In Poudre Canyon, host-seeking Rocky Mountain wood ticks are found commonly in south-facing areas with mixed grass-brush-trees at higher elevations (above 7,000 ft) but in more sheltered habitats, such as along north-facing creeks, at lower elevations (below 7,000 ft) where climate conditions become too hot and dry for the ticks on the south-facing slopes.

South-facing open habitat		North-facing sheltered habitat Photo by Sam Cox, Landscape Imagery Nature Photography
From: Eisen, Meyer and Eisen. 2007. Climate-based model predicting acarological risk of encountering the human-biting adult life stage of Dermacentor andersoni (Acari: Ixodidae), in a key habitat type in Colorado. Journal of Medical Entomology 44: 694-704.

Rocky Mountain wood ticks were collected more commonly from grass than from brush or juniper in Poudre Canyon (5 sites) and Rocky Mountain National Park (5 sites).

Site locations and distribution of montane ponderosa pine habitat

Host-seeking from grass rather than from brush may be beneficial to the tick if important hosts such as deer, elk and bighorn sheep commonly browse on fresh grass in the spring time when the adult ticks are active.

From: Eisen, Ibarra-Juarez, Eisen and Piesman. 2008. Indicators for elevated risk of human exposure to host-seeking adults of the Rocky Mountain wood tick (Dermacentor andersoni) in Colorado. Journal of Vector Ecology: 117-128.