A Brief History Lesson

But first, a quick update on working towards our funding goal. Today marks 1 week since the beginning of this campaign, and this project is 29% funded! THANK YOU to all who have so generously donated your time and money to support mapping this indispensable species, and more broadly, science.

Now, I want to help you understand the context of the ongoing process that aims to list the whitebark pine as a threatened species. It's been a long and tumultuous process, but here are the takeaways:

• Various groups have been signing petitions to list the whitebark pine as threatened since 2008.

• Since 2016, The Whitebark Pine Ecosystem Foundation and American Forests have collaborated with the U.S. Forest Service to plan, fund and carry out large-scale restoration of the whitebark pine.

• December 2nd, 2020, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service proposed that the whitebark pine be listed as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act.

• December 2nd, 2020 - February 2nd, 2021, the proposal is open for public comment here.

• February 2nd, 2021- February 2nd, 2022 The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service makes a final determination on whether to list the whitebark pine as threatened.

In summary, the ability to map living whitebark pines and whitebark pine ghost forests at the landscape scale will serve as a valuable tool towards restoration efforts. This is a timely and relevant project that will help to protect and restore whitebark pine populations.