Re: vegetation question (e.g. Cresco & Sublette)

Hi, Christian -

When pine trees are removed, either for use by humans as fuel or railroad ties or by
Mother Nature by avalanche or forest fire, the aspen will tend to take over. They are
very fast growing, and spread rapidly as their root systems expand. (Large groves of
aspen are generally recognized as the largest living organisms on earth). Eventually
pine trees will grow tall enough to shade the aspen, which will gradually die off, and
the pines will take over again after two or three hundred years.

See [ngdiscussion.net] for a comparison of the Cresco Tank area in 1975 versus 2004. The trees have grown another eight to ten feet taller in the past five years, and today there are even more of them. Several of my 1968 'Last Freight' shots could not be duplicated today, such as 'Slippery Footing' west of Sublette (see [ngdiscussion.net]) - even if #483 and #498 were restored to operation - unless a LOT of trees were cut down as well (see the maps on [ngdiscussion.net], above).

- Russo



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 12/10/2009 07:39AM by Russo Loco.