I have attempted to denaturalize and historicize tourism in Crested Butte as an economic, social, and physical phenomenon that fits into the broader histories of Colorado and the West, as well as the broader histories and realities of travel and tourism. Why do people seek out certain places and experiences in the name of pleasure? How did these activities and spaces come to qualify as desirable? What about people who fall outside temporally limited definitions of tourist, such as those who come to Crested Butte for only a season or a year, or second homeowners who stay for months at a time, or, really, any resident? All these people value the place and their experiences in the exact same ways, influenced by the same physical and psychic constructions of desirability. These current constructions are informed by a long history of evolving tastes and interests, the products of converging local, national, and international dynamics. In tracing a history of tourism and especially tourism in the West, I used a variety of secondary sources authored by scholars of tourism, the West, and Colorado. In charting a history of Crested Butte, I utilized archived local newspapers. I spoke to a number of current Crested Butte residents to understand how Crested Butte locals view themselves, their community, their lifestyles, and their town.

Stonefly life histories were studied March, 1987 through May, 1990 in the Rio Conejos, Colorado. Adult presence phenology and intensity were monitored daily in the summers of 1988 and 1989 and were coupled with monthly benthic samples to assess nymphal growth. Eggs of several species were reared. Thirty-one species were collected, with several multi-species assemblages occurring in Capnia, Utacapnia, Taenionema, Suwallia, Triznaka, Isogenoides and Isoperla. Sufficient data were obtained to reveal partial or complete life histories of 13 species, five of which have not been previously reported. New information included the 9- to 10-mo egg diapause and semivoltine life histories of Isogenoides zionensis Hanson, Pteronarcella badia (Hagen) and Pteronarcys californica Newport. Additionally, Isoperla phalerata (Smith) had univoltine-slow growth, and L quinquepunctata (Banks) was univoltine-fast. Previously unstudied emergence periods are presented for Triznaka signata (Banks), Suwallia wardi Kondratieff and Kirchner and S. pallidula (Banks). The later two species temporally segregated emergence in both years. Isoperla fulva Claassen emerged in June, and was temporally segregated from its congeners. Regression analysis of cumulative percentage catch revealed two adult presence patterns. Eight species had slopes <7%/d (extended pattern), and only two, I. zionensis and P. cal'fornica, had slopes >7 %/d (synchronous pattern). Several stoneflies were more abundant in Massey Creek, a tributary of the Rio Conejos. The emergence and diversity of mayflies, stoneflies and caddisflies was studied there. During May-August, 1989, 46 species were collected using sweepnetting and emergence traps. Chloroperlid stoneflies were abundant, with Suwallia nr. lineosa (Banks) contributing 37% of the total catch. Slopes of adult presence ranged from 1.7 %/d for Epeorus alberta (McDunnough) to 6.2%/d for Rhyacophila pellissa Ross. Separation of patterns was more difficult here, but < 4%/d was used as a criterion for extended emergers. A cluster analysis of 17 species produced three clusters that corresponded to stream temperature as a cue for emergence.

No description available.

During January 1986 - September 1988 I studied the behavioral and demographic responses of mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus) to military activity on the Pinon Canyon Maneuver Site in southeastern Colorado. Military training was initiated on the site during August 1985 and recurred approximately 3 times yearly for periods of a month. During a maneuver, 3/7 of the site was used for training in accordance with a rotational land use schedule. I radio-collared fifty adult deer and 49 fawns. Female seasonal home ranges were larger in maneuver than non maneuver areas. During the nonsummer period female home ranges were larger in previous-maneuver than non maneuver areas. Fawn summer home ranges were larger in maneuver than previous-maneuver areas. Male home range sizes differed only for 50% harmonic mean transformation annual home ranges; bucks in maneuver areas had larger home ranges than in non maneuver areas. Female deer in maneuver areas exhibited significant home area shifts between pre maneuver and maneuver periods more frequently (40%) than did deer in non maneuver (control) areas (12.5%). Mule deer in military training areas may have responded to human harassment, alteration of security cover, or destruction of the forage base. I suggest that deer may exhibit a more negative response to unpredictable than predictable disturbances. Demographic data were compared to previous baseline data (1983-1984). Buck annual survival rates did not differ during 1983-1988; doe annual survival rates also were similar during this period. Summer fawn survival differed only between 1984 and 1987, being higher in 1987. All fawn mortalities either were caused or scavenged by coyotes (Canis latrans). Pregnancy rates and fawn production ranged from 88-96% and 1.4-1.7 fawns/doe, respectively. Also, fawn:doe ratios were similar during 1983-1988. Although population estimates increased between 1984 and early 1988, the population declined during late 1888. Two important confounding factors existed on the site during 1983-1988 which make it difficult to assess the effect of military activity on mule deer demographics. First, extensive cattle grazing occurred prior to acquisition of the site and continued through most of the baseline study. Secondly, coyote control was conducted during 1987-1988. These factors may have allowed the deer population to perform better under disturbance conditions. Aerial quadrat sampling was preferred over line transect sampling for censusing mule deer in low density pinyon-juniper (Pinus edulis-Juniperus monosperma) habitat. Management recommendations included training restrictions during fawning season and in severe winters, as well as revegetating disturbed areas. / Master of Science

This research presents the Colorado River basin as a social-ecological system. Utilizing event data on cooperative and conflictive interactions over fresh water, the system is decomposed to look for evidence of outcomes of resilience enhancement. The Animas-La Plata Project in the upper San Juan basin is presented as a case study, and qualitative methods are used to analyze interactions that led to its construction in order to assess social-ecological outcomes. In the upper San Juan basin, cooperative interactions over fresh water outnumbered conflictive ones. Interactions over water rights and infrastructure were most common, and the most cooperative interactions focused on these issue types. Many of these interactions focused on the Animas-La Plata Project compromise, which ultimately enhances social-ecological resilience in the Colorado River basin. / Graduation date: 2012

