DOI Uses IRA Funding to Save Seeds of Whitebark Pine Trees

On November 12, 2024, DOI reported on an effort led by the National Park Service to save seeds from whitebark pine trees in Yosemite and Sequoia & Kings Canyon national parks. One anticipated use of the seeds will be for restoration projects in the wake of future wildfires. The effort is supported mainly by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law’s “Burned Area Rehabilitation” funding but is also partially funded by IRA section 50222, which appropriated money to DOI for conservation, ecosystem, and habitat restoration projects on National Park Service land. IRA funds are going towards “hir[ing] an American Forests whitebark pine ecologist to coordinate the cone collection effort and create a Southern Sierra whitebark pine conservation strategy.