David Musto is a Resource Management Officer with Parks Canada's Waterton Lakes National Park. He made a presentation on whitebark pine and limber pine restoration in the national park. Whitebark and limber pine are high altitude species at risk in Alberta from an introduced pathogen, white pine blister rust, climate change and Mountain Pine Beetle. David Musto's presentation was part of the Canadian Land Reclamation Association (CLRA) Fall Tour in SW Alberta, Sept. 2014.
David Musto describes the current status of whitebark and limber pine in the Crown of the Continent (at the Rocky Mountains between USA and Canada). They are both keystone species for their role in snow capture, seed production for bears, squirrels and birds, soil stabilization and nurse sites for other trees. As long lived trees, they have an important role for ecosystems in alpine environments.
David Musto covers what initiatives are underway to re-establish these pines through seed collection and seedling plantings. He describes some best practices including removal competitor trees through fire, inoculation with mycorrhizal fungi and planting seedlings in clusters in sheltered areas like nutcracker caches.
