Informing implementation of the Greater Yellowstone Coordinating Committee’s (GYCC) Whitebark Pine (WBP) Strategy based on climate sciences, ecological forecasting, and valuation of WBP-related ecosystem services Final Report

Managing plant and wildlife species under climate change offers a substantial challenge. Federal agencies have adapted a framework for considering climate change when implementing management actions. This project was designed to demonstrate how elements of that framework, climate science, ecological forecasting, and natural resource management, can be linked to best maintain natural resources under climate change. The project focused on the whitebark pine (WBP) tree. This species occupies high mountain forests and uniquely provides foods and habitats for other species. WBP populations have undergone massive die-offs over the past decade due to pest outbreaks associated with climate warming. In the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem (GYE), federal agencies have been working together since 1999 to develop a strategy for restoring the lost WBP forests. This project was designed to provide guidance as to how to place management treatments in the landscape to be most effective under climate change. We analyzed relationships between WBP and climate during the past 15,000 years and forecasted potential response to climate change to the year 2100. In collaboration with federal managers, we used the results to develop a management strategy to maintain a viable population of WBP in the GYE under projected future climates. Simulation modeling experiments revealed that our “climate-informed” strategy is likely to be more effective under future climates than the current federal strategy. Our federal partners are now incorporating knowledge developed in the project into a revised version of the WBP management strategy. Public surveys conducted by the project revealed a high level of public support for such restoration efforts for this climatesensitive keystone tree species. 

project_id
58dd8697e4b02ff32c685a0f
CSC Name
North Central CASC
usgs summary

Managing plant and wildlife species under climate change offers a substantial challenge. Federal agencies have adapted a framework for considering climate change when implementing management actions. This project was designed to demonstrate how elements o ...

csc id
4f83509de4b0e84f60868124
test field
2017-03-30T16:28:39.941-06:00