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00:00Yellowstone, there's no name more iconic in America's natural world. It captivates and
00:24inspires us. It's a massive ecosystem that includes these very mountains and this gorgeous
00:31valley. It's a beautiful place my family was lucky enough to call home. This was the best
00:40playground a kid or a big kid like me could have asked for. Well, my kids aren't young
00:47anymore. Time truly changes everything, even a place like this. One that looks like a time
00:56capsule, but it faces constant threats that could forever change what makes it special.
01:04Today, a group of citizens and scientists like wildlife biologist Doug Smith,
01:11business leaders and outdoor enthusiasts like me,
01:13we're working to preserve this priceless natural resource and we're finding solutions for a 21st century
01:23Yellowstone. So where do you start? Right up at the top. In a place where few humans ever tread,
01:35a bird is saving the ecosystem one tree at a time.
01:43The Yellowstone ecosystem returns us to a time before cities and towns,
01:59before the spread of humanity.
02:04Today, this extraordinary world sprawls across millions of acres and three states.
02:22But its grandeur can't protect it from every danger.
02:34This landscape relies on teams of people fighting every day,
02:40using cutting edge science to save our last frontiers.
02:52rising over Granite Peak, the highest point in the Beartooth Mountains.
03:06The morning sun signals the start of a new day and a new season.
03:15Spring has arrived, though the snowpack will hang on a bit longer at this altitude.
03:22It may seem like a gentle restart to the cycle of life.
03:33But for the grizzly bear, it's anything but.
03:38He hasn't eaten in five months.
03:41He's lost 30% of his body weight, and he is ravenous.
03:50His nose, 2000 times more sensitive than a human's, is telling him that a meal may be close.
03:58The smell is coming from a nearby pool.
04:03Perhaps the carcass of a bison or elk has been freed from the melting ice.
04:08The question is, can he get his prize without getting too wet?
04:20He'll need to stretch just a little further.
04:30He'll need to stretch just a little further.
04:41Well, so much for staying dry.
04:46Looks like this opportunity wasn't worth the effort after all.
04:50With their impact felt across many habitats, grizzly bears are more than just common predators.
05:02They are a measure of this great wilderness itself.
05:10Yellowstone is not simply a park.
05:12It is the largest, nearly intact temperate zone ecosystem on the planet.
05:24Within its boundaries, two national parks, six national forests, three national wildlife refuges,
05:33and millions of acres of public and private land.
05:37The original boundaries of the national park were established in 1872.
05:48They were organized around the landscape's iconic thermal waters.
05:59In the 1970s, they began mapping the territory of Yellowstone's resident grizzly bears.
06:07And with that information, redrew the boundaries of the Yellowstone ecosystem.
06:23This patchwork of habitats covers some 34,000 square miles, over 70 percent government protected.
06:33And it's still evolving.
06:37The ecosystem holds 11 different mountain ranges.
06:56The alpine tundra may seem barren, but it's not.
07:00Even on the edge of a sheer cliff face,
07:20bighorn sheep spend most of the year above 7,000 feet.
07:24Isolated and treacherous to human eyes, it is the ideal habitat for the bighorn.
07:33Now that winter is broken, they begin to journey even further up the mountain.
07:39It's a journey these sheep are perfectly equipped to make.
07:43They're hooves have hard edges, which they use to punch through packed dirt or ice.
07:56Or to take advantage of the tiniest toehold on this mountainside.
08:01The center of their hooves is soft and spongy, allowing them to grip stony surfaces.
08:10These custom climbing shoes allow them to reach the willows and evergreens they like to eat.
08:23Or to take shelter under a lone white bark pine.
08:26Even at the highest altitude, this ecosystem flourishes.
08:41Yellowstone's collage of overlapping habitats teem with life.
08:46And with spring now arrived, plants and animals are in their full glory.
09:00Further up on the mountain, the female Clark's Nutcracker takes the stage.
09:06Clark's Nutcrackers are large social birds, and they are the unsung heroes of this habitat.
09:13And while she may nest in pines, firs, or other trees,
09:20she does have a favorite, the white bark pine.
09:25Like the other creatures around her, she's taking advantage of the mild weather
09:31to stock her pantry and feed her young.
