Will our trees grow back?

Until last year, our front yard bristlecone pines (Pinus aristata) looked beautiful. Unfortunately, they were partially eaten by famished deer this winter. Particularly in their mid-section and now they look terrible. 

Some might say that it could be considered as an art form, but that's not the way we see them day after day, after the snow has melted.

I since learned that certain pine trees can survive winter damage from deer. Branches that currently have green needles should continue to grow. However, the middle sections, where deer totally consumed all the greenery, might not regenerate new needles and growth. 

If the deer nibbled the twigs back into older wood, this older wood often cannot sprout new needles the way young twigs can. So it depends on how much of the tree was eaten by the deer. Like other people we’ve talked to about it, we are not overly optimistic but are willing to wait and see. 

We are therefore holding our breath and waiting to see what will develop before taking any drastic action such as cutting these trees…