- A new report compiled by scientists with the U.S. Forest Service and Duke University predicts that drought will continue to stress forests and alter habitat for years to come.
- Officials with the San Juan National Forest say they are working on several proposals to help deal with spruce-beetle infestations.
A new report compiled by scientists with the U.S. Forest Service and Duke University predicts that drought will continue to stress forests and alter habitat for years to come. Large stand-level impacts of drought can already be seen across the West. Projections are that, because of climate change, some regions will become drier and most will see more extreme variations in precipitation. Even where current precipitation patterns are unchanged, warmer temperatures will amplify drought’s effects, which include speeding up invasion by non-native plants and causing some trees and shrubs to die out. The report recommends thinning dense growth as one forest-management option because thinned stands require less water and may be less vulnerable to insect outbreaks and wildfires.
Officials with the San Juan National Forest say they are working on several proposals to help deal with spruce-beetle infestations. Proposals include timber salvage sales on areas with dead spruce near Wolf Creek Pass and a possible timber sale on about 900 acres of mixed spruce and aspen on Taylor and Stoner mesas on the Dolores Ranger District. A recent aerial survey found that more than 120,000 acres of high-elevation forest locally have been infested by the beetles.
