The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will list the whitebark pine of the mountainous American West as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act, the agency said in a Wednesday announcement.
The FWS describes whitebark pines as a "keystone species" residing in the Western U.S. and southern Canada's windy, cold and high-elevation environments.
"Extending ESA protections to whitebark pine," Matt Hogan, an FWS regional director, said in a statement, "is critical to not only the tree itself, but also the numerous plants, animals and watersheds that it supports."
According to FWS, the five-needled pines play an essential role in providing a high-energy food source for animals in their region.
The trees' pine nuts are rich in fats, protein and carbohydrates, making them a perfect snack for grizzly bears preparing to den for the winter, the National Park Service notes.
Despite the central role these organisms play in their environment, their presence is under attack. The trees' primary threat is "white pine blister rust," a non-native fungal disease that, in the presence of moisture, kills first the needles before moving in and infecting the branches, according to University of Minnesota Extension.
Since 2016, scientists estimate that as many as 51% of all standing whitebark pine trees have died. Providing environmental protections to the trees will make it illegal to remove, process or damage the trees on federal lands.
"It's just incredibly sad," Noah Greenwald, the endangered species director at the Center for Biological Diversity, said in a statement, "to see so many dead whitebark pines in the high country.
"These exceedingly beautiful trees are an icon of our western mountains, and they need all the help they can get, including protection from development."
The whitebark pine is expected to be listed as a threatened species in the Federal Register on Thursday but is available for public inspection.
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