In the Pacific Northwest of United States, 20th century timber harvesting resulted in major declines area forests supporting large live and dead trees (i.e., snags), that are not only key habitat elements for many wildlife species but also critical components ecosystem function. Regional forest management guidance, such as Forest Plan (1994) Eastside Screens (1995), may aim to conserve foster d...

This study deals with the disturbance regime of an old-growth, mixed-evergreen forest with a canopy composed of Arbutus menziesii, Lithocarpus densiflora, Pseudotsuga menziesii, Quercus chrysolepis, Q. wislizenii, and Sequoia sempervirens. 80 canopy gaps were randomly selected from throughout a 230-ha watershed. Of the land area sampled, 11.1 to 16.6 % was within gaps. Gap area had a mode of < ...

We characterized Indiana bat (Myotis sodal is ) roost ing habi ta t a t three maternity colony sites in western North Carolina and eastern Tennessee. Using radio telemetry, we tracked six bats a total of 40 bat days (range 4-9 days/ bat). In 1999, we located a primary roost in an eastern hemlock (Tsuga canadensis) snag (109 cm DBH) in the Nantahala National Forest , NC. In 2000, we located a pr...

We describe regional patterns of variation in dead wood across 20 million ha of upland forests of all ownerships in Oregon and Washington, based on an analysis of data on snags and down wood collected on over 16,000 field plots. Current patterns of dead wood are highly variable and complex. The strongest differences were among nine habitats that reflect strong regional gradients in physical env...

The traditional approach to managing decaying wood for wildlife has been to list species associated with snags, down wood, and other wood decay elements, and then to provide the kinds, sizes, and amounts of wood decay elements presumed necessary to meet their needs. An expanded approach more consistent with the spirit of ecosystem management would also describe those species’ key ecological fun...