09:36Fortunately, she has positioned her nest close to her favorite food source.
09:44Perched on a white bark's branch, she surgically removes the seeds tucked in the center of one of its pine cones.
09:53She's not eating the seeds, however.
09:55Instead, she stores them in a pouch beneath her tongue.
10:00The seeds are larger than other pine seeds, but she has plenty of storage space.
10:08She goes in for another, and another.
10:15Her pouch won't be full until she's pinched off 50, 100, maybe 150 white bark seeds.
10:23And there is some urgency to her task.
10:28These seeds are well known to many of Yellowstone's other creatures, including grizzly bears.
10:35Some of these will be for her nestling, but most will be set aside for the coming winter.
10:46She finds a secure spot on the forest floor and starts digging.
10:54Nutcrackers stay in Yellowstone year-round, and during the winter months, she will rely on caches like these.
11:06She will create multiple caches, storing tens of thousands of seeds in total.
11:18Like their cousins, ravens, and crows, Clark's Nutcrackers are remarkably intelligent.
11:28Studies have shown that they will remember the precise locations of their countless seed caches up to nine months later.
11:39This pair, the Nutcracker, and the whitebark pine need each other.
11:44Ninety-nine percent of whitebarks grow out of forgotten seeds, and those trees in return feed the Nutcracker.
11:56Scientists call this mutualism.
11:59For this seed-snacker, the day's work is finally done, and she can now deliver that hard-earned beal to her young.
12:14Doug Smith has spent the majority of his professional career in Montana.
12:29I had already studied wolves for about 15 years, and I've been here for roughly the last 30.
12:36My life here kind of morphed into more than just wolves, though.
12:47I worked with elk. I worked with birds.
12:51I've really tried my best to learn the greater Yellowstone ecosystem.
12:57Doug worked as a senior wildlife biologist in Yellowstone National Park for 28 years.
13:03He supervised various programs, but is most known for the successful wolf reintroduction into the Yellowstone ecosystem.
13:16Doug is now the chief biologist for the Jackson Fork Ranch and oversees a variety of conservation projects.
13:24Doug Smith- A key element to think about is how can the high country be connected to the low country,
13:34where you and I live, and we rarely get up there.
13:38It's by a tree called the whitebark pine, which is part of our lives low, but connected to the life high up.
13:48Doug Smith- And that's an odd thought at how a tree can be the connector to do that.
13:53Doug Smith- Here, high above the Lamar River in northern Wyoming, life looks a bit different than it does down below.
14:04Doug Smith- The whitebark pine grows in some of the planet's harshest terrain.
14:13Doug Smith- It may not share the towering majestic appearance of its more familiar neighbor, the lodgepole pine,
14:22but its unique look gives us some clues about its ability to survive.
14:29Doug Smith- Like the bighorn's hooves, the whitebark's form is made for these rugged mountains.
14:35Doug Smith- Its branches spread outward, not upward, creating a broader,
14:43sturdier canopy than a lodgepole's or an aspens.
14:47Doug Smith- It's a stately tree, growing high.
14:54It can take on any form, tall and straight, or battered and torn by the winds.
15:00Doug Smith- It's slow growing, it can live centuries, maybe even a thousand years.
15:05Doug Smith- So it's out of sight and out of mind.
15:07Doug Smith- Throughout their lives, whitebarks provide shelter beneath their branches
15:14Doug Smith- As temperatures rise, the shaded snow lingers beyond what it would have out in the open.
15:32Doug Smith- By preserving the snowpack,
15:37Doug Smith- The whitebark allows meltwater to flow through the spring and into the summer months.
15:46Doug Smith- This is crucial for the survival of life that depends on this mountain water,
15:53Doug Smith- Like bison, wolves, elk, moose, and beaver.
16:07Doug Smith- The whitebark pine, this ancient, essential tree, is in trouble.
16:16Doug Smith- Everything out here is kind of in a struggle to survive.
16:23Doug Smith- Whitebark pine is no exception.
16:26Doug Smith- Their struggles recently have increased.
16:30Doug Smith- Their populations have declined.
16:32Doug Smith- They face multiple threats.
16:34Doug Smith- Bark beetles, a long-term threat, has gotten worse because of climate change.
