Threatened Colorado

Glossary

The words you'll meet on Threatened Colorado, from endangered to treeline. Each definition links to the page on this site that shows it in use, and to the source it comes from.

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Last reviewed , Checked against USFWS, CPW, NPS sources , Sources (16)

A

Alpine tundra
The treeless high country above treeline. In Rocky Mountain National Park it starts between 11,000 and 11,500 feet, depending on exposure. Grasses, sedges and low flowering plants with dense, wind-blocking hairs grow there.
On this site: Alpine tundra habitat Source: National Park Service, Rocky Mountain NP: Alpine tundra ecosystem (opens in a new tab)

B

Biodiversity
“The variety of life and its processes, including the variety of living organisms, the genetic differences among them, and the communities and ecosystems in which they occur.”
On this site: Colorado's habitats Source: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Endangered Species Glossary (revised April 2005) (opens in a new tab)

C

Candidate species
A plant or animal for which USFWS (or NOAA Fisheries) has enough information on its vulnerability and threats to support a proposal to list it as endangered or threatened. A candidate has no protection under the Endangered Species Act.
On this site: Candidate, on Endangered vs. Threatened Source: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Endangered Species Glossary (revised April 2005) (opens in a new tab)
Critical habitat
Specific areas, occupied by a listed species or not, that are essential for its conservation and have been formally designated by a rule published in the Federal Register.
On this site: Canada lynx (its profile shows critical habitat) Source: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Endangered Species Glossary (revised April 2005) (opens in a new tab)

D

Delisting
Removing an animal or plant from the federal list of endangered and threatened wildlife and plants. USFWS delisted the Colorado hookless cactus in 2025.
On this site: Recently recovered plants Source: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Endangered Species Glossary (revised April 2005) (opens in a new tab)

E

Endangered
Under the federal Endangered Species Act, “an animal or plant species in danger of extinction throughout all or a significant portion of its range.”
On this site: Endangered vs. Threatened Source: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Endangered Species Glossary (revised April 2005) (opens in a new tab)
Endemic species
“A species native and confined to a certain region; generally used for species with comparatively restricted distribution.” The Great Sand Dunes tiger beetle is found only in Colorado.
On this site: Great Sand Dunes tiger beetle Source: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Endangered Species Glossary (revised April 2005) (opens in a new tab)
Experimental population
A population of a listed species, designated by a rule in the Federal Register, that lives wholly apart from other populations of its species. Its rules can be less strict. Colorado’s wolves are one.
On this site: Gray wolf Source: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Endangered Species Glossary (revised April 2005) (opens in a new tab)
Extinct
“A species that no longer exists.” Compare extirpated, which means gone from part of its range but still alive elsewhere.
On this site: Lost & Extinct Source: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Endangered Species Glossary (revised April 2005) (opens in a new tab)
Extirpated
“A species that no longer survives in regions that were once part of its range, but that still exists elsewhere in the wild or in captivity.”
On this site: Lost & Extinct Source: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Endangered Species Glossary (revised April 2005) (opens in a new tab)

H

Habitat
“The place or environment where a plant or animal naturally lives and grows.”
On this site: Colorado's habitats Source: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Endangered Species Glossary (revised April 2005) (opens in a new tab)

I

Invasive species
In USFWS’s words, “non-native plants, animals and other living organisms that thrive in areas where they don’t naturally live, causing economic or environmental harm, or harm to human, animal or plant health.”
On this site: Invasive plants Source: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Invasive species (opens in a new tab)

K

Keystone species
A species that many other plants and animals depend on to survive; if it is removed, the ecosystem itself may collapse, the National Park Service says. NPS and CPW both call prairie dogs one.
On this site: Black-tailed prairie dog Source: National Park Service, Prairie dogs: pipsqueaks of the prairie (opens in a new tab)

L

Life zone
Another name for a mountain ecosystem at a certain elevation. Rocky Mountain National Park has three main ones: the montane, subalpine and alpine life zones.
On this site: Habitats explorer Source: National Park Service, Rocky Mountain NP: Plan your summer trip (opens in a new tab)

M

Montane
The foothills and lower mountain slopes. In Rocky Mountain National Park, montane forests mix Douglas-fir, lodgepole pine and ponderosa pine, with aspen groves and open meadows.
On this site: Montane forest habitat Source: National Park Service, Rocky Mountain NP: Montane ecosystem (opens in a new tab)

N

NatureServe rank
A scientific rating of a species’ risk of extinction or elimination, from 1 (critically imperiled) to 5 (secure): G for its whole range, S within one state. It is not a legal status.
On this site: NatureServe rank, on Endangered vs. Threatened Source: NatureServe, Definitions of Heritage Conservation Status Ranks (opens in a new tab)
Nonnative species
“Plants and animals living in areas where they don’t naturally exist.” A nonnative species that causes harm is called invasive.
On this site: Nonnative fish Source: National Park Service, What are invasive species? (opens in a new tab)

P

Proposed species
“A species of animal or plant that is proposed in the Federal Register to be listed under section 4 of the Endangered Species Act.” The listing is not final until a final rule.
On this site: Proposed, on Endangered vs. Threatened Source: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Endangered Species Glossary (revised April 2005) (opens in a new tab)

