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Photo Credits: Fred Dean (1976), Carl Roland (2005)
Ecoregion: Cook Inlet lowlands
Change Type: Increasing vegetation on river bars


Description:
Ecoregion: Cook Inlet lowlands
Change Type: Increasing vegetation on river bars


Description:
This photo pair shows two aerial views of a section of the floodplain on the West Fork of the Chulitna River. It is interesting to examine the photo closely and see the same sections of channel photographed 30 years apart, but still clearly visible. Note the increase in shrubs and overall colonization of this area by plants in the time that elapsed between the two photos. In the earlier photo, there were just a few shrubs dotting the lower part of the frame, but by 2005 there was substantial colonization by shrubs across the site. How will this change effect the movement of wildlife? Do you think they are more or less likely to travel through the area?