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<br />B. Forest (GREEN, ORANGE, LIGHT GREEN AND YELLOW) <br /> <br />The importance of the forests for wood, recreation, forage for <br />domestic livestock and wildlife, water, and other values is <br />substant ial. <br /> <br />The forested acreage is expected to remain fairly constant. <br />Multiple use management of the forested lands will intensify <br />in the future. Agriculture, urban development, construction <br />of roads, reservoirs, power lines, recreation areas, and other <br />uses are expected to cause the sl ight reduction of forest <br />acreage. Because of lower elevations, gentler slopes, and <br />better accessibility, the Ponderosa pine type is especially <br />susceptible to reduction as a result of urban development. <br /> <br />Forests of the Rio Grande Basin include a number of major <br />timber types. Distribution of the various species is influ- <br />enced by elevation, precipitation, direction of slope and <br />characteristics, length of growing season and other factors. <br /> <br />Pinyon-juniper trees grow at the lowest elevation on areas <br />receiving from 10 to 14 inches (0.25 to 0.36 m) of precipi- <br />tation a year. Above the 14-inch (0.36 m) precipitation zone, <br />the general progression of species is (1) Ponderosa pine, <br />(2) aspen, Douglas-fir, (3) subalpine fir and Englemann <br />spruce. <br /> <br />The commercial forest area is distributed among four major <br />forest types--Douglas fir, ponderosa pine, spruce-fir, and <br />aspen. The spruce-fir and aspen types grow at high elevations <br />where lands are largely national forest. The ponderosa pine <br />type which grows at relatively low elevations shows a somewhat <br />higher proportion of private-state and other public ownership. <br />Much of the winter range for elk and deer is in this forest <br />type. <br /> <br />Although juniper and pinyon are used for fuel, Christmas <br />trees, and fence posts, they are of low product demand and <br />this results in low price. <br /> <br />The following generalized plant communities are self- <br />descriptive by their names and reflect the general appearance <br />of the various areas. <br /> <br />1. Forest and Grasslands of Sub-Alpine Areas (GREEN) <br /> <br />This area Is I imited at high elevations by severity of <br />climate and at lower elevations by insufficient precipi- <br />tation and high temperatures. Higher elevations support <br /> <br />. ~(... i"' -"~ .~. ,. <br />.' , , ..j''oi. <br /> <br />B-3 <br />