We recommend you consult with a certified arborist who can inspect the trees in person. A wide variety of factors can be behind tree decline, sometimes overlapping, and occasionally symptoms appear weeks, months, or even years after the damage was done (or after the tree first became stressed). Eastern White Pine, for instance, is not very tolerant of drought or compacted soils that get too wet or which drain poorly. Did anything change in their environment, like digging for utility work or construction, applying herbicide to clear away weeds, or a change in soil drainage from roof downspouts or other water sources?

Arborists can't cure or treat every condition, and unfortunately these pine trees appear to be beyond recovery, though we can't see enough detail to be more sure. The injuries to the bark from attaching items to the trunk might be a contributing factor, but we can't be certain from this view. Arborists can look for sources of tree stress, though, either to alleviate it or to prevent a replacement tree from succumbing to the same problem.

Miri