Safeguarding species, languages, and cultures in the time of diversity loss: From the Colorado Plateau to global hotspots

Hotspots of biodiversity have become priority areas for land conservation initiatives, oftentimes without recognition that these areas are hotspots of cultural diversity as well. Using the Colorado Plateau ecoregion as a case study, this inquiry (1) outlines the broad geographic patterns of biological diversity and ethnolinguistic diversity within this ecoregion; (2) discusses why these two kinds of diversity are often influenced by the same geographic and historic factors; and (3) suggests what can be done to integrate traditional ecological knowledge of indigenous peoples into multicultural conservation collaborations.