NPR

As Wildfires Grow More Intense, Iconic Western Forests May Not Come Back : NPR

After a quick hike off a steep dirt road, forest ecologist Marin Chambers stands surrounded by grasses, shrubs and blackened bare trees. This is part of where the Hayman fire — until last month, Colorado's largest in recorded history — burned northwest of Colorado Springs back in 2002. The ground is dry, crunching underfoot.

"What we're seeing is a very large high-severity burn patch, where the vast majority of the trees have died," says Chambers, with the Colorado Forest Restoration Institute at Colorado State University.

These 18-square miles burned hot and fast in a single day, driven by how dense the forest was because of past fire suppression, high winds and extreme drought. Now, nearly two decades later, something you'd normally see after a wildfire is missing: new trees.

Be critical of your party 🐴🐘

Be critical of your party 🐴🐘

It annoys me when people reel from criticism of Joe Biden or poking fun of the man. When Joe Biden does creepy, unethical things or has a problematic record it should be pointed out and discussed.

Criticism of Joe Biden isn’t a vote for Donald Trump. It’s a legitimate discussion of our future with some humor interjected. While I do think Biden is more competent and a better leader, I’m not going to defend his shortcomings or hide from the truth.

Watching butterflies

Watching butterflies πŸ¦‹

I am sitting here, watching butterflies at Five Rivers Environmental Education Center. Saw a few Eastern Tiger Swallowtail and Monarchs but not in the same place. When I own land eventually, I will definitely want to plant milkweed and make sure I have good habitat for the butterflies.