YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK – Whitebark pines, a key food source for grizzly bears, have been designated as a “threatened species” by the US Fish and Wildlife Service.
In the last 20 years, a quarter of the trees have been killed by disease, wildfires, and beetles. The pines are considered a “keystone” species.” Their seeds provide critical nourishment for grizzlies and other animals.
The trees grow in sub-alpine areas in Wyoming, Montana, Idaho, Washington, Colorado, California, Nevada and Western Canada. Many other tree species cannot live in the harsher, high-elevation environments, meaning the whitebark pine is crucial to the survival of animals.
Those regions have been increasingly impacted by climate change. More severe wildfires are killing more trees while beetles are able to reproduce more rapidly in warmer temperatures, devastating millions of acres of forest. Beetles have killed 80% of the oldest whitebark pines. Meanwhile 50% of the whitebark pines still standing are actually dead.
The good news is, experts say surviving whitebark populations are resilient enough to stay for decades to come. Almost all of the trees live on land overseen by the National Park Service, the U.S. Forest Service, and Bureau of Land Management, which means data-driven management of the trees.
NATIONAL PARK NEWS
