The Decline of the Quaking Aspen

ByABC News
September 19, 2000, 4:21 PM

Sept. 21 -- A gentle breeze wafting across the American West sends the heart-shaped leaves of the quaking aspen into a frenzy, filling the forest with a gentle roar as they whisper the sounds of approaching fall. The days of autumn grow colder, and these majestic trees switch from silvery green to a luminous yellow so brilliant it almost hurts your eyes.

It is a scene repeated in many areas across the country, as small pockets of these commanding trees cloak themselves in the colors and sounds of fall, dazzling anyone fortunate to stand in their midst.

But those opportunities are growing more scarce, especially in the western states where the aspen has fallen on very hard times.

In forest after forest, the aspen is simply not regenerating, or sending up young shoots to replace the older trees that are nearing the end of their lifespan. The decline of the aspen has reached crisis proportions, according to foresters, many of whom admit they only recently became aware of the problem.

Utah, for example, once had more than 2 million acres of aspen, but today that number is down by 60 percent. The decline in some areas of the West is even worse, down as much as 90 percent in some parts of the Rocky Mountains, according to the U.S. Forest Service.

The aspen is doing quite well in many regions, like the northeastern United States, but the rapid decline in some areas of the West has alarmed many who are now scrambling to find out why. They are learning that there is no single cause, but in many cases, the finger of blame seems to be pointing back at ourselves.

In some cases, in an effort to save our forests from ravaging wild fires, we have robbed nature of what it needed to keep the aspen groves healthy. In other areas, livestock have been allowed to feed upon the tender new shoots of aspen, eliminating any chance of regeneration. And in at least one case, it appears that human desires to eliminate a predator may have backfired bigtime.

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