FRIDAY, JANUARY 15, 2016
THE BAKER COUNTY PRESS — 5
Local
Birds
and
Burns
CONTINUED FROM
PAGE 1
“Many species of plants
and animals actually
increase in abundance, fol-
lowing high-severity fire,
and, some species even
depend on it,” she said.
She mentioned that there
were several studies show-
casing post-fire benefits, on
wildlife, soil, vegetation,
etc.
She explained the term
severe fire: burns at mixed
or high intensity, where the
mortality of the overstory
is often 100%, but, some-
times, as low as 75%.
There is widespread
mortality of the existing
vegetation, that results in
a forest structure that is no
longer dominated by live
trees, but, by herbs, shrubs,
or, dead trees or snags, she
said.
Moderate- (or mixed)
intensity fire includes a
mortality of 25%, and,
low-intensity includes a
mortality of generally less
than 25%, as in prescribed
fires.
She explained that some
species depend on dense
forest canopies, and, they
wouldn’t necessarily be
present without that, and,
others use structures such
as downed timber.
This stand structure—
the vertical and horizontal
components of the forest,
including trees, shrubs,
and vegetation--for many
species, determines, ulti-
mately, which species are
present in an area, she said.
A high-severity fire affects
bird habitat in three major
ways, Ratliff said: it alters
the understory and the
overstory structure; it cre-
ates and destroys downed
debris; and, it creates and
destroys snags, or dead
trees.
Ratliff said that approxi-
mately 93 different species
of wildlife utilize snags in
various stages of decay,
which she described. The
most favored snag species
are Ponderosa Pine, West-
ern Larch, and, Quaking
Aspen.
Softwood trees, such as
Fir, tend to make better
food-foraging trees, while
hardwood trees are some-
times better for nesting
cavities, she said.
The different parts of the
snags, such as the perch
site, the outer bark, the
inner bark, and the space
between the bark and the
trunk, provide various hid-
ing and foraging opportu-
nities for different species,
she said.
She described different
species of primary and
secondary cavity nesters
(woodpeckers, for ex-
ample, who initially use
the nesting areas, and, ones
who utilize the nests after
that), naming the Bluebird
as the most famous sec-
ondary cavity nester.
Some studies Ratliff
mentioned included
interesting results, she
said, including dramatic
increases in populations of
bird species, post-fire.
A couple of key points
she made: the White-Head-
ed Woodpecker prefers
more of an open canopy,
residing in an area for
years after a fire; and, the
Black-Backed Woodpecker
is dependant on a dense
forest, and, is the “poster
child” for a burned forest,
as Ratliff put it, because,
this species has a strong af-
finity for, and is considered
a “specialist” of, severely-
burned habitat, having
been the subject of many
studies, the species’ dis-
tribution matching closely
the historical footprint of
severe fire.
She said the Black-
Backed Woodpecker is
sensitive to salvage log-
ging activities, and, the
species becomes the focal
point when discussing the
effects of said logging.
She listed some rec-
ommended strategies for
post-fire habitat manage-
ment, including: managing
smaller, burned areas, and,
substantial portions of
larger fires, exclusively for
post-fire resources; retain-
ing patches of high-severi-
ty burn, adjacent to intact,
green forest patches; and,
considering the landscape
context (watershed, forest,
etc.), and, the availability
of different habitat types.
Ratliff paused after the
partial list, and, said, “And,
that’s pretty much what
my job is—considering
that landscape context,
and, making sure that
we’re providing adequate
amounts of each type of
habitat.”
She continued with the
list of strategies: consider-
ing the area of a fire that
burned in high-severity, as
opposed to the area of the
entire fire, when determin-
ing what percentage of
the area to salvage log;
whenever possible, restrict-
ing activities that depredate
breeding bird nests and the
young, to the non-breeding
season; retaining high-
severity burned habitat
in locations with higher
densities of large-diameter
trees; retaining high-sever-
ity patches of areas where
pre-fire snags are abun-
dant; retaining some snags
in salvage areas in dense
clumps; providing a range
of snags conditions, from
heavily decayed, to recent-
ly dead, in order to ensure
a longer lasting source of
snags; retaining decaying
snags of all species with
broken tops; consider re-
taining smaller snags; and,
most importantly, Ratliff
said, considering post-fire
habitat as an important
component of the ecosys-
tem, because, it maintains
biological diversity.