R

Recovery plan
A document, drafted by USFWS, NOAA Fisheries or other experts, that guides the work of federal, state and private groups to recover and conserve an endangered or threatened species.
On this site: Conservation in action Source: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Endangered Species Glossary (revised April 2005) (opens in a new tab)
Reintroduction
Returning a species to places where it once lived, usually with animals from healthy populations or captive breeding. USFWS says that when a species has been extirpated, reintroduction is often the only recovery option left.
On this site: Reintroduced species Source: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Endangered Species Act experimental populations (fact sheet) (opens in a new tab)
Riparian
Along rivers and streams. Riparian forests grow within the flood zone of rivers, on islands, sand or cobble bars, and right beside streambanks, from the eastern plains to Colorado’s foothills and mountains.
On this site: Rivers, streams & wetlands Source: Colorado State Forest Service, Riparian forests (opens in a new tab)

S

Shortgrass prairie
Grassland of short grasses on Colorado’s eastern plains. At Bent’s Old Fort, the National Park Service says, grama and buffalo grasses predominate.
On this site: Shortgrass prairie habitat Source: National Park Service, Bent's Old Fort NHS: Nature (opens in a new tab)
Special concern (Colorado)
A Colorado watch category for nongame wildlife that may need protection, such as species recently removed from the state list or declining for at least five years. Colorado’s take law does not name it.
On this site: Special Concern, on Endangered vs. Threatened Source: Colorado Natural Heritage Program, Conservation Status Handbook (May 1999) (opens in a new tab)
Species of Greatest Conservation Need (SGCN)
Species named in Colorado’s State Wildlife Action Plan. CPW says the list “includes the species of animals and plants that most urgently need conservation action.” It is a planning list, not legal protection.
On this site: SGCN, on Endangered vs. Threatened Source: Colorado Parks and Wildlife, State Wildlife Action Plan (opens in a new tab)
State endangered (Colorado)
Under Colorado law, native wildlife “whose prospects for survival or recruitment within this state are in jeopardy,” as determined by the Parks and Wildlife Commission.
On this site: Colorado status, on Endangered vs. Threatened Source: Colorado Revised Statutes 33-1-102, Definitions (wildlife) (opens in a new tab)
State threatened (Colorado)
Under Colorado law, wildlife that “is not in immediate jeopardy of extinction but is vulnerable” because it is so few or so restricted in range that it may become endangered.
On this site: Colorado status, on Endangered vs. Threatened Source: Colorado Revised Statutes 33-1-102, Definitions (wildlife) (opens in a new tab)
Subalpine
The zone just below treeline, between 9,000 and 11,000 feet in Rocky Mountain National Park. A typical subalpine forest is mostly subalpine fir and Engelmann spruce.
On this site: Subalpine forest habitat Source: National Park Service, Rocky Mountain NP: Subalpine ecosystem (opens in a new tab)

T

Threatened
Under the federal Endangered Species Act, “an animal or plant species likely to become endangered within the foreseeable future throughout all or a significant portion of its range.”
On this site: Endangered vs. Threatened Source: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Endangered Species Glossary (revised April 2005) (opens in a new tab)
Treeline
Where the forest ends, near 11,500 feet in Rocky Mountain National Park. At treeline, the National Park Service says, the last stunted, wind-battered trees give way to the alpine tundra.
On this site: Treeline, in the Habitats explorer Source: National Park Service, Rocky Mountain NP: Trail Ridge Road (opens in a new tab)

Want the status labels side by side? Endangered vs. Threatened compares every federal and Colorado label. Back to Education.

Sources (16)
  1. National Park Service, Rocky Mountain NP: Alpine tundra ecosystem. nps.gov (opens in a new tab)
  2. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Endangered Species Glossary (revised April 2005). fws.gov (opens in a new tab)
  3. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Invasive species. fws.gov (opens in a new tab)
  4. National Park Service, Prairie dogs: pipsqueaks of the prairie. nps.gov (opens in a new tab)
  5. National Park Service, Rocky Mountain NP: Plan your summer trip. nps.gov (opens in a new tab)
  6. National Park Service, Rocky Mountain NP: Montane ecosystem. nps.gov (opens in a new tab)
  7. NatureServe, Definitions of Heritage Conservation Status Ranks. help.natureserve.org (opens in a new tab)
  8. National Park Service, What are invasive species? nps.gov (opens in a new tab)
  9. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Endangered Species Act experimental populations (fact sheet). fws.gov (opens in a new tab)
  10. Colorado State Forest Service, Riparian forests. csfs.colostate.edu (opens in a new tab)
  11. National Park Service, Bent's Old Fort NHS: Nature. nps.gov (opens in a new tab)
  12. Colorado Natural Heritage Program, Conservation Status Handbook (May 1999). api.mountainscholar.org (opens in a new tab)
  13. Colorado Parks and Wildlife, State Wildlife Action Plan. cpw.state.co.us (opens in a new tab)
  14. Colorado Revised Statutes 33-1-102, Definitions (wildlife). colorado.public.law (opens in a new tab)
  15. National Park Service, Rocky Mountain NP: Subalpine ecosystem. nps.gov (opens in a new tab)
  16. National Park Service, Rocky Mountain NP: Trail Ridge Road. nps.gov (opens in a new tab)

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