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RECENTLY BURNED FORESTS- HABITAT FOR THE BLACK-BACKED WOODPECKER-
Wildfires have been abundant in Region One since the end of
the last ice age. The Region's relatively light precipitation,
droughty summers, and abundant lighting storms in May through
July, result in frequent, large wildfires. While the "big
fires of 1910" are thought to represent a peak in wildfire
activity, researchers have concluded from fire scars taken
from living trees, that fires of 1910 magnitude occurred at
the rate of one to two per decade within Region One at least
back to the 1200's. With the advent of aerial retardant bombers,
smokejumpers, and improved road access, fire suppression efforts
became largely successful by the late 1930's. As a result,
since 1940, relatively few acres have burned in Region One
compared to the millennia prior to 1940. Of the few acres
that did burn, salvage logging often removed those burned
trees. Some species are dependent on burned areas. The black-backed
woodpecker is a species uniquely adapted to exploit recent
burns. Black-backs migrate long distances to forage on insects
that attack burned trees. Black-backed woodpeckers reproduce
at high levels when such recently burned forests are available.
Between 1940 and 1987, the amount of black-backed woodpecker
habitat was reduced, as a result of fire suppression, to less
than 19% of the natural, pre-fire-suppression level . Big
fires in 1988, 2000, and 2001 recruited near-normal levels
of black-backed woodpecker habitat, so the species is probably
no longer at immediate risk of federal listing. However, to
ensure the long-term viability of black-backed woodpeckers
and other fire-dependent species, changes in fire suppression
priorities and salvage logging strategies are needed. If you'd
like to learn more about the status of burned forests or the
black-backed woodpecker, click on………………..
  
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