Seedling Rate - Waterton Lakes - Conservation and Restoration Project (Five needle pine)

Whitebark Pine (Pinus albicaulis – listed as Endangered under the Species At Risk Act) and Limber Pine (Pinus flexilis- recommended as Endangered by the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada) have undergone extensive population declines across much of their range due to a number of interacting factors. An introduced pathogen (blister rust - Cronartium ribicola) and an increasing severity of native beetle outbreaks (mountain pine beetle - Dendroctonus ponderosae) coupled with a reduced natural fire regime and changes in climate have all contributed to their decline. Seedling rate of planted seedlings is a management effectiveness measure, in part, used to assess the effectiveness of five-needle pine recovery actions in Waterton Lakes National Park.