May 19, 2026
Going to Extremes to Uncover the Secrets of Dinosaur National Monument’s Ponderosa Pine
U.S. National Parks and Monuments are tasked with planning for climate change impacts on their natural resources. One aspect of such climate readiness is the documentation of unique resources that may hold specific sensitivity in a warmer, drier future. While ponderosa pine is common in western North American lower montane forests, small and isolated old-growth stands are unusual. Dinosaur National Monument’s isolated ponderosa pine trees on the meander benches of the Yampa and Green rivers are a unique, undocumented resource of ecological and cultural importance. Their tree rings also hold the potential to reveal new insights about the environmental conditions leading to their establishment and sustainability. A clear understanding of the prevalence, age, and environmental information contained in these trees may be critical to their management now and conservation in the future. But, to study these trees, researchers must go to extremes on the wild rivers of Dinosaur National Monument.
Featured Speaker: Becky Brice
Becky Brice is an earth systems geographer using tree rings and lake sediments to study paleoclimate, hydroclimatic processes, wildfire, and the interaction between drought and human systems. She specializes in tree-ring based reconstructions over the last 2,000 years and her research aims to understand the role of climate variability in changing environmental conditions. She earned a Bachelor of Arts in French, a Bachelor of Science in Geology, Master’s in Geography from the University of Denver, and a PhD in Geography from the University of Arizona. She has a dual role at the United States Geological Survey where she conducts research about past water and climate and manages national-scale wildland fire-science teams.
Featured Brewery: Mad Macks Brewing
How This Works
The Buffalo Rose will open at 6:00 p.m. Food and drink service will begin at 6:00 p.m. and the program will begin around 6:30 p.m. Following the presentation, we’ll take a brief intermission for Q + A. We’ll wrap up around 7:45 p.m., but people are welcome to stay a bit longer to chat with the speakers.
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