16:39Doug Smith- Fire regimes have changed due to climate change.
16:42Doug Smith- But now they face a new threat.
16:45Doug Smith- Whitebark pine blister rust.
16:47Doug Smith- Blister rust
16:52Doug Smith- Blister rust is an invasive fungus that is native to Asia,
16:58Doug Smith- Where local trees have built up a resistance to it.
17:01Doug Smith- It arrived on this continent in the early 20th century.
17:10Doug Smith- The fungus enters the tree through its pine needles or anywhere its surface has been broken.
17:18Doug Smith- It then seeps inward to the tree's core.
17:22Doug Smith- And before long, telltale blisters appear on the tree's surface.
17:27Doug Smith- Once infected by blister rust, whitebark seed production begins to decline.
17:46Doug Smith- It may take years for the fungus to kill the tree,
17:51Doug Smith- But the impact on the environment is felt immediately.
17:58Doug Smith- In the place of nutcrackers, the trees may soon find opportunistic pine beetles
18:04Doug Smith- Attacking their branches.
18:05Doug Smith- A fate that few can survive.
18:12Doug Smith- In all, scientists estimate that more
18:15Doug Smith- More than 85% of whitebark pines had been infected with blister rust.
18:23Doug Smith- Oh boy.
18:27Doug Smith- I remember this stand
18:29Doug Smith- A couple decades ago, I was here, and all these trees were alive.
18:37Doug Smith- And now everything's dead.
18:42Doug Smith- This is eerie, to see these century-old trees like that.
18:51Doug Smith- It's devastated.
18:53Doug Smith- People call this a ghost forest.
18:56Doug Smith- But I do see signs of hope here.
19:04Doug Smith- These three saplings are the result of a nutcracker cache.
19:10Doug Smith- This is really cool.
19:11Doug Smith- It's exactly what nutcrackers do.
19:14Doug Smith- They take the seeds.
19:15Doug Smith- They bury them in the ground.
19:18Doug Smith- Thousands of them.
19:19Doug Smith- And they recover well over 90, 95% of them.
19:23Doug Smith- But they don't get them all.
19:25Doug Smith- And this is how whitebark get reestablished.
19:32Doug Smith- For a nutcracker to play its role, it needs healthy trees.
19:37Doug Smith- And for the whitebarks to regain their health,
19:40Doug Smith- They are going to need some help from scientists.
19:47Doug Smith- A stand of fungus-resistant trees
19:50Doug Smith- Is an important discovery.
19:52Doug Smith- Through here, we're looking at these trees to climb in because they're determined to be
20:00genetically superior and resistant to blister rust.
20:04Doug Smith- These trees play a central role in their plan to bring the whitebark back.
20:11Doug Smith- This is a very healthy stand of whitebarks.
20:17Doug Smith- So these are the cones we're going to be caging in today, later on to be collected.
20:21Doug Smith- The scientist's plan features two important steps.
20:26Doug Smith- The first is to gather cones from resistant trees.
20:31Doug Smith- Climbing trees is awkward.
20:33Doug Smith- The cones will be brought to a tree nursery where their seeds will be extracted,
20:40Doug Smith- Planted, and nurtured until they become viable seedlings.
20:45Doug Smith- You ready for cages?
20:46Doug Smith- Ready.
20:47Doug Smith- Ready.
20:48Doug Smith- For the second step in their plan,
20:51Doug Smith- They need to protect the remaining good cones still on the trees.
20:57Doug Smith- Small metal cages will keep Clark's nutcrackers and other animals
21:02Doug Smith- From stripping the seeds from the few healthy trees that remain.
21:06Doug Smith- Two more.
21:11Doug Smith- These cones will be shipped to the Coeur d'Alene nursery and they'll be used to grow
21:19seedlings in the nursery and then brought back out here later on when they're big enough to be
21:25planted so that we can bolster the whitebark population.
21:33Doug Smith- The future of the whitebarks.
21:40Doug Smith- Scientists know they need to protect the whitebark.
21:47Doug Smith- Beep, beep, beep.
21:49Doug Smith- But they also need to support the tree's hero, the Clark's nutcracker.
21:54Doug Smith- When we were here last time,
22:04Doug Smith- They preferred going into the traps because we had the chunks of suet.
