Protections for tree considered

An iconic Alaska tree may warrant protection as a threatened or endangered species due to climate warming, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced.

The agency will begin a status review of yellow cedar, a tree revered and used by Native Alaska cultures and valued as of high value to the timber industry.

Across 781 square miles of Alaska’s Panhandle, more than 70% of yellow cedar trees have died because of root freeze induced by climate change, according to the listing petition.