"I saw today a species of woodpecker which fed on seeds of pine. its beak and tail were white, its wings were black, and everyother part a dark brown. it is about the size of a robin." -- Meriwether Lewis

Many travelers have witnessed the Clark's nutcracker perched near a Rocky Mountain campground, waiting for spilled trail mix. The more notable aspect of Lewis's observation, however, is not the bird but the interaction between bird and whitebark pine. This intertwined natural history has broad implications for the future of the West.