Aspen Next Generation

Conversations from Southern Colorado and Northern New Mexico

Aspen trees and forests are especially important in the Rocky Mountains. Aspens add beauty to landscapes, foster high diversity and productivity of understory plants, provide for the habitat needs of many species of animals, and moderate fire behavior. There is a perception that aspen trees and stands are not regenerating well in southern Colorado and northern New Mexico; cohorts of trees younger than a few decades are scarce, at least in some areas. The next generation of aspen in the southern Rockies will be influenced by land use decisions, including harvesting, fire policy and management, and browsing by livestock and wildlife.

The Aspen Next Generation (ANG) Project aimed to foster the future of aspen by pulling together insights from landowners, agency personnel, and scientists across southern Colorado and northern New Mexico. We compiled insights and concerns about the condition of aspen regeneration from a broad range of people throughout the region.

The summaries of conversations include our interpretations of what we heard, and despite our best efforts to draw out the key points, our summaries won’t represent the full perspective of anyone we talked with. We hope this report will stimulate further discussion, rather than be relied on as a record of any rock-solid conclusions.