LANSING – As Michigan’s climate warms, tree species like red pine and eastern white pine may no longer thrive here. Their native regions are moving north faster than forests can keep up with. That could have devastating consequences for the state’s $26.5 billion timber industry and rob the state of the ecological services the forest provides… To help forests stand a chance, Michigan State University forest genetics assistant professor Jeremy Johnson is experimenting with “assisted tree migration.” The idea: Plant trees in warmer regions now and identify the ones with traits that can handle the future climate. “We can improve the genetic gain in those trees and start an orchard where we have seed that is adapted to the future climates,” Johnson said. “And that’ll allow the species to persist in the future projected climates.” Johnson is backed by a $500,000 grant from the Department of Natural Resources