[6] In Pinus flexilis, the cones are 6–12 cm (2+1⁄2–4+1⁄2 in) long, green when immature, and open to release the seeds; the scales are not fragile.

Whitebark pine (Pinus albicaulis) can be found at high elevation in the Rocky Mountains from central British Columbia to western Wyoming.

Fallen needles under these trees serve as beds that are used by deer and wild sheep seeking shelter during stormy weather.

[8] Many stands of Pinus albicaulis across the species' entire natural range are infected with white pine blister rust (Cronartium ribicola), a fungal disease introduced from Europe.

In the northern Rocky Mountains of the United States, whitebark pine mortality in some areas exceeds 90 percent, where the disease infests nearly 143,000 acres (580 km2).

Cronartium ribicola occurs in whitebark pine to the northern limits of the species in the coastal ranges of British Columbia and the Canadian Rocky Mountains.

[5] Restoration efforts undertaken by the U.S. Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management, and National Park Service in the northern Rocky Mountains involve harvesting cones from potentially and known resistant whitebark pines, growing seedlings, and outplanting seedlings in suitable sites.

Since 2000, the climate at high elevations has warmed enough for the beetles to reproduce within whitebark pine, often completing their life cycle within one year and enabling their populations to grow exponentially.

Entire forest vistas, like that at Avalanche Ridge near Yellowstone National Park’s east gate, have become expanses of dead gray whitebarks.

[13] In the absence of low-level wildfire cycles, whitebark pines in these stands are replaced by more shade-tolerant, fire-intolerant species such as subalpine fir (Abies lasiocarpa) and Engelmann spruce (Picea engelmannii).

[14] In 2012 the Canadian federal government declared whitebark pine endangered in accordance with the Species at Risk Act.

Mountain pine beetle, altered fire regimes, and "the effects of climate change" add to the challenges.

[16] This listing marks the first occasion in which a tree regarded as ecologically important over a vast range in the United States is acknowledged as vulnerable to extinction.

Their mission is to raise awareness and promote conservation by sponsoring restoration projects, publishing a newsletter called "Nutcracker Notes", and hosting an annual science and management workshop for anyone interested in whitebark pine.