Pacific Coast, S. Alaska to N.W. Calif.
"Rodents eat the seeds of shore pine, and porcupines consume the cambium. Shore pine is of slight importance to big game but provides important edge habitat for other animals. Alaskan brown bears travel through corridors of shore pine while traveling to feeding areas. Shore pine provides nesting habitat for yellowlegs in Alaska.
Shore pine survives strong, salty winds on dry crests and wet depressions. Shore pine has helped stabilize recent sand dune expansion in California." [1]
"Native Americans boiled the inner bark of shore pine for food. Coastal Native Americans used the pitch of shore pine to treat open sores and chewed the buds to relieve sore throats." [1]
"The wood of shore pine is light, brittle, coarse grained, and has a high specific gravity. Shore pine is occasionally used as fuel and produces 8,730 British thermal units per pound." [1]
[1] Cope, Amy B. 1993. Pinus contorta var. contorta. In: Fire Effects Information System,. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Fire Sciences Laboratory (Producer). Available: https://www.fs.fed.us/database/feis/plants/tree/pinconc/all.html.