22:08Doug Smith- Diana Tomback is one of the foremost researchers of the Clark's nutcracker.
22:17Doug Smith- She studied them for most of her career.
22:19Doug Smith- Okay, no free lunch.
22:20Doug Smith- Nutcrackers have probably the most developed
22:26Doug Smith- Spatial memory capacity of any bird and I hesitate to say maybe any animal.
22:38Doug Smith- So let's start off by saying nutcrackers are very difficult to catch.
22:46Doug Smith- Okay, got it.
22:47Doug Smith- There is a sweet spot in the timing and the conditions to be able to catch them.
22:54Doug Smith- You have to have enough snowpack remaining on the ground
22:59Doug Smith- That they are taking an easier route than digging up caches.
23:03Doug Smith- To date, we have trapped and tagged 11 nutcrackers.
23:08Doug Smith- It may not sound like a lot, but that represents several years of work.
23:13Doug Smith- She's here tracking the movements of the Clark's nutcracker.
23:19Doug Smith- The goal, identify population numbers
23:23Doug Smith- So scientists can identify robust habitats for both the bird and the whitebark pine.
23:30Doug Smith- Whitebark pine occurs entirely within the range of Clark's nutcracker.
23:36Doug Smith- It depends on nutcrackers. They're the primary seed dispersal agent.
23:41Doug Smith- All of these seeds are potential germinants of whitebark pine.
23:46Doug Smith- The impact of the whitebark pine die off in other ecosystems
23:52Doug Smith- Shows that the mutualism between the two species is a delicate balance.
23:57Doug Smith- We already have some examples of where we don't want to be.
24:07Doug Smith- Overall, say in Glacier National Park, most of their whitebark pine is dead at this point.
24:12Doug Smith- Okay, Walter, good to go.
24:20Doug Smith- Okay, good.
24:21Doug Smith- Walter Wechat has joined her today. He too is passionate about the special partnership
24:28Doug Smith- Between the Clark's nutcracker and the whitebark pine.
24:31Doug Smith- One of the things that's really interesting about these birds is that they put
24:36their caches everywhere. They're looking at where can I put a cache where it'll survive the winter work
24:42and access it early the next year. You'll see them growing in the most crazy inaccessible spots.
24:48Doug Smith- And that's because the Clark's nutcracker put them there.
24:52Doug Smith- And I think that is really the joy of looking at these landscapes
24:57and seeing whitebark pine and knowing that every single whitebark pine seed that created that tree
25:04at one time took a flight in the throat pouch of a Clark's nutcracker.
25:10Doug Smith- Some early results from their multi-year study
25:15have shown that the Clark's nutcracker is still thriving in the ecosystem.
25:21Doug Smith- That's a good sign for the whitebark pine.
25:36Doug Smith- Changing seasons have a way of marking time
25:38Doug Smith- And the cycle of life in the Yellowstone ecosystem.
25:42Doug Smith- Winter comes early in the high country.
25:46Doug Smith- It's a time of year when life in these mountains becomes a struggle for survival.
25:52Doug Smith- And the whitebark pine is mission critical for every living thing in the Yellowstone region.
25:58Doug Smith- From the bighorn sheep, to an apex predator like the North American grizzly,
26:03Doug Smith- To the people that live in the valleys below.
26:12Doug Smith- The Clark's nutcracker depends on the whitebark pine,
26:17Doug Smith- But it's not the only one.
26:20Doug Smith- Meet the red squirrel.
26:24Doug Smith- There are two ways to tell the difference between this squirrel and its gray cousin.
26:29Doug Smith- First, he has the distinctive red coat surrounding his white belly.
26:36Doug Smith- Second, red squirrels are highly territorial.
26:42Doug Smith- Outside of mating season, he leads a solitary life.
26:48Doug Smith- Enter his territory at your own risk.
26:51Doug Smith- Enter his territory at your own risk.
26:57Doug Smith- Even a porcupine can't escape his wrath.
27:04Doug Smith- Squirrels feed on a variety of things.
27:25Doug Smith- Berries, nuts, fruit.
27:27Doug Smith- But here in Yellowstone, his favorite food is...
27:36Doug Smith- Like the Clark's nutcracker.
