Idaho Pine Struggles

Nature

The whitebark pine that thrives in the harshest of environments at the highest mountain altitudes is now struggling to survive.

Recent research conducted by the U.S. Forest Service shows that nearly three quarters of the trees have died in North Idaho and another 42 percent have disappeared in Montana because of disease and insect epidemics.

Another 23 percent of the trees are projected to die before the turn of the century.

While this tree is not highly valued as a commercial timber species, it is an indispensable part of high altitude forest ecosystems. The seeds of the tree are an important food source for many animals and the tree’s deep taproot provides soil stability on sparsely vegetated mountainsides.

Realizing that the loss of this tree could lower the tree line several hundred feet in some areas and have drastic implications, Forest Service biologists have started an extensive research program to study white pine blister rust and mountain pine beetle epidemic.

In addition, nursery managers are trying to reproduce the trees from seed, which is no small feat, considering that in the wild, the rock hard seeds are prepared for germination by passing through the digestive system of the Clark’s nutcracker.