Tracking Whitebark Pine
Help Conserve Whitebark Pine While Hiking in Washington & Oregon
Whitebark pine is a high-elevation keystone species found in the mountains of the Pacific Northwest, playing a critical role in stabilizing slopes, regulating snowpack, and supporting wildlife. Today, this iconic alpine tree is listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act – it is under threat from wildfires, blister rust, mountain pine beetles, and a changing climate.
Adventure Scientists, in partnership with the Whitebark Pine Ecosystem Foundation, is leading a large-scale conservation effort for the US Forest Service to find and assess the condition of whitebark pine trees across Washington and Oregon national forests.
If you’re hiking, backpacking, or exploring alpine terrain this summer, you can contribute directly to the science that helps protect and restore this species.
Why Whitebark Pine Trees Matter
Whitebark pine trees grow where few things can: on the ridgelines, scree slopes, and wind-whipped summits of the Cascade and Olympic Ranges. These high-elevation forests are notoriously difficult to reach, which means data about the species’ condition and location in Washington and Oregon are severely limited.
That’s where you come in.
Collecting accurate, on-the-ground data is essential for guiding restoration, identifying health resources, and protecting these forests and alpine environments.
Fieldwork for Whitebark Pine Conservation
Trained volunteers will directly contribute to forest conservation, ecological research, and restoration by:
Documenting whitebark pine locations using GPS in designated conservation zones
Identifying areas for summer cone collection and restoration
Assessing tree health and surrounding environmental conditions
Contributing to a growing dataset used by scientists and land managers for whitebark pine tree preservation
“The data collected by Adventure Scientists would help the US Forest Service identify priority areas for protective and restorative management actions, as well as identify areas where cone collections can be completed to acquire seed for restoration activities. While some information exists on the distribution of whitebark pine in Region 6, we believe this project will provide valuable data to help inform our efforts, while also providing spatial data that can be made available to collaborators working on various projects…”
Where Can I Volunteer for Whitebark Pine Research in Oregon and Washington?
Whitebark pine grows in high-elevation ecosystems, often found above treeline in remote mountain environments.
We’re focusing our whitebark pine tracking on select conservation areas in Oregon and Washington national forests. Explore the map below to see where you can volunteer while hiking this summer. You can collect data if you’re headed into the Colville, Deschutes, Fremont-Winema, Gifford Pinchot, Malheur, Mount Baker-Snoqualmie, Mt. Hood, Ochoco, Okanogan-Wenatchee, Olympic, Rogue River-Siskiyou, Umatilla, Umpqua, Wallowa-Whitman, and Willamette National Forests.
Conservation Impact
Every data point you collect strengthens the foundation for recovery.
Your efforts will help:
- Locate areas where whitebark pine cone collection could occur this summer, for seed conservation and to focus forest health efforts.
2. Identify locations for additional data collection on critical threats to whitebark pine, including blister rust and mountain pine beetle.
3. Update models of whitebark pine presence and absence in high-priority conservation areas to inform forest management and protect this keystone species.
4. Advance restoration planning so that whitebark pine forests and the wildlife that depend on them endure for generations to come.
Get Involved
Tracking Whitebark Pine Volunteer Interest Form