Whitebark Pine: Restoring an Imperiled Species

A Stately Tree

Perhaps my favorite tree out there is the whitebark pine (Pinus albicaulis). Standing up to one hundred feet tall and presiding exclusively on high elevation ridges and mountains, whitebark pine trees are the gnarled stalwarts of the western high country. Because of their preferred habitat, the vast majority of whitebark pines are found on public lands, especially National Forests.

Since whitebark pines thrive in subalpine areas that receive substantial snowfall, they play a pivotal role in the hydrology of the western watersheds. Whitebark pines trees often have bifurcated tops (or “split tops”), which means they cast a large shadow that helps accumulate and maintain high elevation snowpack. Because these snowpacks take longer to melt in the spring, they help extend stream flow periods throughout the summer.

Whitebark pine are also very valuable member of the ecological
community. They are considered a “keystone” species and are well known for
their mutualistic relationship with their avian partner, the Clark’s
Nutcracker. Their calorie-dense seeds provide an important food source in
exposed, food-scarce environments and are a favorite among squirrels and
grizzly bears. As scientists continue to unveil more information about the
important role they play, concern over their range-wide decline has prompted
land managers to apply new techniques to save the species.

A Declining Species

Decades of wildfire suppression have negatively impacted whitebark pine ecology. Infrequent, low-level wildfires historically helped remove fire-intolerant species such as subalpine fir and Engelmann spruce from competing with whitebark seedlings. Without fire, these competitors grow faster than whitebark pine, ultimately converting these forests to be fir and spruce dominated forests. Additionally, warming temperatures caused by climate change have allowed the ever-present mountain pine beetle to become more effective tree killers in subalpine areas where whitebark pine live.

Although fire suppression and mountain pine beetle have taken a toll on the whitebark pine, the primary cause in their decline is from the presence of white pine blister rust, an invasive fungal disease from Europe. The spread of white pine blister rust has caused a decline of up to 90 percent in many locations, leaving “ghost forests” of standing dead pine trees. But amidst the hundreds of dead trees on ridge tops, there is an occasional outlier – a healthy whitebark pine that shows resistance to the infectious disease. Hope for whitebark pine’s future lies in these trees.

Reforestation

To see the front line of
whitebark pine restoration, I didn’t have to look any further than Montana’s
Flathead National Forest. Directly adjacent to Glacier National Park and
covering more than 2 million acres of mountainous terrain, the Flathead
National Forest contains many of the high elevation ridges that whitebark pine
call home. Despite the suitable habitat, whitebark pine’s story is no different
here – Flathead National Forest staff have seen an enormous decline of the
species across the Forest. I traveled there with my fellow NFF colleague,
Hannah Ettema, to see the plight of whitebark first hand and understand how
reforestation efforts are making a difference.

We spent the morning meeting
with Flathead National Forest staff Melissa Jenkins, Karl Anderson and Paul
Jorgenson. Each are actively engaged in what they consider to be one of the most
important restoration efforts on the Forest. After discussing the factors that
have led to whitebark pine decline on the forest, they explained the innovative
techniques that they are employing to restore this imperiled species.

Healthy individual trees,
while hard to find, hold the key for whitebark pine’s long term survival. Their
healthy condition, despite the presence of pathogens, suggests a genetic
resistance to infection by white pine blister rust. To bolster the next generation
of whitebark pine trees, the U.S. Forest Service collects seed bearing cones
from the
tops of these trees, transports them to a
state-of-the-art Forest Service nursery in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, and grows them
for two years. The young seedlings are then transported back to the Forest
where they are planted in an area adjacent to where the cones were originally
collected.

Hope
for the Future

After gaining an introductory
knowledge on these reforestation strategies, the Flathead National Forest staff
took us to see the results of their efforts. We gained a thousand feet of
elevation driving until the road ended just shy of the Continental Divide. We
climbed a ridge to look at young whitebark pine seedlings that were planted
just three months earlier with support from one of the NFF’s leading reforestation
partners, Caudalie.

It was apparent that the reforestation crew planted the
seedlings with great care, each seedling tucked away in a “microsite” that
offers shelter from the elements and an improved chance at survival. The young
trees were vibrantly healthy, blending in well with their new environment.
Looking out across the many ridges that are now full of dead trees, it’s
daunting to fathom the extent of whitebark pine mortality. But looking down at
these healthy young trees gave us a feeling of hope for their future.

To learn more about whitebark pine restoration, see the U.S. Forest Service’s Region-Wide Restoration Strategy for Whitebark Pine.

This reforestation project was supported with funding from Caudalie USA. Caudalie and the NFF have committed to planting 1 million trees together by the end of 2018. Learn more about their reforestation commitment here.