Whitebark pine (Pinus albicaulis) is a widely-distributed tree species of subalpine and treeline forests in the western U.S. and Canada that functions as a foundation and keystone species, important to community development and watershed protection. Its large, nutritious seeds are an important wildlife food. Whitebark pine ecosystems are deteriorating rangewide from exotic disease (white pine blister rust), west-wide mountain pine beetle outbreaks, advancing succession, and climate change. The species is listed as endangered in Canada under the Species at Risk Act and undergoing status review in the U.S. under the Endangered Species Act. Agencies with oversight for managing whitebark pine in the U.S. include the U.S. Forest Service, National Park Service, Bureau of Land Management, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services, tribal governments, and private and state lands. In 2017, the Whitebark Pine Ecosystem Foundation, American Forests, and the U.S. Forest Service began an ambitious, multi-step outreach process to organize a cross-jurisdiction restoration plan. We report on our progress to date.
Results/Conclusions
The restoration plan, which is geo-spatial, identifies core areas (20-30% of the area under consideration) that will serve as ‘dispersal centers’ for whitebark pine to adjacent regions. The core areas are to be selected within agency units, which vary by agency in size, e.g., Forest Service regions, national parks, tribal lands. Core area selection will generally be based on a set of management criteria, including health status and ecosystem value, ranked by each agency, and includes proposed restoration actions. The plan was announced and discussed at the National Whitebark Pine Summit, which was held in Missoula, MT, November 2017. Collaboration and active involvement by managers, scientists, and resource professionals are proving to be critical to the success of this plan, with further opportunities for feedback planned. Plan deliverables will include a management/restoration strategy linked to the spatial data, field data on health status and restoration actions, implementation costs, and a compilation of best management actions.