Abstract
In 1992, a wildlife tree research project was initiated in the Nelson Forest Region to examine the wildlife tree habitat and its use by cavity-nesting wildlife species in mature stands of the Interior Cedar-Hemlock biogeoclimatic zone. The long-term goal of this project is to determine which silvicultural systems are best suited for the maintenance of wildlife tree-dependent species and to develop management guidelines for retention of wildlife trees during harvest. This report summarizes the results from the first three years of this project.
At the study sites, wildlife trees accounted for approximately one-third of all trees sampled and approximately one-quarter of all trees sampled were dead. Densities of wildlife trees ranged from 110 to 148 stems per hectare and two-thirds of all wildlife trees sampled showed evidence of current or past use by cavity nesters. In general, the majority of wildlife trees used by cavity nesters were snags of large diameter (>40 cm dbh) and a minimum of 15-20 m in height. Many of these trees were infected with Armillaria root disease and heart rots and showed signs of bark or wood-boring beetle attack. The density of active nests located in 1995 on proposed cutblocks in the Deer Creek landscape unit, Arrow Forest District, was 0.70 nests per hectare. Implications of summer logging operations and forest health management activities for wildlife tree-dependent species are discussed, and management recommendations for wildlife tree retention in the Nelson Forest Region are put forward.
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Updated April 12, 2007
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