| In the summer of 2004, John Pickett was working as a U.S. Forest Service technician in the Lake Tahoe Basin. That summer, John saw that most of Tahoe’s white pines – including the princely sugar pine, the world’s largest pine – were dying due to a non-native, invasive fungus called white pine blister rust (Cronartium ribicola). John knew that losing Tahoe’s white pines would be catastrophic for the region’s wildlife, water quality and economy – not to mention future generations of nature-lovers and recreationalists. Although blister rust is incurable, about 3-5% of sugar pines and western white pines possess a natural genetic resistance to the fungus. John felt passionate about saving Tahoe's forests, and he knew what to do – identify blister rust resistant trees, collect their seed, and plant their progeny – so he decided to take action! By September of 2004, John had created the Sugar Pine Foundation to restore the natural regeneration of white pines in the Tahoe region and beyond! Aside from the help of invaluable volunteers, the Sugar Pine Foundation was basically a one-man operation until July of 2007, when Maria Mircheva took over as Executive Director. Even more recently the organization's staff grew by one more person, when Tressa Gibbard came on board as Development Coordinator in January, 2010. Together, John, Maria and Tressa are committed to growing the organization's capacity to raise awareness and counteract the threat of white pine blister rust! The Sugar Pine Foundation is registered as a tax-exempt 501(c)(3) non- profit corporation. All contributions are fully tax deductible. Our tax- exempt identification number is 25-1909869. |
| Our Story |
A young, dead sugar pine.
A healthy, rust resistant sugar pine
on the eastern shore of Lake Tahoe.
on the eastern shore of Lake Tahoe.
| All rights reserved. |
| Visit the "Our Work" page to learn how the Sugar Pine Foundation is carrying out its mission! |
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