Document Type

Newsletter

Journal/Book Title/Conference

Tremblings

Volume

15

Issue

2

Editor

Paul Rogers

Publisher

Western Aspen Alliance

Publication Date

5-2024

First Page

1

Last Page

4

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Abstract

Climate change insurance: planting aspen seedlings as fuel breaks

Catherine Schloegel, Program Manager, The Nature Conservancy, Boulder, Colorado

Jordan Mead, Resource Specialist, Summit County Open Space and Trails Department, Frisco, Colorado

As climate impacts accelerate, mountain communities living near forested areas across the West will be at increasing risk of more frequent wildfires. To protect neighborhoods from high-severity wildfires, land managers frequently clear strips of forest around homes and roads. We examined the potential to plant true aspen seedlings in these fuel breaks to increase habitat diversity while maintaining a reduced risk of wildfire. Historically, aspen has acted as a natural fuel break in low- to medium- severity wildfires, although it is less well understood how it will impact contemporary fire occurrence, behavior, and severity. Scientists at the University of Colorado at Boulder are examining the relationship between aspen and fire, and in parallel we are working to generate knowledge about planting and survival.

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