Whitebark pine trees are icons of North America's mountain landscape. They provide a host of ecosystem services and are considered a foundational and keystone species for the critical role they play in the places where they occur. They stand at the center of a web of life that supports dozens of plants and animals, including the grizzly bear, red squirrel, and Clark’s nutcracker. Over the past several decades whitebark pine has experienced severe declines and today faces the very real threat of extinction.