A small forest of the endangered Whitebark pine can be found atop the old shield volcano known as Goosenest mountain. Above left, Pinus albicaulis frames the view of Mt. Shasta to the south. Above right, it shows off its resinous purple cone, a primary food source of the Clark's nutcracker. The jays return the favor by caching their seeds for winter in shallow soil pockets, many of which then sprout into multi-trunk trees. Climate change threatens the livelihood of the Whitebark pine in its subalpine home--beset by heat, pine beetles, blister rust and the loss of fire to the ecosystem, it is vanishing across the American West.
A cluster of the multi-trunked pines adorns the cinder cone rim of Goosenest.
