Our Mission
The Nutcracker Ecosystem Project is collaborative research with the goal of understanding and enhancing the stability and resilience of the Clark's nutcracker-whitebark pine keystone mutualism.

Since 2009, Dr. Taza Schaming has been studying the impact of  whitebark pine (Pinus albicaulis) mortality on Clark's Nutcracker (Nucifraga columbiana) demography and habitat use. The project has expanded from the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem  into Washington's Cascade Range in 2018.
(Photo: Jason Ransom)

Photo: Taza Schaming

Photo: Jeff Foote

Photo: Taza Schaming

Photo: Taza Schaming

Whitebark pine and Clark’s nutcrackers have a fascinating relationship: the trees provide rich, fatty seeds (with more calories per pound than chocolate), and the birds “plant” the trees’ seeds —a single bird may hide up to 98,000 seeds in a year. The food caches help the birds get through the winter, and the leftovers grow into new trees. In fact, whitebark pine trees sprout almost exclusively from nutcracker seed caches. This dependency has led to considerable concern for both species because whitebark pine ecosystems are rapidly disappearing in the western United States. This disappearance, largely due to mountain pine beetles and invasive blister rust, has caused concern for the entire ecosystem. While whitebark pine restoration efforts are underway, these efforts will not be effective if Clark’s nutcracker populations decline or their habitat selection changes to a degree that they are not available to disperse seeds. We have limited information on nutcracker population status and behavior, but evidence suggests that declining whitebark pine communities are leading to reduced local Clark’s nutcracker populations. 

Photo: Taza Schaming

Clark's  nutcrackers are such fascinating birds that they have even inspired music!
​Watch Anya Tyson play the accordion and sing about Clark's nutcrackers.
(Click here to watch the video depicted below.)