RESTORING WHITEBARK AND LIMBER PINE ECOSYSTEMS IN THE
NORTHERN CONTINENTAL DIVIDE: A STORY OF PARTNERSHIPS,
LESSONS, AND HOPE
CAROLIN, TARA 1, Joyce Lapp 1, Jen Asebrook 1, Jennifer Hintz 1
1Glacier National Park, P.O. Box 128, West Glacier, MT 59936;
tara_carolin@nps.gov; joyce_lapp@nps.gov; jen_asbrook@nps.gov;
jennifer_hintz@nps.gov
Whitebark pine and limber pine are ecologically important species which not only
provide important habitat and a high protein/high fat food source for a variety of
wildlife species, but also have important successional, hydrologic, and even
aesthetic roles in our environment. These key species have suffered dramatic
decline due to several factors including white pine blister rust (a non-native
pathogen), fire exclusion, mountain pine beetle, and global climate change. Once
an important component in 15-20% of our forested lands, now nearly half of the
trees have died, while more than 75% of living trees are infected with blister rust
and have lost more than a quarter of their reproductive capacity. It is feared that
without management intervention, this species may be functionally lost within a
couple of decades.
Over the past decade Glacier National Park has established partnerships with
neighbors such as Waterton Lakes National Park, the USFS Flathead National
Forest, the Blackfeet Community College, and the Whitebark Pine Ecosystem
Foundation to work together on efforts to restore and monitor whitebark and
limber pine ecosystems. We have collected seed from healthy trees which
appear to have some resistance to blister rust and contracted with the USFS
Couer d’Alene Nursery to raise seedling stock. More than 7,000 whitebark pine
and nearly 5,000 limber pine trees have been planted. Through monitoring, we
have learned many lessons about which planting strategies have been most or
least effective. Overall survival of limber pine has been disappointing—only
10%. If the planting during the 2003 drought is excluded, limber pine survival
doubles to 20%. On the other hand, overall survival of whitebark pine seedlings
has been 38% (with 85% in healthy condition) and continues to improve
providing hope for successful restoration of whitebark and limber pine
ecosystems.