Whitebark pine proposed as 'threatened'

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service proposed Tuesday that the whitebark pine tree, which faces threats from invasive species, climate change and wildfires, be protected with a "threatened" designation under the Endangered Species Act.

The whitebark pine, which grows in higher elevations, poor soil, and other places inhospitable to many trees, is a keystone species across 80 million acres of western North America, including seven states in the U.S. The tree is critical to forest landscapes, popping up as quickly as two years after major fires, often providing cover for new growth, and helping...