What is a Limber Pine you ask? The Limber Pine are a high elevation pine that exist in the Montane and lower Subalpine subregion of the Rocky Mountains. In South Western Alberta they favour the rugged windswept hills along the eastern slopes. They are very important part of our ecosystem as they help maintain moisture and snowpack and can grow in very dry and rocky conditions where other trees don’t. In fact at Burke Creek Ranch numerous seem to grow right out of rock formations on our steep hillsides.

The Limber Pine has an interesting symbiotic relationship with Clark’s Nutcracker. The Clark’s Nutcracker is actually a member of the crow family, but it looks more like a jay or even woodpecker. The Nutcracker uses its sharp bill to rip into the Limber Pine cones to extract seeds. Unlike many coniferous seeds, these do not have wing like formations that allow them to blow about and reseed. However the Clark Nutcracker seek out the Limber Pine seeds as they are a dense source of protein and fat. The Nutcracker has an unusual pouch under its tongue that it stuffs full of seed, then take it to their winter cache location where they poke the seeds into the soil. They will move 30,000 seeds in a season. The birds winter near this cache and feed here. But many seeds are left behind and then become new seedlings.

The Limber Pine is 100% reliable on the Clark’s Nutcracker to seed, as there is no other way for the seeds to get pushed into the soil. Meanwhile the Nutcracker doesn’t have another source of energy as nutrient dense as these seeds.

The Limber Pine have become endangered across North America, primarily due to White Pine Blister Rust, (a deadly fungus) as well we as the pine beetle and fire.

The trees have no natural defense to Bister Rust, as it is an introduced fungus. However scientists working with the Waterton Biosphere have found there are a small population of these trees out there that are disease resistant. In an effort to support re-establishment of the Limber Pine biologists have taken seeds from disease resistant trees and they are cultured in a nursery. It take 2-3 years just to develop to a seedling.

Limber Pine Seedling

These seedlings planted at Burke Creek Ranch were collected from disease resistant Limber Pine trees in Waterton. These trees were primarily lost in the Waterton fire, therefore it will be a significant victory if they successfully re-establish here.

There is currently a North American wide project to plant Limber Pine in strategic locations that will allow the Clark’s Nutcracker to maintain connectivity between species communities. Through this project the Limber Pine population at Burke Creek was identified as disease resistant, and that combined with the healthy grasslands and soil made it an ideal location for a re-establishment project. So this past fall several biologists working with Waterton Biosphere came out and hiked our hills, identified ideal transects for re-establishment and planted these tiny seedlings in the same environment as our existing stands.

For these biologists this truly is a labour of love. There has been 4-5 years work prior to planting, and then the Limber Pine doesn’t produce cones until it is 50 years old! So they are really doing this for our grandchildren. The biologists will come back to the planting sites next year and the year following to analyze, but the best guess is viability is anywhere between 20 and 80%.

Burke Creek was the only planting site identified in the Waterton Biosphere’s scope of work this year, but the neighbouring Waldron Grazing Co-op has had some sites identified for planting next year.

We are grateful for the opportunity to participate and learn through important conservation projects such as these. The possibility that one day these trees could be removed from endangered species list through projects like this is truly inspirational.

Limber Pine Regeneration Project

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