Whitebark pine restoration

[Colorado Kid]

In the Wenatchee World's Friday the 3rd of March's edition in the briefly section; Forest Service proposes Whitebark pine restoration. The Chelan Ranger District is proposing to enhance 1,576 acres of Whitebark pine habitat. This is located in the Falls Creek area, about 34 miles northwest of Chelan. This is around Summer Blossom and South Navarre. If you want to comment they would like it before March 30th. Send it to Pete Wier, Chelan Ranger District, 428 W. Wood in Ave., Chelan, Washington 98816  For more info visit http://world.us/Whitebark.  This site gives a lot of information, demonstrating that Whitebark pines provide many benefits for forests, including forage for wildlife. That being said, Grizzlies utilize Whitebark pines for food. Is that the main reason for Whitebark pine restoration in this area? Some transparency would sure be refreshing.

[elkboy]

Whitebark pines provide hiding cover and thermal cover for high country (huntable) animals like mule deer (summer habitat) and mountain goats (year round).  Large diameter whitebark pines, once they fall, provide den sites for wolverines and their kits (see Douglas Chadwick's great book, 'The Wolverine Way').  Clark's nutcrackers rely pretty heavily on whitebark pine nuts, and also serve as their major dispersal agent.  And then there are watershed values, protective effects on deer browse, and much more.  So, a lot of value in these trees, but it's anybody's guess if there is some grizzly-related ulterior motive.  If it is an ulterior motive, wouldn't they probably just point to all the other values anyway?   

[DOUBLELUNG]

More whitebark pine is a good thing for wildlife any way you look at it.  They are the best source of high energy hard mast in the high elevation forest - like acorns or beechnuts, they support a higher biomass of a variety of wildlife species at multiple trophic levels.  A forest with a good hard mast source will always have more wildlife than one without.     

[timberfaller]

I wonder if they are going to improve the roads to get there!!??

To bad they had to let that country go down the tubes through mis-management practices!

You can bet that if they go ahead with the project,  the "Public" well be kept out of the area for a long long time!

[Naches Sportsman]

The presence of clark's nutcrackers was one of the big reasons for a project down here.

I'd suggest obtaining a copy of the project proposal, asking the bios about it.