Photo: Dan Sudia
The pileated woodpecker is the largest woodpecker is Region One. Because it creates a lot of very large cavities, it provides habitat for many other cavity-dependent species. Pileated woodpeckers only nest in very large, relatively tall, ponderosa pine, western larch, or black cottonwood snags, although in Idaho, pileated woodpeckers can be found nesting in western redcedar snags. The cohesive strategy team assessed the current status of pileated woodpecker habitat in Region One. Unlike other species that were analyzed, however, the variables that affect pileated woodpeckers are much more complex, making conclusions about the status of pileated woodpeckers more uncertain. In summary, the cohesive strategy team found that the percentage of mature and old forests that pileated woodpecker inhabit, has not changed substantially since pre/logging-pre/fire-suppression periods. At low elevations, however, the ratio of old forest to mature forest has changed substantially, with little low elevation, old forest remaining, and few large snags left in that low elevation landscape. Conversely, at the upper elevational limits of pileated woodpecker habitat, old forests and large snags remain at historically normal levels. Logging and woodcutting have reduced the availability of large snags by ~26%. While snag attrition due to logging and woodcutting is declining, it still remains a factor that potentially places pileated woodpeckers at risk in Region One. Long-term snag durability is strongly linked to exposure of live trees to non-lethal and mixed severity fires. Since 1940 fire suppression has virtually eliminated non-lethal and mixed severity fires. Continued fire suppression may have long-term negative effects on the recruitment of large diameter snags that pileated woodpeckers require.
If you’d like to read more about the status
of pleated woodpeckers in Region One, click on……..
