Whitebark pine tree faces extinction threat, agency says

[OKIsItJustMe]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/whitebark-pine-tree-faces-extinction-threat-agency-says/2011/07/18/gIQA7tMcMI_story.html

Whitebark pine tree faces extinction threat, agency says

By Juliet Eilperin,

The Fish and Wildlife Service http://www.ofr.gov/OFRUpload/OFRData/2011-17943_PI.pdf">determined Monday that http://www.na.fs.fed.us/pubs/silvics_manual/Volume_1/pinus/albicaulis.htm">whitebark pine, a tree found atop mountains across the American West, faces an “imminent” risk of extinction because of factors including climate change.

The decision is significant because it marks the first time the federal government has identified climate change as one of the driving factors for why a broad-ranging tree species could disappear. The Canadian government has already declared whitebark pine to be endangered throughout its entire range; a recent study found that 80 percent of whitebark pine forests in the Greater Yellowstone ecosystem are dead or dying.

The Natural Resources Defense Council asked the Fish and Wildlife Service to place the tree on the endangered species list. In its determination, the agency said that it found a listing was “warranted but precluded,” meaning the pine deserved federal protection but the government could not afford it.

The whitebark pine will remain a candidate under the http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/03/22/AR2008032202204.html">Endangered Species Act and will come under review annually.

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[NickB79]

1. Whitebark pine produces (or used to produce, anyhow) copious amounts of pine nuts

Which were vital for species that need to pack on the pounds in the months before winter to survive, up to and including bears.