Editing Pinus strobus (section)

=== Blister rust ===
Mortality from white pine blister rust in mature pine groves was often 50–80% during the early 20th century. The fungus must spend part of its lifecycle on alternate hosts of the genus ''[[Ribes]]'', the native gooseberry or wild currant. Foresters proposed that if all the alternate host plants were removed, white pine blister rust might be eliminated. A very determined campaign was mounted, and all land owners in commercial pine-growing regions were encouraged to uproot and kill all native gooseberry and wild currant plants.<ref name=ling /><ref name=lombard>{{cite book |last1=Lombard |first1=K. |first2=J. |last2=Bofinger |date=1999 |title=White Pine Blister Rust |publisher=[[New Hampshire Division of Forests and Lands]] |url=https://extension.unh.edu/sites/default/files/migrated_unmanaged_files/Resource000413_Rep435.pdf |access-date=2023-01-06 |archive-date=2023-01-06 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230106191741/https://extension.unh.edu/sites/default/files/migrated_unmanaged_files/Resource000413_Rep435.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> The ramifications for wildlife and [[habitat]] ecology were of less concern at the time than timber-industry protection.<ref name=":0" />

Today, native wild currants are relatively rare plants in New England, and planting wild currants or wild gooseberries is strongly discouraged, or even illegal in some jurisdictions. As an alternative, new strains of commercial currants have been developed that are highly resistant to white pine blister rust. Mortality in white pines from rust is only about 3% today.{{citation needed|date=January 2023}}