27:38Doug Smith- The whitebark pine seed.
27:44Doug Smith- Wherever he finds a cone, in a tree or on the ground, he'll take it.
27:50Doug Smith- Instead of a beak, the red squirrel uses its claws to nab the seeds.
27:56Doug Smith- And just like the Clark's nutcracker, he jams as many as he can into his mouth.
28:03Doug Smith- Red squirrels store their seeds among decaying trees and underbrush.
28:10Doug Smith- And there is a good reason for that.
28:13Doug Smith- These storage sites, called middens, act like underground refrigerators.
28:19Doug Smith- They are temperature controlled and usually safe.
28:27Doug Smith- By the time winter sets in, he may have squirreled away nearly 100,000 seeds.
28:41Doug Smith- He understands that there is no such thing as having too many seeds.
28:47Doug Smith- Because you never know what might happen.
29:09Doug Smith- Autumn in Yellowstone.
29:10Doug Smith- Life prepares for the upcoming winter.
29:20Doug Smith- Animals move towards warmer and more fertile lands.
29:25Doug Smith- Months of warm temperatures have dried out the landscape.
29:29Doug Smith- It can be as unpredictable as it is beautiful.
29:33Doug Smith- Some days will feel like summer.
29:42Doug Smith- Others, a winter wonderland.
29:50Doug Smith- The mountain tops are the first to feel the cold.
29:53Doug Smith- The change in temperature drives the bighorn sheep down to lower elevations.
30:05Doug Smith- By September, they reach the foothills and valleys, where they will remain until spring.
30:14Doug Smith- This annual pilgrimage brings together normally isolated bachelor groups, ewes,
30:20Doug Smith- and fawns.
30:25Doug Smith- These autumn herds can number in the hundreds.
30:39Doug Smith- But they can still be fragile.
30:41Doug Smith- In 2016, much of the region's bighorn sheep population contracted a deadly form of pneumonia.
30:55Doug Smith- Scientists believe it was transmitted via nearby domesticated sheep.
31:02Doug Smith- Over 85% of the bighorn sheep died.
31:06Doug Smith- The devastation wiped out adults and juveniles alike.
31:11Doug Smith- Experts from the National Park Service, U.S. Geological Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife,
31:24Doug Smith- Local universities, and conservation groups united to save the local herds.
31:31Doug Smith- Infected sheep were removed.
31:34Doug Smith- Bighorns were relocated further from domestic sheep flocks.
31:38Doug Smith- Large herds were split, creating smaller populations and fewer opportunities for the infection to spread.
31:47Doug Smith- By treating the bighorns individually, the team has helped the bighorns bounce back and thrive.
31:59Doug Smith- By treating the bighorns individually, the team has helped the bighorns bounce back and thrive.
32:07Doug Smith- Winter draws closer.
32:26Doug Smith- The change can be felt in the air.
32:30Doug Smith- It can also be observed in the animal's behavior.
32:33Doug Smith- The grizzly has moved back up the mountain, closer to his den.
32:49Doug Smith- He has just a few weeks left before he begins his hibernation.
32:53Doug Smith- He's at his peak autumn weight, and he's still hungry.
33:03Doug Smith- A fat bear is a happy bear.
33:09Doug Smith- He's not likely to find a carcass or a fresh trout at this elevation.
33:13Doug Smith- But he knows where he could find something almost as good.
33:21Doug Smith- As long as he's willing to get some dirt in his snout, he'll be rewarded.
33:42Doug Smith- And there it is.
33:46Doug Smith- A midden teeming with whitebark pine seeds.
33:50Doug Smith- A fat bear is a fat bear.
33:50Doug Smith- The bear, of course, didn't cache these seeds.
34:07Doug Smith- That was the work of the red squirrel.
34:15Doug Smith- A very unhappy red squirrel.
34:18Doug Smith- A fat bear.
34:18Doug Smith- A fat bear.
34:19Doug Smith- These squirrels are always on alert.
34:38Doug Smith- But unfortunately, there is little he could do about the many animals that enjoy the fruits,
34:45Doug Smith- I mean the seeds of his labor.
34:48Doug Smith- He vents his frustration.
34:57Doug Smith- But the grizzly is unmoved.
