Conservation Northwest

Black-backed woodpecker: a sensitive species drawn to the bonanza of beetles and other insect food after wildfires. Photos: © Paul Bannick A great grey owl in a post-wildfire forest. Fires often cause a spike in rodents, kept in check by owls like the great gray. and setting the stage for the rapid regrowth of plant species that snowshoe hares and other herbivories need to thrive. As hares, rabbits, and other small mammals thrive in the thick, lush groundcover that appears aer wildfires, so too do popula- tions of their predators. Lynx in particular depend on a mosaic of forest conditions created by natural fire events—patches of thickly stocked, dense older forest that have avoided recent flames and contain sufficient cover and large downed wood to protect denning sites, and patches of young forest recovering well enough from recent burns to provide a banquet of supple shoots accessible to snowshoe hares. e Loomis forest and other habitat in north-central Washington is home to our state's most robust lynx population. But aggressive fire suppression over the last 60 year has transformed a natural mosaic of young and older forests into a uniform blanket of similarly sized and aged forests that eases the spread of fire and other disturbances across the landscape. Scientists report that large fires have burned more than half of the lynx's prime habitat in the last two decades, and once healthy lynx populations have declined significantly. Lynx, like so many other plant and animal species, depend on a natural fire cycle to thrive in their niche within the forest ecosystem. –Chase Gunnell, communications manager Owls and woodpeckers: Thriving after fire Owls and woodpeckers are oen indicator species for forest health in the North- west. Particularly in dry Eastern Washington, wildfire is a boon for owls and woodpeckers and amplifies their role as pest control agents. All the Northwest's native owls and woodpeckers benefit from and in some cases require standing dead trees, known as snags, for nesting. Fire oen kills trees or parts of trees, soening them up for the woodpeckers that oen create nest sites for themselves, the small owls that might nest in the cavities made by woodpeckers, and the great gray owls that prefer to make their homes in broken- topped snags. In addition to birds, burned trees are also magnets for several species of wood boring beetles. Drawn to this bonanza of food aer wildfires are several spe- cies of woodpecker including three sensitive species: black-backed woodpeck- ers, three-toed woodpeckers, white-headed woodpeckers. While normally rare, these three woodpeckers can be quite common following a forest fire east of the Cascade Crest. As bird populations boom in burned areas, the benefits spread with the species to adjacent unburned parts of the forest as these birds feed upon destructive forest pests like mountain pine beetle and spruce budworm. Owls, too, oen find a spike in food availability aer fires as the regrowth of a fresh herbaceous layer (the groundcover of grasses, ferns, and plants) aer fires can cause a spike in rodent populations, which benefit and are kept in check by many native owl species, including the great gray owl. –Paul Bannick, major gis director; author and photographer A female Ichneumon wasp laying her eggs. These wasps prefer freshly burned snags in which to lay their eggs. With fire suppression, many have to settle for decaying stumps instead. Photo: George Wooten Continued, Impact of fires on Northwest wildlife Keeping the Northwest wild Winter 2015 7 Wildfires and wildlife

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