some of the snow you'll see below will appear slightly brown or tan in color. What you're seeing is dust that blew onto those snow fields from the deserts west of the mountains. The soil in those deserts, many stricken by drought, has been disturbed by oil and gas development, grazing and other uses, and it is easily blown onto the mountains in strong winds.

That's bad news for water in the West because the dust that lands on mountain snow absorbs heat and melts the snow, causing runoff to occur weeks earlier than normal and plants to absorb more water from the soil as the snow disappears.

Already, dust blown onto the mountains in recent years has reduced overall runoff in the Upper Colorado River Basin of western Colorado by 5 percent compared to conditions 200 years ago.
3. It's likely that the major rivers will carry less water in 50 years, but there is a lot of disagreement about that.
Increasing temperatures, dust on the snowpack and other climate change-related factors are likely to work together to reduce the total amount of water in many of the rivers that flow out of Colorado.

The major rivers that flow to the south - the San Juan and the Rio Grande rivers - are almost certain to see decreases in streamflow by 2050, the report says. But climate models are split about whether the state's other rivers, including the Colorado, Arkansas and the South Platte rivers, will see reduced flows.

Either way, the the report says the odds are that less water will be flowing out of the state in a warmer climate. According to the Assessment of Climate Change in the Southwest United States, which became part of the National Climate Assessment, if climate change reduces the amount of water flowing in the Colorado River, downstream metropolises such as Phoenix and Tucson could face severe water shortages.

In a warming world, water authorities may have to plan for extreme weather that they never planned for in the past - megadroughts that could dry up water supplies for many years or extreme flooding that could wash out or damage dams and pipelines.

So, the bottom line for the West's long-term water supply, the report says, is that it's going to be a lot more difficult to plan for how to secure water for growing cities in the future, and figuring climate change into water planning is going to be critical.

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What Climate Change in the Rockies Means for its Water

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In the West, Colorado is known as a "headwaters" state because most of the region's biggest rivers begin in the Colorado Rocky Mountains. The Colorado River. The Arkansas River. The Rio Grande. The San Juan River. The Platte River - North and South.

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American pika,
whittailed ptarmigan,
rocky mountain bighorn sheep,
masked shrew,
yellow belly marmot,
horned lark,
rosy finch,
golden eagle,

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Tuft hairgrass
alpine ficus
golden avence
alpine forget-me-not sedges
spike woodrush

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1)Furry leaves to help hold in water
2)Grows in rocky places at higher altitudes
3)Believed to help with lung problems and nosebleeds

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Know the difference between arctic and alpine

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A hardy grouse of barren ground in the high Arctic, well adapted to harsh surroundings. Well camouflaged by white winter plumage and mottled brown summer plumage; male molts later in spring than female, so early in the breeding season he remains conspicuously white while she becomes almost invisible against the tundra.

Conservation status

May become locally scarce near Arctic settlements, but still very common over vast areas of northern wilderness.

Family
Pheasants and Grouse

Habitat

Above timberline in mountains; bleak tundra of northern coasts. Summers on relatively dry, open tundra, with rock outcrops and arid ridges mixed with areas of dwarf willow and birch, sedge meadows. On islands (such as Aleutians), may occupy all open habitats. In winter, many remain in summer habitat, but some move into shrubby areas, openings in northern forest.

Feeding Behavior

Forages while walking by picking rapidly at vegetation, nipping off food with bill. In winter, may sometimes follow herds of caribou or musk-ox, feeding where animals have scraped away the snow.

Eggs

4-13, usually 7-9. Pale buff with brown spots. Incubation is by female only, usually about 21 days; begins after laying next to last egg. Young: Downy chicks leave nest with adult female within a day after hatching. Female tends young, but young feed themselves. Capable of short flights at 7-10 days, can fly fairly well at 10-15 days. Young are independent at age of about 10-12 weeks.

Young

Downy chicks leave nest with adult female within a day after hatching. Female tends young, but young feed themselves. Capable of short flights at 7-10 days, can fly fairly well at 10-15 days. Young are independent at age of about 10-12 weeks.

