Science Moab

Given the increasing temperatures and aridity, the fate of pinyon-juniper woodlands on the Colorado Plateau is uncertain. We talk with Rebecca Finger-Higgens, Ecologist with the US Geological Survey, about the recovery of the pinyon-juniper woodlands in the La Sal Mountains following the Pack Creek Fire of 2021. Rebecca tackles the question of whether pre-fire forest thinning programs and post-fire seeding and erosion control expedite pinyon-juniper forest recovery.