Whitebark Pine Strategy for the Greater Yellowstone Area

Greater Yellowstone Coordinating Committee

Executive Summary As a foundation species of high elevation ecosystems in the greater Yellowstone area (GYA), whitebark pine (Pinus albicaulis) defines ecosystem structure, function, and process by providing snow capture and retention and carbon storage, increasing biodiversity, and serving as a food source for wildlife. Throughout its range, whitebark pine is currently at significant risk from both the nonnative white pine blister rust (Cronartium ribicola) and the native mountain pine beetle (Dendroctonus ponderosae). Climate change effects, including warmer temperatures and altered precipitation patterns, increase the reproductive rate and survival of mountain pine beetle and impact dispersal of white pine blister rust spores. Overstory mortality from these agents is unprecedented in many areas of the GYA, resulting in the need for a proactive approach to whitebark management that links federal administrative units throughout the GYA. In order to protect healthy whitebark pine and restore whitebark pine in areas with extensive overstory mortality, appropriate management actions must be coordinated, consistent, efficient, and science-based. In response to the current situation in whitebark ecosystems, the Greater Yellowstone Coordinating Committee’s Whitebark Pine Subcommittee, which has worked successfully across boundaries since its inception in 2000, developed this Whitebark Pine Strategy to promote the persistence of whitebark pine over time and space in the GYA by: (1) documenting the current condition of whitebark pine in the GYA; (2) establishing criteria to prioritize areas for management action; (3) identifying techniques and guidelines to protect and restore whitebark pine; and (4) facilitating communication and distribution of this information. This strategy is intended to enable land management units to maximize the use of their limited resources to maintain the presence of whitebark pine in the GYA. This Whitebark Pine Strategy for the GYA is a living document that will be regularly updated to reflect changes in ecosystem conditions, advances in the understanding of whitebark pine ecosystems and management techniques, and improvements in the technology available to characterize and map whitebark pine. In addition, reviews by other resource staff such as fire managers, wildlife biologists, interpreters, and recreation specialists will provide the basis for integration of this strategy within individual management units as well as across the GYA. The Whitebark Pine Strategy f contains four sections. Section 1. Introduction, Purpose and Need, and Strategic Objectives Details the strategic objectives developed for assessing and conserving whitebark pine ecosystem condition in the GYA and describes the Whitebark Pine Subcommittee and their work to date, which aims to: · Ensure natural regeneration and genetic diversity through protection of cone-bearing whitebark pine. · Maintain and restore the role of whitebark pine in ecosystem function. · Augment natural regeneration through strategic planting. · Promote population resilience through genetic conservation and planting of rust resistant seedlings. · Promote fire planning and use that protects high value whitebark pine and provides for long-term restoration. · Work collaboratively across administrative boundaries to implement the strategy for the GYA. Section 2. Methods Describes the assessment and prioritization of whitebark stands in the GYA by the Whitebark Pine Subcommittee, which has · Sponsored work to map and characterize whitebark pine stands across the GYA. · Support long-term monitoring to track status and health trends of whitebark pine. · Developed ecological criteria to determine each stand’s priority for restoration and protection. · Enabled further prioritization among stands by considering logistical factors such as land status and distance from roads or other access. cont...

Whitebark Pine Strategy for the Greater Yellowstone Area

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