“It’s easy to love a living tree, with its lush foliage and canopy of greenery. But snags are like skeletons. They’ve lost their leaves, sloughed their skin. Their bones are furrowed with insect tracks, riddled with holes, rotted at the core, and their tops are stunted and snaggled. But what life they support! More than a hundred species of birds, mammals, reptiles, and amphibians use snags for nesting, roosting, denning, and feeding.” [What an Owl Knows, Jennifer Ackerman]
Further Information
Deadwood habitat in Canadian boreal forests [Sustainable Forest Management Network]
The importance of snags in your neighbourhood [Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife]
Artificial old growth trees provide roosts for bats in Golden area [The Golden Star]
Nurse Logs [Ancient Forest Alliance]
Photo credit: https://www.flickr.com/photos/apmckinlay/16639187362
EcoFriendly West informs and encourages initiatives that support Western Canada’s natural environment through its online publication and the Nature Companion website/app. Like us on Facebook, follow us on Twitter or Mastodon, or subscribe by email.