| Description: | This group includes mesic or cold-site conifer, mixed conifer, or deciduous montane forests of the Rocky Mountains west into the ranges of the Great Basin. Pseudotsuga menziesii and Abies concolor are the most common canopy dominants, but Picea engelmannii, Picea pungens, or Pinus ponderosa may be present, as well as stands of conifer mixed with Populus tremuloides or Acer grandidentatum . The relatively mesic understory is diagnostic of the type, and naturally occurring fires are mostly light, erratic, and infrequent. |