Whitebark Pine: This Tree Tale Could Have a Happy Ending

NRDC submitted a petition to add the whitebark pine to the federal Endangered Species list today. I know, I know…an endangered tree... Boring. Or a horror story.

Not so in either case.

As to the idea that a tree species is boring…well, sure it does not move much, isn’t particularly cute or cuddly, and doesn’t make cool noises.

But these are heroic trees.

They save the lives of humans. And they save the lives of bears.

You see, whitebark pine cones are the Haagen-Dazs of pine nuts. These are pine nuts of unrivaled fat content in North America. And they are, understandably, a delicacy amongst the creatures of our high elevation forests. Among the whitebark pine's most notable devotees are female grizzly bears who have become reliant on this food source in the fall. When they are trying to fatten up for the big sleep and all the berries are gone, there’s still a valuable food source worth prowling around mountaintops for thanks to whitebarks. But in years when the cone crop is small, the bears head downhill closer to human communities and recreation areas with predictable results. When people and bears get together it is often a very bad experience for both…

And that’s just one hook. This is a tree with many tales. It is a global warming wake-up call, giving us a glimpse of how climate change is already hitting the western half of the continent hard and changing delicate balances that have held true for millennia. It is a glimpse at the winners and losers that will emerge as things heat up (hint, this global warming thing is pretty good for some bugs, pretty bad for some trees). And it is a warning of what must be done if we want to preserve the last of our wild places.

But the interesting thing here is that it does not have to be a global warming horror story.

There are a lot of solutions being discussed that might protect this tree and prevent its disappearance. All they need are resources to take action.

And that is the beauty of this petition. If the whitebark pine makes its way onto the endangered species list, a recovery plan will follow. That plan will evaluate those potential solutions (whether they be disease-resistant trees moved to higher elevations, pheromones, changes to fire regimes, or other things that have not made their way into the mainstream press yet) and bring the resources to bear (literally and figuratively in this case).

This petition is the first step.

Because, if we act fast, we can turn this into a story of hope and triumph!