Pueblo Chieftan: Colorado’s forests, already under siege from pine beetles, fire and mismanagement, could fare worse with climate change. Federal stewards don’t want to see that happen. “Forests serve as a natural sponge that absorbs, stores and slowly releases water to the rivers,” said Tony Dixon, regional deputy forester with the U.S. Forest Service. “If you have no forests, you have no rivers. They are like water towers and they are under siege.” While most think of the Forest …