FLATHEAD INDIAN RESERVATION, Mont. — In western Montana’s Mission Mountains, whitebark pine trees have been hit hard by blister rust, an invasive disease.
The trees, which grow slowly and live at high elevations, help shade snowpack and prevent it from melting. Their seeds are an important protein source for grizzly bears and many other animals. And the whitebark pine holds cultural meaning for a local tribe that’s working to replant it.
Tribal nations have been tending North America’s forests, prairies and wetlands for millennia. Now, amid climate change, habitat loss, droughts and wildfires, some tribes are taking the lead in growing the trees, wild foods and pollinator species that have become scarce on the landscape.
