Whitebark and limber pine restoration under way in Glacier
By Tara Williams
tara_williams@nps.gov
Ecologist, Glacier National Park, Montana
Historically, whitebark (Pinus albicaulis) and limber pine (P. flexilis) communities were significant components on 15–20 percent of forested lands in Glacier National Park, Montana. However, due to the exotic white pine blister rust--a Eurasian fungus--and fire exclusion, whitebark and limber pine stands in the Northwest have been decimated over the last 90 years. Based on research conducted by the USGS Glacier Field Station, almost half of all whitebark pines in Glacier are dead. Of the remaining trees, 90 percent are lethally infected and will likely die in the next 5 to 15 years. One-third of their cone-bearing crowns are already dead. Scientists and park managers agree that whitebark and limber pine will be functionally lost in Glacier without active management intervention. In 2000 the first trees were planted in an effort to begin restoration of these communities.
Whitebark and limber pine are important to many wildlife species. The grizzly bear (threatened under the Endangered Species Act) raids middens of cones stored by red squirrels. During good cone-crop years, whitebark seeds are among the most important food sources for bears, encouraging them to keep to higher elevations and away from developed areas. Clark’s nutcrackers deposit whitebark seed in caches; these caches, particularly those deposited in recently burned areas, provide ideal germination conditions for the conifer. Whitebark are able to germinate at higher elevations and under harsher conditions than other conifers, thus establishing tree line. Their spreading branches catch and retain snow, and their shelter provides suitable conditions for subalpine fir germination. Restoration of whitebark and limber pine communities will preserve a number of significant ecological processes.
Over the past three years, Glacier has received funding through the Intermountain Region Natural Resource Fund for whitebark and limber pine restoration. Resource managers have collected seed from healthy trees in otherwise blister rust–decimated stands. Preliminary research by the USDA Forest Service (USFS) indicates that these healthy trees have natural genetic resistance to the rust. This year more than 17,000 limber pine seeds were collected. From collected seeds, stock has been raised in Glacier’s native plant nursery, a cooperative nursery at the Blackfeet Tribe’s Blackfeet Community College, and in the USFS Coeur d’Alene Nursery. In 2000 more than 3,800 trees were produced by the nurseries and are ready for planting. Appropriate planting locations are selected by overlaying geographic information system layers of recent wildland fires for resource benefit with a map of whitebark pine habitat.
As the disease travels south, more districts and agencies have become concerned. Whitebark is considered one of four major food sources for grizzlies in the greater Yellowstone area (GYA), and the health of this species is one of the factors that will affect decisions regarding delisting grizzlies in the northern Continental Divide ecosystem. The Coeur d’Alene Nursery began raising whitebark for a few USFS districts and Glacier. They currently have orders to produce 100,000 trees for the GYA. They are beginning work with limber pine, which has received less attention but appears to be following the same path.
In September 2000 the first on-the-ground restoration work was completed in Glacier. One hundred trees were planted shortly after a burn that occurred in whitebark habitat. Planted trees are mapped and marked for future monitoring. The extreme fire season of 2000 precluded additional planting of trees this season, but they will be overwintered and planted as soon as snowmelt allows. Through this project there is hope that whitebark and limber pine ecosystems will persist for the benefit and enjoyment of future generations of humans, Clark’s nutcrackers, and grizzly bears.
[[Photo]]
A biological technician in Glacier National Park places wire mesh cages over whitebark pinecones, protecting them from predation by Clark’s nutcrackers. Seeds are extracted from the mature cones once they are collected; they are planted and raised in the greenhouse until the disease-resistant seedlings are ready for transplanting in the park.
Articles
Restoring the abundance of the endangered Sonoma spineflower
By Michelle Coppoletta and Barbara Moritsch
Restoring a mixed-grass prairie and a cultural landscape
By Kurt Foote
Endangered bonytail returns to the wild
By Stephen Petersburg
Restoration of Bonneville cutthroat trout populations in Great Basin
By Neal W. Darby
Working with park neighbors to protect habitat for anadromous fish
By Brannon Ketcham
Sidebars
Scientific review of research on mountain goats in Olympic
Award-Winner Profile - Dinosaur National Monument resource manager honored
Milestone reached in the removal of Elwha and Glines Canyon Dams
Point Reyes and Golden Gate take first step in restoring wetlands
/YearInReview/yir/yir2000/text/05_restoration/05_03_williams.html
Last Updated: 06/17/2001
Direct comments on this website to jeff_selleck@nps.gov