Douglas-fir trees topped to create snags for wildlife habitat

Snags provide habitat for a wide range of organisms from cavity-nesting birds to insects, and are critical for maintaining forest biodiversity. Resource managers can create snags by topping trees to mitigate loss of snags to timber harvest, but information regarding changes in habitat for snag-dependent wildlife over time as created snags decay is lacking. Oregon State University and USGS scientists are assessing the long-term ecological value and characteristics of snags created for wildlife.