Diet

Mostly buds, leaves, and seeds. Adults are almost entirely vegetarian, feeding on buds, catkins, leaves, flowers, berries, and seeds. Major food sources include willow, dwarf birch, alder, saxifrage, crowberry. Also eats some insects, spiders, snails; young chicks feed on these items heavily at first. Regularly swallows grit to help with digesting rough plant material.

Nesting

Male defends territory in spring with conspicuous display flight: flaps very rapidly, glides high, then flutters to ground while giving staccato call. In courtship display, male raises red combs above eyes, fans tail, and walks in circles around female, dragging one wing on ground. Nest site is on ground in relatively barren, rocky area, usually near large rock. Nest (built mostly by female) is shallow depression, lined with small amounts of moss, lichen, grass, feathers.

All Seasons - Common

All Seasons - Uncommon

Breeding - Common

Breeding - Uncommon

Winter - Common

Winter - Uncommon

Migration - Common

Migration - Uncommon

Courting male gives a snoring kurr-kurr. Female has clucking and purring notes.

Audio © Lang Elliott, Bob McGuire, Kevin Colver, Martyn Stewart and others. Learn more about this sound collection.

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A hardy grouse of barren ground in the high Arctic, well adapted to harsh surroundings. Well camouflaged by white winter plumage and mottled brown summer plumage; male molts later in spring than female, so early in the breeding season he remains conspicuously white while she becomes almost invisible against the tundra.

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American Pika ( Ochotona princeps)
also called mouse hare and rock rabbit
Species Code: OCPR

What they look like: American Pikas are hearty small mammals who live in rock piles in the mountains of western North America. They are related to rabbits but are are about the size of large hamsters. Rabbits, hares and pikas are related species.

Pikas have rounded ears, light brown and gray fur, long whiskers and no visible tails. The body is egg-shaped and the underside is a buffy color. Body length: 162 to 216 mm (6 to 8.5 in). Average Mass 100 g (3.5 oz).

Where they live: Pikas are found in the rocky terrain in the mountain regions from central British Columbia to South-Central California and east to Colorado. They are often found at the interface between meadow habitat and open rocky terrain.

In Washington, the Pika is found living around talus slopes, rock piles, or boulder slides. Found in the Cascades and northeast regions of Washington.

Click the range map to learn more about the distribution of Pika in Washington.

What they eat: The Pika is herbivore that stays active year round even in winter. It survives the cold winter by eating dried vegetation they have stored away in haypiles. They feed on alpine grasses, sedges, thistles, fireweed, cushion plants and lichens.

Behavior: Pikas live in colonies divided into individual territories that they actively defend.

The Pika will bark if they are scared and to warn other animals of danger that is near. They can be quiet when a weasel is nearby to avoid being detected.

They spend part of their time looking out for predators, defending the territory and protecting their stored food. The short call is given as an alarm call to alert other pikas of avain predators and as a territory defense call.

Pikas spend part of the day feeding and haying. Pikas utilize two distinct foraging styles: open foraging (feeding) and food collection and caching (haying). During the summer, they cache vegetation in haypiles composed of tall grasses and forbes. The haypiles are cached (stored) on open surfaces or under rocks within their territory. These haypiles are used to supplement their diet during the harsh winter months. Watch the video.

Reproduction: The Pikas mating season is from April to July. They may breed twice a year depending on their location. The gestation period is thirty days long (one month). Pika's will give birth to a litter of 2-5 young.

The young are completely dependent on their mother for at least 18 days. The have a fast growth rate and reach adult size when they are only 3 months old. The female weans the young at 3 to 4 weeks after birth.

Did you know?

Pikas collect and store food for the winter.

They live in rocky areas in the mountains.

Pikas are related to rabbits and hares.

American Pika

More information:
American Pika - Animal Diversity Web

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American Pika ( Ochotona princeps) also called mouse hare and rock rabbit Species Code: OCPR What they look like: American Pikas are hearty small mammals who live in rock piles in the mountains of western North America. They are related to rabbits but are are about the size of large hamsters.