The archaeofaunal remains left by the Ancestral Puebloan people of Goodman Point Unit provides a valuable, yet underutilized resource into pit structure function. This thesis explores temporal changes in pit structure use and evaluates if a final feast occurred during a kiva decommissioning. The results from zooarchaeological analyses of a pithouse and two great kivas suggest that changes in pit structures at Goodman Point mimic the regional trend toward specialization until late Pueblo III. Cross-cultural studies on feasts, southwest ethnographies and previous zooarchaeological work established methods for identifying a feast. The analysis of differences in faunal remains from a great kiva and multiple room block middens imply that the remains in the kiva were from a final feast prior to a decommissioning ceremony and were not fill. Spatially and temporally the great kiva appears to be a unique, specialized structure in the cultural development of the Goodman Point community.

Snowmelt is one of the major sources of surface water supply and ground-water recharge in high elevation areas and can also cause flooding in snow dominated watersheds. Direct estimation of daily snowmelt requires daily snow water equivalent (SWE) measurements that are not always available, especially in places without monitoring stations. There are two alternative approaches to modeling snowmelt without using direct measurements of SWE, temperature-based and energy-based models. Due to its simplicity, computational efficiency, and less input data requirement, the temperature-based method is commonly used than the energy-based method. In the temperature-index approach snowmelt is estimated as a linear function of average air temperature, and the slope of the linear function is called the degree-day factor (DDF). Hence, the DDF is an essential parameter for utilizing the temperature-based method to estimate snowmelt. Thereby, to analyze the spatial properties of DDF, 10 years DDF from the entire state of Colorado was calculated for this research. Likewise, to study the temporal properties, DDFs for 27 years from the White Yampa water basin and the Colorado Headwaters water basin were calculated. As a part of the spatial analysis, the calculated DDFs were correlated with spatial variables (slope, aspect, latitude and elevation) and a spatial correlation graph was created to observe the possibility of predicting DDF. Also a multivariate regression model was prepared using these spatial variables to predict the DDF using spatial variables. Further, the DDFs calculated from Colorado headwaters and the White Yampa water basins were correlated for annual temporal variation, daily variation, variation with peak snow water equivalent and variation with important temporal cycles like accumulation period and melting period of snowmelt. The result obtained from this study showed that the variability of DDF is more dependent upon temporal factors compared to the spatial factors. Also, the results showed that predicting DDF is a difficult process and requires complex methods than simple linear models or multivariate models.

A dramatic increase in the number of individuals taking float trips on the Colorado River through Grand Canyon National Park has occurred over the last decade. The National Park Service has attempted to protect the fragile river corridor from "overuse" through implementation of the 1979 River Management Plan. A survey of users taking float trips through Marble and Grand Canyons has been conducted to measure attitudes about National Park Service management policies of the river trips. The study has been designed to categorize users along a wildernist scale and determine whether a difference in attitude concerning river management policy existed between more wilderness oriented participants and less wilderness oriented participants. Users have been categorized into three wildernist categories: Neutralists, Slight Wildernists, and Moderate Wildernists. Attitudes regarding river and canyon management policy were significantly different between wilderness categories in ten of sixteen policy questions. Also, a significant difference existed in attitudes when comparing pre- and post-trip responses. Mode of travel was associated with mean wilderness scores. Two survey instruments have been used in the study: a self-administered questionnaire and a paired-picture comparison interview. Description of the two instruments used as well as a discussion of the major findings are presented.

This thesis examines how intercultural awareness education can be taught to kindergarten through fourth grade children. The concept of what it means to be interculturally aware and what is needed for teachers to instinct awareness in young students is examined. Literature research and data gathered from teachers through interviews and surveys is used to create a framework for teaching intercultural awareness education. In addition a set of recommendations for instruction and a bibliography for professional development around intercultural education are presented.

Forecasts of hydrological information are vital for many of society's functions. Availability of water is a requirement for any civilization, and this necessitates quantitative estimates of water for effective resource management. The research in this dissertation will focus on the forecasting of hydrological quantities, with emphasis on times of anomalously low water availability, commonly referred to as droughts. Of particular focus is the quantification of uncertainty in hydrological forecasts, and the factors that affect that uncertainty. With this focus, Bayesian methods, including ensemble data assimilation and multi-model combinations, are utilized to develop a probabilistic forecasting system. This system is applied to the upper Colorado River Basin for water supply and drought forecast analysis. This dissertation examines further advancements related to the identification of drought intensity. Due to the reliance of drought forecasting on measures of the magnitude of a drought event, it is imperative that these measures be highly accurate. In order to quantify drought intensity, hydrologists typically use statistical indices, which place observed hydrological deficiencies within the context of historical climate. Although such indices are a convenient framework for understanding the intensity of a drought event, they have obstacles related to non-stationary climate, and non-uniformly distributed input variables. This dissertation discusses these shortcomings, demonstrates some errors that conventional indices may lead to, and then proposes a movement towards physically-based indices to overcome these issues. A final advancement in this dissertation is an examination of the sensitivity of hydrological forecasts to initial conditions. Although this has been performed in many recent studies, the experiment here takes a more detailed approach. Rather than determining the lead time at which meteorological forcing becomes dominant with respect to initial conditions, this study quantifies the lead time at which the forecast becomes entirely insensitive to initial conditions, and estimating the rate at which the forecast loses sensitivity to initial conditions. A primary goal with this study is to examine the recovery of drought, which is related to the loss of sensitivity to below average initial moisture conditions over time. Through this analysis, it is found that forecasts are sensitive to initial conditions at greater lead times than previously thought, which has repercussions for development of forecast systems.