Forest Service tries to save threatened aspen grove

SALT LAKE CITY -- The U.S. Forest Service is trying to save one of the world's largest and oldest organisms: a 106-acre aspen thicket threatened by pests, wildlife and climate change on a central Utah mountain slope.

The Salt Lake Tribune reports that without help, the aspen grove could die and finish off a common root system believed to be about 80,000 years old.

The U.S. Forest Service is expected to make a decision next year on its approach to saving the grove.

The grove is believed to have thrived during wetter climates with protection from frequent wildfires that beat back the advance of its main competitor, conifer trees.

The shift to a semi-arid Southwest after the Ice Age has all but stopped aspens from flowering and spreading faster with seeds in the wind.