35:06Doug Smith- And for the red squirrel,
35:07Doug Smith- Well, at least the local bears will be heading into their den soon.
35:12Doug Smith- He has likely been through this drill before, so he will continue to do what he does best, gather seeds and try his hardest to hide them from his hungry neighbors.
35:28Doug Smith- And if he forgets about one of those hiding places, well, that's okay too.
35:36Doug Smith- Those seeds could grow into a new cluster of whitebark pines.
35:41Doug Smith- Now we're going to start above the road here and work this piece and then work below the road.
36:01Doug Smith- And we want to look for the best microsites, right?
36:04Doug Smith- So we want to be focusing on the downed logs, the stumps.
36:08Doug Smith- Saving the whitebark pine requires scientists from the U.S. Park Service,
36:16the U.S. Forest Service, and local conservation organizations to know each seedling intimately.
36:23Doug Smith- The seedlings are sorted by their origin and their elevation tolerance.
36:37Doug Smith- Once organized, the seeds are then planted where they are most likely to succeed.
36:43Doug Smith- That is one nicely planted tree and a good little microsite.
36:49Doug Smith- The team looks for sites with the right balance of shelter from the elements
36:55and exposure to the sun. It will be some 50 years before seedlings like this are fully grown.
37:02Doug Smith- The scientists who raised them thus far may never see them reach this stage.
37:10Doug Smith- Days like today make me think. I've always been kind of an animal guy. Wolves,
37:25beavers, elk have kind of defined my life.
37:31Doug Smith- You know, my dad was born 1911. These trees are older than that. And this ecosystem has
37:41evolved with them. Everything's been held together. I really didn't think about the high country and these
37:47trees and what they meant. But seeing them alive, then seeing them dead,
38:01makes me think about what's their role. How are they connected to this?
38:07Doug Smith- They help the water.
38:11Doug Smith- That's where the snow falls, the deep snow of the winter. And it takes a while, into June
38:22sometimes, July even, for that snow to come off. Because those white barks, when they're healthy,
38:28hold it. They have shade, they're green, they're thick. They keep that snow cover. So it comes off in a trickle.
38:36Doug Smith- So the trout, the beavers, the birds have water through most of the summer.
38:50Doug Smith- It didn't dawn on me until I just saw these dead trees, that they have a role in holding
38:57all of this together. Doug Smith- If there's anything that white bark pine has taught me,
39:10is that it's a human dominated world. And most of the problems white bark are facing are caused by us.
39:17Doug Smith- So if anything, this is a call for action for us to do something to save the white bark.
39:24Doug Smith- We can mitigate some of the things that we've done.
39:27Doug Smith- So now's the time to do something before it's too late.
39:32Doug Smith- You know, looking up at these mountains, it really humbles you.
39:44Doug Smith- Generations of native people, explorers, frontiersmen, they've all taken in the same view.
39:53Doug Smith- And you feel a sense of that energy here.
39:57Doug Smith- We used to find signs of old teepee rings and even arrowheads that were thousands of
40:02years old right here on this property. Reminders that life has thrived here for centuries.
40:08Doug Smith- You know, Yellowstone has always been more than a park. It's much more than that.
40:16Doug Smith- It's a place for every living creature, no matter how large or how small.
40:24Doug Smith- And up there, standing watch above it all, is the white bark pine.
40:30Doug Smith- Proof that even in the toughest environment,
40:33Doug Smith- Life finds a way. That's why this is a place conservationists, scientists, all of us,
40:42Doug Smith- We need to preserve one creature and one tree at a time.
40:47Doug Smith- The Yellowstone ecosystem.
41:00Doug Smith- It's the planet's largest, nearly intact temperate zone habitat.
41:06Doug Smith- Rugged, symbolic, iconic.
41:12Doug Smith- Now, it's under threat. Allies have come together working every day,
41:17Doug Smith- Using cutting edge science to protect this unique ecosystem.
41:22Doug Smith- Find out more at savingyellowstone.org
41:25Doug Smith- And join the movement to protect this land.
41:30Doug Smith- Thank you.
41:47Doug Smith-
41:48Word movement.
41:49Doug Smith-
41:50Hello everybody
41:51Doug Smith-
41:52Doug Smith-
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