Montana Forests Struggle With Climate Change

GLACIER NATIONAL PARK, MONTANA - SEPTEMBER 17: U.S. Park Service Native Plant Restoration Program Nursery Crew Lead Levi Besaw gently plants a whitebark pine seedling in ground blackened by fire on Mount Brown September 17, 2019 in Glacier National Park, Montana. Besaw leads a revegetation crew that planted 585 two-year-old whitebark pine seedlings among the skeletal remains of the 2017 Sprague Creek Fire because the tree grows more successfully in ground that was recently burned. With annual average temperatures in Montana rising almost three degrees Fahrenheit since 1950, high elevation tree species like the whitebark pine that were not previously threatened are now facing an increase in blister rust infections, mountain pine beetle infestations and wildfire. A slow-growing species that lives at elevations above 6,000 feet, the whitebark is an essential source of food for many birds and small mammals. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)