Both the tree itself and the ecosystems in which it grows are in serious decline and may not persist in the face of multiple stressors including diseases, insects, fires, fire suppression and climate change.

In 2011, the Bulkley Valley Research Centre began a collaborative project to restore whitebark pine ecosystems in west central British Columbia near the communities of Smithers and Houston. The program has now expanded across northern BC, with emphasis on the Skeena Region. We focus on areas recently disturbed by wildfires, mountain pine beetle or salvage logging of beetle-killed lodgepole pine. Most restoration plantings are located in areas of high value grizzly and black bear habitat, where the seeds can form an important part of the bears’ diet.