Whitebark pine is a critical component of subalpine ecosystems in western North America, where it contributes to biodiversity and ecosystem function and in some communities is considered a keystone species. Whitebark pine is undergoing rangewide population declines attributed to the combined effects of mountain pine beetle, white pine blister rust, and fire suppression. The restoration and maintenance of whitebark pine populations require an understanding of all aspects of seed fate. In this paper, we review the literature on seed dispersal in whitebark pine. Clark's nutcracker, pine squirrels, and scatter-hoarding rodents are all known to influence whitebark pine seed fate and ultimately affect the ability of whitebark pine populations to regenerate. We also provide a general overview of the natural histories of the most influential species involved with whitebark pine seed fate: Clark's nutcracker and the pine squirrel.

Whitebark pine is a critical component of subalpine ecosystems in western North America, where it contributes to biodiversity and ecosystem function and in some communities is considered a keystone species. Whitebark pine is undergoing rangewide population declines attributed to the combined effects of mountain pine beetle, white pine blister rust, and fire suppression. The restoration and maintenance of whitebark pine populations require an understanding of all aspects of seed fate. In this paper, we review the literature on seed dispersal in whitebark pine. Clark's nutcracker, pine squirrels, and scatter-hoarding rodents are all known to influence whitebark pine seed fate and ultimately affect the ability of whitebark pine populations to regenerate. We also provide a general overview of the natural histories of the most influential species involved with whitebark pine seed fate: Clark's nutcracker and the pine squirrel.

Describes a prototype whitebark pine seed scarifier developed by the Missoula Technology and Development Center that allows workers to nick (scarify) seeds three times as fast as if they were doing so by hand, with reduced risk of injury. Populations of whitebark pine have declined over the past century because of white pine blister rust, insect infestations, and fire suppression. Whitebark pine seeds are a favored food of the grizzly bear, a threatened species protected by the Endangered Species Act in the 48 contiguous States. Whitebark pine trees, which may be the only trees growing in some sub-alpine and alpine areas of the northern Rocky Mountains, also catch snow during the winter. The drifts melt more slowly than thinner snowpack in bare areas, extending runoff. The scarifier should help reduce the costs of growing whitebark pine seedlings, possibly allowing more whitebark pines to be planted. Seeds collected from white-bark pine trees resistant to blister rust are germinated in nurseries. The germination rate increases from about 5 percent to 60 percent or more if each seed has a 1-mm-deep nick. Workers can nick about 400 seeds an hour by hand, compared to 1,500 seeds an hour when using the prototype scarifier. The scarifier costs about $1,000 to fabricate. Fabrication drawings will be available from the Missoula Technology and Development Center.

Project Puffin is the inspiringstory of how a beloved seabird was restored to long-abandoned nesting colonies off the Maine coast. As a young ornithology instructor at the Hog Island Audubon Camp, Dr. Stephen W. Kress learned that puffins had nested on nearby islands until extirpated by hunters in the late 1800s. To right this environmental wrong, he resolved to bring puffins back to one such island—Eastern Egg Rock. Yet bringing the plan to reality meant convincing skeptics, finding resources, and inventing restoration methods at a time when many believed in “letting nature take its course.” Today, Project Puffin has restored more than 1,000 puffin pairs to three Maine islands. But even more exciting, techniques developed during the project have helped to restore rare and endangered seabirds worldwide. Further, reestablished puffins now serve as a window into the effects of climate change. The success of Dr. Kress's project offers hope that people can restore lost wildlife populations and the habitats that support them. The need for such inspiration has never been greater.

A definitive account of the Montana's birds covering historical aspects, conservation status, relative abundance, and ecology of all species known to occur in the state.