A phenomenon called sudden aspen decline, which is driven by worsening drought and climate change, has been impacting the trees across Colorado. With that in mind, the U.S. Forest Service is proposing an effort called the White River Aspen Management Project. Specifically, the agency has identified 375,000 acres where it could potentially treat aspens with prescribed burns and tree harvesting.

Hundred-year-old apple, apricot and even plum trees are scattered — and often abandoned — across the valley. That’s proving fruitful for some local food producers.

Predictions from forestry experts show that local forests might change dramatically as beetle populations grow and as climate change worsens.