Vast stands of whitebark pine help to maintain the mountain snowpacks that provide water to more than 30 million people in 16 U.S. states each year. (sciencedaily.com)
A recent inventory says 25 percent of whitebark pines in the Yellowstone ecosystem have rust. (trib.com)
The hope for whitebark pines in the face of the blister rust epidemic is that some trees are resistant and pass that resistance on to seedlings, which can be replanted in the wild, until genetic resistance to blister rust is well - distributed. (trib.com)