• Large size (diameter and height-greater than 15 metres in height preferable; greater than 30 cm dbh preferable (interior); and greater than 70 cm dbh preferable (coastal)

• Condition and age (decay stage, see Figure 8)

• Wildlife tree class — tree classes 2-6 most valuable 

• Location and surrounding habitat features

• Windfirm

• Sound root system

• Broken top

• Some large branches

• Abundance and distribution

• Cause of tree mortality

• Evidence of wildlife use (feeding, nesting, roosting or denning)

How is being cognizant about the life stages of wildlife trees useful in your work?

• A future source of standing dead trees and coarse woody debris

• Foraging sites for many insectivorous birds (woodpeckers, nuthatches, chickadees)

• Large, well-branched structures for platform nesting birds (eagles, osprey, herons, hawks)

• Broad, deep canopies that intercept snow and modify microclimates

• Substrates for mosses and lichens

• Some intact bark with space behind loose bark

• Cavities for nests, roosts and dens (especially in trees with extensive heartrot)

• Perching sites 

• Foraging sites for insectivorous birds

• In thick barked species (for example, Douglas-fir and ponderosa pine), cracks and fissures, and spaces behind loose bark provide feeding and nesting/roosting opportunities for bats and some birds such as the Brown Creeper 

• A source of coarse woody debris 

Although different animals prefer trees with various characteristics, some trees stand out as being particularly valuable to wildlife. Generally, the following characteristics indicate the relative habitat value of a wildlife tree. 

See Figure 8: British Columbia's wildlife tree classification system