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Whitebark Pine to Be Listed Under Federal Endangered Species Act

January 5, 2021

Whitebark Pine (Pinus albicaulis) leaves are in fascicles (bundles) of five, and the cone is dark purple when immature. Courtesy of Wikipedia.

On December 2, 2019, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service proposed listing the Whitebark Pine (Pinus albicaulis) as a threatened species under the federal Endangered Species Act. The tree’s range covers more than 80.5 million acres in seven western states (Washington, Oregon, California, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, Nevada) and Canada. Whitebark Pine is considered a keystone species because it regulates runoff by slowing the progress of snowmelt, reduces soil erosion by initiating early succession after fires and other disturbances, and provides seeds that are a high-energy food source for some birds and mammals.

Importance of the Listing

The proposed listing is important for several reasons:

First, Whitebark Pine is a widespread species, and it is a keystone species. Dominating high-elevation forests, it lives in cold, windy, high-elevation or high-latitude sites in western North America. It also occurs in scattered areas of the warm and dry Great Basin (portions of California, Nevada, and Oregon).

This is a dying Whitebark Pine forest. It has faced an invasive disease and voracious insects that had not previously been able to thrive in cold Whitebark territory. Courtesy of Natural Resources Defense Council.

Second, the species is in extreme decline. White pine blister rust, a non-native fungal disease, mountain pine beetles, climate change, and fire suppression all negatively affect the species’ health.

Third, despite the obvious effects of climate change on forests worldwide, Whitebark Pine is the first tree to be proposed for protection under the Endangered Species Act because of climate change, and it will not be the last.

Finally, in 2008, when the National Resources Defense Council filed their Petition to List the Whitebark Pine as an Endangered Species, studies showed that 80 percent of the Whitebark Pine forests in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem were already dead or dying, and for more than a decade had been in serious decline.

Whitebark Pine (Pinus albicaulis) at Mount Rainier National Park. Courtesy of Wikipedia.

As a federally threatened species, protections for Whitebark Pine would include prohibiting the removal of Whitebark Pine from federal lands and prohibiting its import, export, and activities related to interstate and foreign commerce. The government did not designate critical habitat for Whitebark Pine.

The scope of the catastrophe for this widespread keystone species dramatically shows how apathy, climate change, and other human damage is destroying the life-support system of our country and planet. Plan to comment today!

The Federal Register

The Federal Register will accept comments received or postmarked on or before February 1, 2021. Go to the Federal eRulemaking Portal at http://www.regulations.gov. In the Search box, enter FWS-R6-ES-2019-0054, which is the docket number for this rulemaking.

The above was taken partially from the full story at NPCC News: Whitebark Pine Is First Tree to Be Listed Under Federal Endangered Species Act Due to Climate Change.

Read U.S. Fish and Wildlife Press Release for the proposal.

Read Natural Resources Defense Council: Feds Say Climate is Killing Whitebark Pine Trees.

 

 

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NASA GLOBE Observer App

August 19, 2019

NASA would like your help in measuring the Earth’s trees using the NASA GLOBE Observer app on your smart phone.

In September 2018, NASA launched an instrument, via the ICESat-2 satellite, called ATLAS which measures many ecological surfaces to determine the health of the world’s resources. This laser-like device measures the satellite’s position, the angle and how long it takes the laser beam to bounce back from the surface it is measuring. They’ve been measuring the elevation of the Earth’s ice, land, water, clouds, and now trees. Here’s where citizen scientists come in.

NASA would like citizen scientists to help validate the tree measurements they are taking from space. By knowing the height of trees, researchers can estimate the health of the Earth’s forests and calculate the amount of carbon dioxide they store.

NASA GLOBE Observer App

The NASA GLOBE Observer app is user-friendly. Besides measuring trees, among other things, it also measures the landscape around you and mosquito habitats. It has a tutorial and helpful hints.

Once you’ve selected your straight tree and staked out a spot about 25 to 75 feet away, you hold the phone in front of your face and angle it to measure the base and then to the tree’s top. Then you take a picture, count your steps to the tree, log your position at its base and the app will calculate the tree’s height. (Verge)

Thanks to the Ecological Landscape Alliance (ELA) for making me aware of this great app.

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Botany Bill S2384

August 16, 2019

Reference my earlier post on the House Botany Bill HR1572. In July 2018, Senator Mazie K Hirono introduced the Senate version of the Botany Bill (S3240) with three co-sponsors. This past July 2019, she re-introduced her bill in the Senate with ten co-sponsors as S2384.

Royal Catchfly (Silene regia) outstanding amongst the Bergamot (Monarda fistulosa), Purple Coneflower (Echinacea purpurea) and Black-Eyed Susans (Rudbeckia hirta). All make a great combo in any landscape. Photo by Joan Rudolph

Similar to the House version of the bill, S2384 promotes native plant research and use by: [Read more…]

EPA’s Glyphosate Risk Assessments

May 10, 2019

The US EPA has announced a 60-day public comment period for their current draft glyphosate human health and ecological risk assessments. In essence, the EPA continues to find that glyphosate is not a carcinogen and that it presents no risks to public health when glyphosate is used in accordance with its current labeling. See Draft Human Health and Ecological Risk Assessments for Glyphosate. [Read more…]

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  • Winter Seeding of Your Prairie
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  • Whitebark Pine to Be Listed Under Federal Endangered Species Act
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Donna VanBuecken