A true trailblazer for whitebark pine
“DIANA TOMBACK and her backpacking partner Pamela were sitting under a pine tree in Inyo National Forest in the early 1970s when Tomback saw something that would change her life. A black and gray bird with white wing patches landed on the tree and began digging at its cones furiously. A wilderness ranger happened by, and Tomback asked if he knew the name of the tree, which he did — a whitebark pine. He didn’t know the name of the bird, but said the locals called it a pine crow”.
This is an insightful article about Dr. Tomback, going back to her first encounter with the whitebark pine and Clark’s Nutcracker which sparked the course of her research and pursuit of her Doctoral Degree. The article also highlights Dr. Tomback’s dedication and efforts working with federal agencies and tribal governments to save the threatened whitebark pine and her co-founding of the Whitebark Pine Ecosystem Foundation.
You can read the entire online article here.