Consensus exists that the pace and scale of restoration of five-needle pine must be dramatically increased and sustained if these species are to persist within the Crown.

FIVE NEEDLE PINE FORESTS: WHITEBARK AND LIMBER PINE

Five needle pine forests anchor high mountain snowpacks an important function in face of climate change. These forests provide shade for high mountain snowpack, reducing erosion, which helps to regulate downstream flows.

Limber pine and whitebark pine provide food for at least 13 species of birds, 8 species of small animals and 3 large mammals including grizzly bear. Whitebark pine is listed as endangered under the Canada Species at Risk Act and is a candidate species for listing under the United States Endangered Species Act. Limber pine is currently being evaluated for listing in Canada and is considered endangered in the province of Alberta.

FIVE NEEDLE PINES IN THE CROWN ECOSYSTEM

While the Crown is considered one of North America’s most intact landscapes – there are no known extinctions of whitebark pine and limber pine — both are highly imperiled in this landscape. Whitebark pine and limber pine forests in the Crown have significantly declined due to the stresses of native pine beetle epidemics and the exclusion of fire from these forests. Both species are threatened by white pine blister rust, mountain pine beetle, and climate change, which produces drought stress and mortality and alters pine distribution. Without these pines and the communities that they anchor, carrying capacity for wildlife declines, high and low elevation forests are more geographically restricted and homogeneous, and multiple ecosystem services are diminished.

Restoration protocols, tools, and technologies are available and being implemented for whitebark pine and, to a limited extent, for limber pine by individual agencies and organizations, each conducting this work independently. However, consensus exists that the pace and scale of restoration of five-needle pine must be dramatically increased and sustained if these species are to persist within the Crown. Cooperation and a partnership among all interested jurisdictions is essential to enable this level of restoration to be achieved. For this reason, the High Five Working Group was formed to prioritize and advance collective efforts to effectively monitor, conserve, and restore five-needle pines in the Crown of the Continent.

The CMP in collaboration with non-governmental organization partners will focus on the implementation of several shared priorities related to restoring whitebark and limber pine forests in the Crown: