Whitebark pines are losing their habitats due to climate change

In the high country of the American West, the whitebark pine holds the line between forest and sky. These trees cling to ridges and peaks, shaping life far beyond where they grow.

A new study warns that climate change could erase most of their range within just 25 years. Scientists project that as much as 80 percent of suitable habitat will disappear.

That scale of loss matters. The whitebark pine is more than a hardy survivor of thin air and rocky soil. It is a cornerstone of mountain ecosystems, feeding animals and regulating water. Without it, the effects ripple across species and communities.

Seeds feed wildlife and people

The tree produces large seeds packed with energy. Squirrels store them, bears raid the caches, and Clark’s nutcrackers bury them in soil, unintentionally planting the next generation.

Its branches trap snow, slowing spring runoff. Farmers and ranchers downstream depend on that steady water flow through the summer.

“Whitebark pine supports biodiversity, and it helps people too,” said Diana Tomback, a professor at the University of Colorado Denver. “The canopies act as a snow fence and slow snowmelt, enabling summer water flow, which farmers and ranchers depend on.”

Warming drives pines upslope

To map the future, researchers combined forest survey data with fine-scale climate models. Their results show dramatic declines in lower and warmer areas. Only a few higher zones may stay suitable.

Summer heat plays the biggest role. Maximum July temperatures drive most of the changes, pushing the pine’s range upslope. But the mountains offer limited new ground. That leaves the species with shrinking options.

Three-quarters of its remaining range will lie inside wilderness areas and national parks. These protections block development but also restrict direct intervention. Recovery may require careful compromises between leaving nature untouched and stepping in to help.

Multiple threats hit at once

The pine faces other serious threats. White pine blister rust, an invasive fungus, spreads across forests. Mountain pine beetles thrive as winters warm, attacking weakened trees.

Fires are larger and hotter, burning into high elevations more often than before.

These pressures interact. Trees stressed by disease fall faster to beetles. Forests weakened by drought burn more severely. By 2016, more than half of the standing whitebark pines in the United States were already dead.

Restoring forests through new methods

Scientists are not giving up. One approach focuses on planting seedlings bred for resistance to blister rust. But selecting the right sites is critical. Efforts are now directed toward areas expected to remain suitable for decades.

Others are testing simpler methods. Graduate student Abbigail King works with conservation groups to bury small caches of seeds in wilderness zones. The technique mimics the nutcracker’s natural planting behavior.

“We’re still in the early stages of research to see if this technique will work,” King said. “I love that the fieldwork I’m doing may be able to contribute to the regeneration of this tree and through that the other species that depend on it.”

Lessons from ancient pine trees

The species has shifted with climate before. Recently, melting ice in the Greater Yellowstone region exposed long-dead whitebark pines that grew at higher elevations 5,500 years ago. Back then, warmer conditions pushed the tree upward.

Today, the situation is tougher. Unlike in the past, the tree now faces invasive diseases, insect outbreaks, and altered fire regimes. Its resilience is being tested on multiple fronts at once.

Future depends on quick response

By mid-century, the whitebark pine may survive only in fragments of its former range. Its future depends on whether people act quickly enough to counter the threats.

The stakes are not abstract. This tree shapes water supplies, supports wildlife, and defines high-mountain landscapes.

Losing it would mean losing a stabilizing force for entire ecosystems. The challenge is clear: move fast, or watch a mountain guardian fade away.

Scientists fight for pine survival

Behind the research is a broad team from the U.S. Forest Service, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, multiple universities, and conservation groups like the Whitebark Pine Ecosystem Foundation. Together they created maps that guide where restoration stands the best chance.

Tomback, who has studied the species since the 1970s, helped secure its listing as a threatened species in 2023. She also co-founded the Whitebark Pine Ecosystem Foundation, which continues to advocate for recovery. Her career shows how long it can take to push science into policy.

The study is published in the journal Environmental Research.

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