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Manitou Experimental Forest
The Manitou Experimental Forest covers about 26 square miles in the Watershed. The Forest is representative of the montane zone in the Front Range, which extends from southern Wyoming to northern New Mexico. Manitou was established in 1936 (the majority of buildings were constructed in the late 1930's by the WPA out of locally quarried stone) with early research focused on range management including revegetation of abandoned fields, grazing management in native and seeded pastures, and watershed management in gulley control, stream sedimentation, surface runoff and infiltration.

Watershed management studies continued through the mid-1980's centered on water quality and included studies of impacts of cattle grazing, bacterial pollution in lake and stream water from recreation and mountain home development, and aquatic biota. The water quality research program has been terminated. Range management research conducted through the late 1970's included studies of rotation grazing systems, seasons of use, and overstory/understory relationships. The range research program has also been terminated.


View the Cubical Panorama of Manitou Experimental Forest (1.6 Mb)

Panorama taken July 2002
Resource Issues Forest Health Main South Platte Manitou Experimental Forest
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 Green blades of grass sprout from burned bunches.
On-going research is centered on studies of ponderosa pine regeneration in both even and uneven-aged systems, initial tree spacing and growth, provenance testing of ponderosa pine, growth and yield in uneven-aged and irregular stand structures in ponderosa pine, and old-growth characteristics of Front Range ponderosa pine. Other studies include dwarf mistletoe effects and control in ponderosa pine, and studies of habitat requirements, habitat use, and population dynamics of flammulated owls. During the Hayman fire, areas of the experimental burned. This will provide researchers with a whole new range of research opportunities on fire and recovery.