Colorado Plateau & Mountain Forests bioregion

The bioregion’s land area is provided in units of 1,000 hectares. The protection goal is the combined Global Safety Net (GSN1) areas for the component ecoregions. The protection level indicates the percentage of the GSN goal that is currently protected on a scale of 0-10. N/A means data is not available at this time.

  • 71,956
    Total Land Area (1000 ha)
  • 5
    Number of Ecoregions
  • 57%
    Protection Target
  • 2
    Protection Level

The Colorado Plateau bioregion, located in the American West subrealm of Northern America, is encircled by mountains on all sides and consists primarily of desert shrublands and shrub steppe, spanning from the Arizona Mountains in the south to northern Wyoming, where it abuts the Central Rockies. It contains five ecoregions – Arizona Mountains Forests (346), Colorado Plateau Shrublands (429), Wasatch and Uinta Montane Forests (368), Colorado Rockies Forests (353), Wyoming Basin Shrub Steppe (438) – and for over a thousand years has been home to many different Native American tribes. The total area of this bioregion is approximately 72 million hectares.

The Colorado Plateau & Mountain Forests bioregion is part of the American West subrealm and is made up of five ecoregions: (1) Wyoming Basin Shrub Steppe (2) Wasatch and Uinta Montane Forests (3) Colorado Plateau Shrublands (4) Colorado Rockies Forests (5) Arizona Mountains Forests.

One Earth is dedicated to mobilizing philanthropic capital to protect the ecosystems and peoples of Northern America. Visit the Project Marketplace to explore projects in this realm that need your support. Learn more about each of the Colorado Plateau & Mountain Forests ecoregions below.

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