She ended the presen-
tation with a slide that
included non-bird spe-
cies, as she explained that
other species, in addition to
birds, benefit from snags.
Upon the conclusion of
Ratliff’s presentation, she
asked if there were any
questions from attendees.
Dawn Bishop said, “You
said the Black-Backed
(Woodpecker) would prob-
ably come back. Will it be
this coming spring?”
Ratliff said, “Yeah, I
would expect so.”
Julianne Williams said,
“Do birds like owls move
out of the fires, into neigh-
boring areas?”
Ratliff said, “I guess it
depends on the species of
owl. If it was a Great Grey
Owl, it probably wouldn’t
stay in the area. Some owls
will actually use cavities
that are created by fire
snags.”
Marshall McComb,
Chair of the Baker County
Democrats, said, “It’s
not really a question, but,
you know, it’s just sort
of like you’re saying, it
puts a whole different
flavor on how you view
this burned landscape. An
uninformed person would
assume that it’s a loss, or, a
great opportunity to get in
their with chainsaws, but,
you’ve given us a much
better indication of what
really makes it a part of the
total ecosystem.”
Ratliff said, “It is kind of
that initial reaction. Even
Photo courtesy of USFWS.
The White-Headed woodpecker prefers an open
canopy, said Ratliff.
I had that reaction going
out there, when it’s charred
white, before anything
even comes back, because,
I think we’ve really been
trained that way our entire
lives, to look at it that way.
But then, even in October,
I was out there, and, there
was already green-up oc-
curring, so, the rejuvena-
tion really does take place
pretty quickly.”
Fouty asked how many
present are birders. There
was a significant show
of hands, and, she asked
Ratliff about opportuni-
ties for birders to assist
the USFS and public with
tracking patterns of birds.
Ratliff responded by men-
tioning the internet site,
eBird.org, a “…real-time,
online checklist pro-
gram…” that has “…revo-
lutionized the way that the
birding community reports
and accesses information
about birds,” according
to the site. The site was
launched in 2002 by the
Cornell Lab of Ornithology
and the National Audubon
Society.
Oregon Department of
Fish and Wildlife (ODFW)
Wildlife Biologist Brian
Ratliff, Jamie’s husband,
attended the presentation
with the couple’s three-
year-old son, Carson.
Brian said, post-pre-
sentation, about salvage
logging, “That’s the
downside of dealing with
an agency; with an agency,
like the Forest Service,
they say, ‘We’re not going
to cut that,’ but, then, they
don’t get into the details
of exactly why they‘re
going to cut right there.
Those (as outlined in the
presentation) are some of
the details why. It’s just a
part of it. People just hear,
‘No,’ but, there’s a reason
why they’re doing it there,
and not here.”
NOTICE
The Baker City Police Department has in its physical possession the unclaimed personal property described below.
If you have any ownership interest in any of that unclaimed property, you must file a claim with the Baker City Police
Department within 30 days from the date of publication of this notice, or you will lose your interest in that property. If
you wish to file a claim you must first contact Lynn Magnuson, Evidence Technician, to make an appointment. The phone
number is (541) 524-2014 ext. 29 or email lmagnuson@bakercity.com. If there is no answer, please leave a message stating
your name, phone number and reference the case number or receipt number. Your call will be returned.
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Boy’s BMX Solo Plus
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Black and Yellow
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Lavender and White,
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Black Bicycle with
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Silver BMX Style
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Black Bicyle with
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17671 – 3
Black Bicycle with
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Teal KHS Montana
Crest Woman’s
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Hammer with Axe
type end (Shingle
Hammer)
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Pole and Reel
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pack and Clippers
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Blue Yamaha “Dirt
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Silver, Schwinn,
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