They will claim whitebark pine are not necessary to delist Yellowstone area grizzly bears-
They tried to delist the Greater Yellowstone grizzly population back in 2007, but skeptical bear conservationists sued because of the collapse of the thought-to-be-vital whitebark pine in the Greater Yellowstone. Bears feed voraciously on their protein and fat-filled nuts in the fall at […]
Continue Reading →Poor whitebark pine crop but a good berry crop brings bears lower and closer to people-
This year as the Yellowstone country grizzly bears enter their time of peak appetite to prepare for hibernation they have a good berry crop to […]
Continue Reading →It’s called “hyperphagia”
Grizzly bears get a serious case of the “munchies” this time of the year. “Ravenous” is more the word. It is overwhelming and not a matter of personal character, but genetic programming to prepare for the winter hibernation.
News media articles, agency warmings, and word of mouth tells people that the bears […]
Continue Reading →Critical high altitude pine has been nearly wiped out by beetles, fire, blister rust-
These trees with fat rich nuts are already getting federal government attention, but mortality is even worse than thought. The large majority of whitebark grow on U.S. public lands. The work will concentrate on protecting existing stands using pheromones to confuse […]
Continue Reading →But several million dollars a year for starting seedlings in nurseries might restore it-
This is perhaps the first article I have read that offers a glimmer of hope for this rapidly disappearing tree, so vital to grizzly bears and Clark’s nutcrackers.
Whitebark Pine Trees Face Long Odds for Survival. […]
Continue Reading →Record population is reached amidst a year of bear food stress and many mortalities-
This is a replacement of the original article (it’s more complete). Grizzly numbers hit new high in Yellowstone region. By Matthew Brown. AP
Because of the late spring, just average berry crop, and failure of the whitebark pine nut crop […]
Continue Reading →Hungry grizzlies at lower elevations, find livestock, along with natural food-
Although federal grizzly bear managers have been sanguine about the the death of whitebark pine in the Greater Yellowstone ecosystem, the effect on the grizzlies is obvious in Wyoming. They have come down from the subalpine where the whitebark pine will never again […]
Continue Reading →“We don’t know what’s going to happen without whitebark.”-
I know it will soon be functionally extinct, although no doubt some token remnants will be protected from beetles and blister rust. Ecologically speaking, it is already almost gone.
Here is a long essay on its demise and the effects. Feature article in New West. Continue Reading →
Very important.
Interesting post by NRDC’s Louisa Wilcox about how the science shows how critical whitebark pine nuts are for grizzlies and how the managers talk out of both sides of their mouth.
“In its August 9th legal brief challenging the 2009 ruling by Federal Judge Donald Molloy that required relisting of the Yellowstone grizzly […]
Continue Reading →Critical pine in grizzly nutrition is in steep decline. May get endangered listing-
Whitebark pine is in dire straights and it may well get on the endangered species list, but what then? How do you save a tree so beset with disease and insect attacks with an ESA listing?
Story in the LA Times. Continue Reading →
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