Drought could affect fall foliage

Foresters are keeping an eye on how dry conditions in the mountains this summer will affect fall foliage.

Chris Forman, Aspen’s city forester, said the yellow leaves popping up in the area could indicate stressed trees, and could mean an early and shorter color season.

But Jim Kravitz with the Aspen Center for Environmental Studies said the rain in July and August has helped nourish a lot of the forest. And he predicts the trees’ color will peak the third week of September, which is the time it typically occurs.

He adds that no two seasons are alike and points to a new ACES program that encourages people to take pictures of certain plants, and then write down their locations to create an ongoing record.