2014 Lewis and Clark National Forest Whitebark Pine Genetic Restoration Program
Project: Lewis and Clark National Forest Whitebark Pine Genetic Restoration Program
Agency/Forest or Park/District: Lewis and Clark National Forest – Little Belt Mountains
Project coordinator: Tanya E. Murphy
Contact: Tanya E. Murphy, Forest Silviculturist; USDA Forest Service, Lewis and Clark National Forest Supervisor’s Office, 1101 15th St. N, Great Falls, MT, 59401; 406-791-7753; temurphy@fs.fed.us
Cooperators:
Source of funding/amount FHP: WBP: $8,000 of funding provided; FS supplemental funding: $8,530 (salaries, travel, equipment and supplies)
Dates of restoration efforts: FY 2014
Objectives: Perform operational cone collections to begin building a seed bank for whitebark pine restoration planting across the Lewis and Clark National Forest.
Acres/ha treated: 20 trees across 30-60 acres to achieve a viable seedlot
Methods:
Planting? If so, source of seedlings? Resistance? N/A
Outcome: The project is complete and the seed has been sent to the Coeur d’Alene Nursery for extraction. This collection will be used as a checklot for a whitebark pine test plantation that is going to be installed to test cold hardiness and drought resistance for the central Montana seed zone. This year we were also able to upgrade several of our cone cages to the ¼ inch mesh which resulted in a collection with very little cone damage. Collecting this seed is a great achievement for the forest. The Lewis and Clark sowed seed this fall to be planted in this area which will be ready in the fall of 2015/16 or spring of 2016.
Monitoring since completion of the project: N/A
Dates:
Plans for future monitoring? N/A
Will outcome meet goals? The test plantation is scheduled for installation in 2017 or 2018. This will give the nursery enough time to grow three year old stock. This should increase the survival once they are planted.
Future actions/follow up: The cones have been collected and are being processed for sowing. Monitoring will be an integral part of the test plantation. Monitoring will be performed annually for several years providing important information on climate and how whitebark will respond.
Miscellaneous comments: