The Rocky Mountains of Montana and Canada are home to the whitebark pine, a tree species that only grows in the highest of altitudes. These majestic pines can live for more than a thousand years, and in the sunlight, their bark casts a brilliant white luster. But today, the trees expire at an alarming rate as local pests, foreign diseases, and climate change threaten their very existence.
In a new, half-hour documentary, Ghost Forests follows a dedicated team of land managers and conservationists working to save the whitebark pine from extinction. The team faces an uphill battle with no shortage of variables to consider, including the native mountain pine beetle population and a deadly disease known as white pine blister rust - both of which accelerate whitebark mortality by significant margins. Still, the pine species’ five-needle clusters provide shelter and nutrients for dozens of high mountain creatures, making its survival paramount to the Pacific Northwest’s ecosystem.
The film introduces viewers to tree climbers in Canada’s national parks and a scientist from the University of Montana, whose promising discovery could help harness genetic resistance to save the tree. Can the forest managers restore the species before it’s too late?
Ghost Forests airs Monday, October 25 at 9 p.m. on WSBE Rhode Island PBS.
WSBE Rhode Island PBS transmits high-definition (HD) programming over the air on digital 36.1; Cox 08 / 1008HD, Verizon FiOS 08 / 508HD, and Full Channel 08; Comcast 819HD and Verizon FiOS 18 / 518HD; DirecTV 36, Dish Network 36. Live stream the full schedule within the broadcast viewing area at watch.ripbs.org/livestream.
