If you look at old photos of Colorado Front Range cities, you won’t see many trees. And if you look up native trees of Colorado, you will find a lot of mountain-growing conifers and just a few deciduous trees that grow along streams. Yet our quality of life depends on trees. They provide shade and cooler conditions; they attract and support birds, bees and other life; they create microclimates that make it easier to grow smaller plants, flowers and fruit; and they create beauty. So early settlers planted trees and created systems to bring water from the mountains to drink, bathe with, and to support plants. This plant culture was not easily gained, in particular with our difficult-for-trees western conditions. At the Eighth Annual Tree Diversity Conference on March 4th, our Front Range conditions for growing trees was described as “harsh”.…