Forest Service rangers will try and use fire to regenerate aspen stands affected by sudden aspen decline with a controlled burn in the Battlements Roadless Area in western Colorado. PHOTO BY BOB BERWYN
500-acre prescribed fire under way near Collbran
By Bob Berwyn
SUMMIT COUNTY — As a Colorado landmark tree, the aspen gets a lot of attention, especially this time of year, when the stands are vibrant with fiery fall color.
This week, a different sort of blaze will roar through a 500-acre stand of aspens in the Battlements Roadless area north of Collbran, where land managers are using a prescribed burn to treat an area affected by sudden aspen decline, the term for a sudden die-back of the trees linked to stress from the 2002 drought.
The pace of the die-back has slowed considerably in the past couple of years, but Forest Service researchers are still trying to figure out how they might be able to revitalize some of the areas that were hit.
And even though sudden aspen decline has slowed in southwest Colorado, there is still a slower trend of aspen decline across the state, attributed in part to fire suppression, as well to over-grazing of young stands by elk.
Aspens are an important part of Colorado’s forest ecosystems. The groves provide good habitat for cavity nesting birds, and the understory is much more diverse than in many evergreen forests, with shrubs and berries that provide an important food source for many animals. (more…)
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