Aspen Working Group Schedules Public Field Trip

The Eastern Idaho Aspen Working Group (EIAWG) has scheduled a free public field trip to the Fall Creek Area of the Caribou-Targhee National Forest to discuss aspen ecology and see restoration efforts first-hand. The field trip has been scheduled for Saturday, June 20. Interested participants should meet at 9:00 am at the regional Idaho Fish and Game office located at 4279 Commerce Circle in Idaho Falls. Arrangements will be made at that time for participants to carpool to the tour site, and estimated time of return to Idaho Falls is 5:00 pm. The field trip will include a visit to sites where aspen restoration efforts (such as controlled burns, conifer removal, and other methods) are either currently underway or have been completed and showing signs of success. Field trip participants will also receive an introduction to the methods scientists use to assess aspen stand conditions as well as learn more about how aspen are important to plant and wildlife communities. Biologists from the Idaho Fish and Game, Shoshone- Bannock Tribes Fish and Wildlife Department, United States Forest Service, and Bureau of Land Management will be leading the tour. The tour is free. All participants should be sure to dress for the weather-and possible changes in the weather-- wear comfortable shoes suitable for light hiking, and should bring a lunch. Anyone who has questions should contact EIAWG member, Aren Eddingsaas via email at aeddingsaas@sbtribes.com or by calling 208-239-4577. Quaking aspen is the most widely distributed tree species in North America, ranging throughout Canada and most of the United States (including Alaska), and extending into Mexico. However, since the late 19th to early 20th centuries, it is estimated that the aspen component of the landscape in eastern Idaho has declined by as much as 65 percent. At one time on the Caribou-Targhee National Forest, 45 percent of the Caribou acreage and 40 percent of the Targhee acreage were occupied by aspen. Now that has dwindled to less than 27 percent on the Caribou and less than 9 percent on the Targhee. Lost aspen means a loss of valuable habitat to wildlife, and a reduction in a resource that is valued by the public as a whole.