The Sugar Pine Foundation
Objective
The objective of The Sugar Pine Foundation is to restore natural regeneration of sugar
pines, western white pines and whitebark pines in the Lake Tahoe Basin.
The value of white pines
White pines, or five-needle pines have particular value in Western ecosystems. Sugar
pines are the largest pines in the world, with the largest cones in the world. Sugar
pines and western white pines command high commercial prices as well as provide
significant wildlife benefits and scenic value. Sugar Pine Point State Park is one of the
most visited parks in the Lake Tahoe Basin because of the scenic beauty of sugar
pines. Whitebark pines provide critical snow stabilization on high mountain ridges
above timberline and the seeds provide an invaluable food source for bears and the
Clarke’s nutcracker.
The threat
White pine blister rust (WPBR) is an exotic fungal infection from Asia the kills more than
90 percent of sugar pines, western white pines and whitebark pines that become
infected. WPBR first reached western Canada around the turn of the 20th century.
Loggers who wanted to reforest after clear cutting had their seedlings grown at
nurseries in Europe and unknowingly brought the fungus. Since then, blister rust has
devastated white pine forests from Canada, Washington and Oregon; and is now
attacking California’s white pines. Currently, there is only limited natural regeneration
of sugar pines and western white pines in areas of the Lake Tahoe Basin because
young trees are killed off by the fungus. This outcome has been studied rigorously, and
it has been determined that WPBR will exist in North American forests for the
foreseeable future. Therefore, the only effective management strategy will be to
reforest with planting stock that has the ability to tolerate the presence of WPBR.
Our restoration strategy
Approximately five percent of sugar pines and western white pines have a natural
genetic resistance to WPBR. Approximately 50 percent of the progeny of these
genetically resistant trees will also exhibit genetic resistance to WPBR. The Sugar
Pine Foundation locates healthy trees, collects cones from them and submits them to
the Forest Service for genetic testing of their resistance from the fungus. Once a tree is
confirmed resistant, we harvest its seed and plant progeny from those trees. The
seedlings from proven resistant trees will be the natural seed trees of the future. This
strategy can restore the natural regeneration of sugar pines and western white pines
and therefore, maintain them as components of Sierra-Nevada mixed conifer forests.
There is scientific uncertainty as to whether a similar program will be effective with
whitebark pine because genetic resistant to rust has not been found in that species.
The objective of The Sugar Pine Foundation is to restore natural regeneration of sugar
pines, western white pines and whitebark pines in the Lake Tahoe Basin.
The value of white pines
White pines, or five-needle pines have particular value in Western ecosystems. Sugar
pines are the largest pines in the world, with the largest cones in the world. Sugar
pines and western white pines command high commercial prices as well as provide
significant wildlife benefits and scenic value. Sugar Pine Point State Park is one of the
most visited parks in the Lake Tahoe Basin because of the scenic beauty of sugar
pines. Whitebark pines provide critical snow stabilization on high mountain ridges
above timberline and the seeds provide an invaluable food source for bears and the
Clarke’s nutcracker.
The threat
White pine blister rust (WPBR) is an exotic fungal infection from Asia the kills more than
90 percent of sugar pines, western white pines and whitebark pines that become
infected. WPBR first reached western Canada around the turn of the 20th century.
Loggers who wanted to reforest after clear cutting had their seedlings grown at
nurseries in Europe and unknowingly brought the fungus. Since then, blister rust has
devastated white pine forests from Canada, Washington and Oregon; and is now
attacking California’s white pines. Currently, there is only limited natural regeneration
of sugar pines and western white pines in areas of the Lake Tahoe Basin because
young trees are killed off by the fungus. This outcome has been studied rigorously, and
it has been determined that WPBR will exist in North American forests for the
foreseeable future. Therefore, the only effective management strategy will be to
reforest with planting stock that has the ability to tolerate the presence of WPBR.
Our restoration strategy
Approximately five percent of sugar pines and western white pines have a natural
genetic resistance to WPBR. Approximately 50 percent of the progeny of these
genetically resistant trees will also exhibit genetic resistance to WPBR. The Sugar
Pine Foundation locates healthy trees, collects cones from them and submits them to
the Forest Service for genetic testing of their resistance from the fungus. Once a tree is
confirmed resistant, we harvest its seed and plant progeny from those trees. The
seedlings from proven resistant trees will be the natural seed trees of the future. This
strategy can restore the natural regeneration of sugar pines and western white pines
and therefore, maintain them as components of Sierra-Nevada mixed conifer forests.
There is scientific uncertainty as to whether a similar program will be effective with
whitebark pine because genetic resistant to rust has not been found in that species.
Our Work
 |  |  |  |
A sugar pine seed tree
- a resistant sugar pine on
the East Shore of Lake
Tahoe
- a resistant sugar pine on
the East Shore of Lake
Tahoe
Seed collections - John
climbing a resistant sugar
pine to collect all cones
and use the seed for
restoration
climbing a resistant sugar
pine to collect all cones
and use the seed for
restoration
