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ST. GEORGE — A new Pando project is in the works, and advocates say it could allow the "trembling giant" to begin regenerating.
Pando is touted as the world's largest tree by weight and land mass, and according to the Friends of Pando website, "The word 'pando' is Latin for 'I spread.' The aspen tree was named 'Pando' by scientist Michael Grant in a 1992 article in Discover Magazine because it 'spreads out' across 106 acres."
The nonprofit works to educate the public about the clonal giant and advocates for its conservation, including installing fencing around areas within Pando primarily to protect it from grazing ungulates — deer, elk and similar species. These grazers have been reportedly eating away the tree more quickly than it can regenerate.
Friends of Pando's executive director Lance Oditt, as part of its Fish Lake Basin Recreation Improvement plan, said Fishlake National Forest planned to construct double-width cattle guards on state Route 25 and install fencing for an additional 23 acres to protect about 76 total acres of Pando.
Read the entire story at St. George News.
