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Quaking aspen (Populus tremuloides; hereafter aspen) is the most widespread tree species in North America. In the American West, aspen regenerates primarily through vegetative suckers from roots. The importance of disturbance-driven pulsed regeneration for stands seral to conifer is widely recognized. Less is known about recruitment periodicity for persistent aspen where conifers are largely absent. This study addresses the timing and vigor of regeneration response in eight persistent aspen stands located on the eastern Uinta Mountains. Study stands included adjacent areas that contrasted in canopy condition (intact vs depleted) and regeneration abundance (low vs high). Density was estimated for canopy trees, regen (stems < 2 m) and recruits (sub-canopy stems > 2 m) using paired plots in each stand. Cores were extracted from a subset of canopy trees and samples were cut from 5-15 regen and recruit stems at each plot for age and radial growth rate determination. Mean live tree density for high and low regeneration plots was 322 and 1426 trees/ha, respectively. Mean combined regen and recruit densities were significantly greater for depleted-canopy than for intact-canopy stands (13,164 vs 2461/ha), with a larger fraction in the taller recruit stage (56 % vs 3 %). Regen growth rate for depleted-canopy plots was significantly higher than that of intact-canopy plots suggesting a greater impact from tree competition than from high regen density. Canopy tree recruitment occurred primarily between 1873 and 1900 for six sites with a recruitment hiatus for all sites between 1920 and 1970. Recruit and regen ages revealed recruitment episodes in the 1970s and after the 2002 drought. The combination of greater abundance and faster growth rates for regen under depleted vs intact-canopies may be critical for successful recruitment suggesting a mechanism for disturbance-driven selection for pulsed-recruitment in persistent aspen that parallels processes observed for seral aspen stands.