The brilliant foliage of the quaking aspen (Populus tremuloides) provides some of the most iconic and striking scenery in Colorado’s Rocky Mountains. These altitude-loving deciduous trees grow up to fifty feet tall, and their leaves turn a vibrant gold,…

From the tall, straight lodgepole pines in the high Rockies to the short, gnarled piñons that guard the state’s canyons and grasslands, coniferous trees dominate Colorado’s natural environments and hold together important ecosystems. Commonly referred to…

One of the most ecologically and culturally significant trees in Colorado, the plains cottonwood (Populus deltoides monilifera) thrives near rivers and riparian areas throughout the state. It is one of the only tree species to grow on Colorado’s Great…

Culturally Modified Trees (or CMTs) are trees that exhibit peels, ax cuts, delimbing, wood removal, and other cultural modifications. Numerous CMTs are found in the foothills and mountains of Colorado. Research has shown that these trees are artifacts…

Forests across Colorado's Rocky Mountains look very different today than they did twenty years ago: millions of trees have been killed by mountain pine beetles (Dendroctonus ponderosae). The mountain pine beetle is a native insect that is roughly the…

Colorado enjoys a proud public lands heritage and a prominent place in US Forest Service (USFS) history. The state hosts many of the first forests reserved under federal law, which today are some of the most popular destinations within the national…

Wickiups were temporary conical and domed shelters constructed by the Native American inhabitants of Colorado for millennia. Because of the perishable nature of their construction materials, a vast majority of wickiups and other prehistoric wooden…

Coloradans have coevolved with fire. From early indigenous people to Euro-American colonizers, to modern government agents, humans have influenced the direction of fire as much as fire has influenced the course of people. The fire-adapted landscapes we…