Dr. Diana Tomback, Professor in the Department of Integrative Biology, CU Denver, is a pioneer in research on Whitebark Pine, a widely distributed western forest species in the U.S. and Canada that is facing multiple threats, including exotic disease and climate change. In 2001 Diana became founding director of the Whitebark Pine Ecosystem Foundations (WPEF), which advocates for Whitbark Pine science and restoration.
Whitebark Pine was just listed as threatened by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. Both Diana, in her current role as policy and outreach coordinator at the WPEF, and her former Integrative Biology doctoral student, Dr. Elizabeth Pansing, American Forests senior manager of western forest science, were interviewed in articles from the Washington Post and AP News. Diana’s work was highlighted in the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service’s original press release on December 14, 2022, announcing that Whitebark Pine will be protected under the Endangered Species Act.