Elk and other wildlife are getting some help thanks to habitat stewardship work in east-central Colorado. The Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation and several other partners supplied funding to thin pinyon pines and junipers near Rifle Gap Reservoir.
“This technique has been widely successful in western Colorado for improving wildlife habitat and reducing large wildfire risk,” Hilary Boyd, told the Post Independent. “The short-term impact to the area will result in a decade or more of great habitat for mule deer, elk and other wildlife.”
Fields of sagebrush and their accompanying grasslands are often squeezed out by juniper and pinion.