Last updated: April 23, 2024
Article
Project Profile: Restore Whitebark Pine at Three Parks
NPS Photo
Bipartisan Infrastructure Law
National Seed Strategy | FY23 $99,500
The National Park Service will build climate resilience and increase biodiversity in threatened whitebark pine forest ecosystems by increasing capacity to collect seed and propagate blister rust resistant seedlings. Project funds will be used to collect enough seeds to restore a minimum of 100 acres of whitebark pine stands across three national parks, map seeds sources, and maintain viable seed stock.
Why? Over the last 15 years, several parks have developed a successful whitebark pine restoration program (62% seedling survival) to promote the growth of trees resistant to exotic white pine blister rust, create positive effects on wildlife and hydrologic processes at higher elevations, and restore habitat for grizzly bears, Clark’s Nutcracker, and the federally threatened whitebark pine.
What Else? This ecoregional project enables Glacier National Park to increase the scale and scope of its existing restoration program and initiates restoration programs at Grand Teton and Yellowstone National Parks through seed collection and seedling propagation.
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- Duration:
- 5 minutes, 25 seconds
Climate-informed science enhances resiliency in high mountain ecosystem, such as Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks, where Whitebark pine are found. Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Inflation Reduction Act funds are being leveraged to implement Whitebark pine restoration actions and meet National Park Service goals.