Chris Olsen

This ancient limber pine on the windswept shore of Abraham Lake is more than 1,000 years old. The gnarled trees, named for their flexible branches, are being killed by a fungus

On the shore of Abraham Lake west of Nordegg, Alta., a handful of gnarled trees toss in the wind, their roots clinging tightly to stony ground. Here and there lie giant pine cones, most of them larger than human fists, representing future limber pine trees.

Limber pines typically thrive in harsh mountain environments like this one. A related species, whitebark pine, also thrives in areas hostile to most trees — higher elevations at the edge of the treeline. However, the two species are threatened by the mountain pine beetle, climate change and a deadly fungus called white pine blister rust. In response, a provincial subcommittee has recommended the trees be labelled as endangered in Alberta so full-scale conservation and recovery efforts can kick in.

Cyndi Smith, a Parks Canada conservation biologist at Waterton Lakes National Park, surveyed both pine species in 2003 and 2004 by revisiting trees examined in the mid-’90s. “There was a significant increase in both infection and mortality from the white pine blister rust,” says Smith.

The fungus was brought to North America from Europe more than a century ago. “Because it came from overseas, the trees here just haven’t adapted well,” says Michael Murray, a forest pathologist for the B.C. government. Once a tree is infected, Murray says, it eventually dies. “It might take years,” he says. “But as far as we know, in any location, no more than five per cent of [whitebark] trees are naturally resistant to the blister rust.”

Mountain pine beetles are also killing whitebark pines at an unprecedented rate. “They’ve co-evolved with whitebark pine forests for millenia, but this outbreak seems to be more intense than any that we’re aware of in history,” says Murray, adding that climate change appears to be “the leading culprit.”

The recommendation to classify both species as endangered is currently before Alberta Sustainable Resource Development Minister Ted Morton. “We’re certainly aware of those issues,” says Morton of the threats facing the trees. “All reasonable efforts — or more than reasonable efforts — are made to identify in advance if there are any of either species in an area that is subjected to being harvested.” However, Morton acknowledges that because the pines grow at high altitudes, logging isn’t a major threat to the trees. He says he doesn’t know whether or not the species will ultimately be labelled endangered.

Because the pines grow at high elevations, Murray says, many people aren’t aware of their importance. “Whitebark pine can often form a forest in a place where no other tree could do that — otherwise there would just be meadow or talus [a scree slope with material from a higher cliff] or rocky landscape,” he says. The trees, he adds, “can be really important in creating a forest ecosystem with a whole host of dependent animals and plants.” The fatty seeds of both limber and whitebark pines are an important food source for bears, and whitebark pines also collect winter snows and protect watersheds.

One of the most unique characteristics of both species is the way they spread their seeds. “A lot of trees like spruce and fir — their cones open on the tree and their seeds just get carried away on the wind,” says Smith. “Whitebark pine does not. The cone stays closed, and the only way the seeds get out of there is when a nutcracker hammers it apart.” Grey songbirds called Clark’s nutcrackers pack up to 125 of the pine nuts into pouches under their tongues and carry the seeds away, eventually storing them in the ground to feed on later. Limber pine cones eventually open, but the heavy seeds are similarly spread by Clark’s nutcrackers.

A council that monitors the genetic health of Alberta forests says the prognosis for the two pine species “is, at best, bleak.” The Alberta Forest Genetic Resources Council sent a letter to Morton last month expressing support for conservation of the trees. “We’re concerned about the future of the species,” says Cliff Smith, the council’s chair.

Some things are already being done to recover the pines. Biologists are collecting cones from the few whitebark trees in Western Canada that are resistant to the disease and growing them into seedlings. “We’re hoping we can give them a little bit of a kickstart with some resistance to the disease,” says Cyndi Smith. It’s a slow process, however, since the trees don’t produce cones until they’re 40 or 50 years old.

Cyndi Smith also says Parks Canada is looking at using fire as a tool to recover the trees, since both species thrive in burnt areas. “Especially with the whitebark pine, it gets out-competed by faster-growing species when it’s little,” she says. “By having more frequent fires in these areas, [we’d be] creating more openings and getting rid of some of these competing species.”